[Educationforall] spam con huevos labor news, views and concerns, 2.18.12-I

Mon Feb 20 07:38:39 UTC 2012

Kornbluh on the Bread and Roses Strike Latecomer-Merit Pay Sucks  GM Profits Hit Record High (after workers' Wages cut by nearly 1/2 thanks to UAW Tops) NEA boss Van Roekel (r) and Arne Duncan Laugh at Kids, School Workers and other NEA Prepares to Lie to Nation and Betray Members with ObamagogueTruth Squads AFT Bosses to Obamagogue: Go Ahead. Make War. Let the Education
Agenda be a War Agenda. Just send us the Imperial Bribe. And We Endorse your Efforts NYTimes Loves AFT Nod to Test Score Teacher Evaluations ICE on the AFT NY Sellout White House Chavez Champions of Change Nominations‏Common Dreams: General Strike Hits Greece as Leaders' Austerity Meeting Postponed Again‏  
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Kornbluh on the Bread and Roses Strike Early in January 1912 I.W.W.activities focused on a dramatic ten-week strike of 25,000 textile
 workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It became the most widely
publicized I.W.W. conflict, acquainting the nation with the plight of
the unskilled, foreign-born worker as well as with the organization's
philosophy of radical unionism. "Lawrence was not an ordinary strike,"
wrote Brissenden in 1919, "It was a social revolution in parvo."  
 http://www.lucyparsonsproject.org/iww/kornbluh_bread_roses.html
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Latecomer-Merit Pay Sucks (Alfie is better on this)    Meet Daniel
Pink, author of the 2009 bestseller “Drive.” He’s a former White
House speechwriter, a student of social science, a highly sought-after
lecturer and an influential voice when it comes to what motivates
Americans in the workplace.  What does he think of merit pay for
teachers? 
“It doesn’t work.” 
Pink, 47, is holding forth from his writer’s studio in Cleveland
Park, a converted garage that sits behind his six-bedroom house. Here,
surrounded by a wall of books dotted with knickknacks made by his
three children, he pads around in stocking feet, a living testimonial
to his work. 
“Rewards are very effective for some things — simple things,
mechanical things,” he explains. “But for complicated jobs that
require judgment and creativity, the evidence shows that it just
doesn’t work very well.” Teaching, of course, is one of those
jobs.
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-teacher-merit-pay-spreads-one-noted-voice-cries-it-doesnt-work/2012/02/14/gIQAtRpsFR_story.html@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
GM Profits Hit Record High (after workers' Wages cut by nearly 1/2
thanks to UAW Tops) 2. But in some ways, the game is rigged G.M.'s
sales are still below pre-recession levels. Its profits are largely a
result of an orchestrated bankruptcy that has allowed G.M. to pay its
debts, renegotiate cumbersome labor contracts, shutter plants, and
phase out flagging brands. Plus, under its bailout deal with the
government, G.M. pays hardly any U.S. taxes. 
3. Europe puts G.M. in a troubling bind 
G.M.'s European operations, which include the Opel brand, lost $747
million in 2011. With the Continent's debt crisis showing few signs of
abating, Europe could hobble G.M. for years. That's likely why G.M.
says its European branch will undergo a major cost-cutting overhaul in
2012. 
4. Many G.M. workers aren't happy 
G.M. is still tens of billions of dollars short on what it will need
to meet its future pension obligations. And even with new
profit-sharing rules, not all G.M. workers are making out like bandits
— the automaker's 26,000 salaried employees in the U.S. will see
their bonuses reduced in 2011, and their pay frozen in 2012.  
 http://theweek.com/article/index/224590/gms-record-smashing-profits-6-talking-points@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The Solidarity Farce 

*above, NEA boss Van Roekel (r) and Arne Duncan Laugh at Kids, School
Workers and others*_

*NEA Hugs Duncan and Obamagogue For Revamp Teacher Bonus Plot* 
Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association,
the nation’s largest union of teachers and education professionals
with more than three million members, said he supported the Obama
administration’s wide-ranging approach to a systemic problem. He
said he had long emphasized the need for attracting top-tier teaching
candidates, maintaining competitive salaries and promoting
professional development. 
“It incorporates what we believe is necessary to transform the
system,” Mr. Van Roekel said. “We need to do all of these
things.”  
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/education/white-house-proposes-5-billion-in-grants-to-overhaul-teaching.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=van%20roekel&st=cse@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
NEA Prepares to Lie to Nation and Betray Members with Obamagogue
Truth Squads National teachers union leaders say they’re looking
for help keeping politicians honest. 
The National Education Association announced it will support efforts
to “ensure that politicians make true and accurate statements about
President Obama’s record and the records of former Mass. Gov. Mitt
Romney and other Republican candidates.” 
Union leaders noted that Obama’s campaign encourages supporters to
join “truth teams” that will operate online and on the ground to
“combat false attacks on President Obama and collect intelligence on
new attacks. The ‘truth teams’ also will help spread the word
about the accomplishments of the Obama administration and hold other
candidates accountable when they try to distort their own records or
the president’s record.” 
The union said it will work to report attacks, misleading robocalls
and other false information from political campaigns. 
“As educators, we’re always urging our students to learn the
facts,” NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said in a release.    
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/02/national_education_assocation.html@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
AFT Bosses to Obamagogue: Go Ahead. Make War. Let the Education
Agenda be a War Agenda. Just send us the Imperial Bribe. And We
Endorse your Efforts Declaring that President Obama is the only
candidate who will fight to preserve and expand the middle class,
close the inequality gap and ensure everyone has a "fair shot" at
success, the AFT announced its endorsement of President Obama and Vice
President Biden for re-election on Feb. 7. 
Biden spoke to the AFT executive council by telephone following the
endorsement vote. While speaking to the council, Biden reaffirmed the
Obama administration's commitment to building a strong economy and a
strong public school system. 
"This election is a choice, not a referendum," says AFT president
Randi Weingarten. "It's a choice between very different economic
visions for our country, and at stake is the simple yet powerful
notion that everyone deserves a fair chance to achieve the American
dream."    The announcement kicks off an aggressive grass-roots
effort by AFT members to engage their fellow members and their
families in broad-based efforts aimed at re-electing Obama. Weingarten
will travel to Colorado on Feb. 9 to meet with members and kick off
the AFT's election efforts in the state.
http://mo.aft.org/691/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=7ac9d9f2-725d-42b8-afa4-25cd51252ee9

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NYTimes Loves AFT Nod to Test Score Teacher Evaluations The new system, created in 2010, requires teachers to be rated as highly
effective, effective, developing or ineffective. Those rated as
ineffective for two consecutive years can be dismissed through an
expedited process. The state law requires that 60 percent of a
teacher’s score be based on subjective measures like classroom
observation and 40 percent on student test scores or other measures of
student performance. Half of the student-achievement portion was to be
based on state tests and half on locally developed measures.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/opinion/a-sound-deal-on-teacher-evaluations.html?src=rec

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ICE on the AFT NY SelloutThe UFT and New York State United
Teachers (All of the local unions in the state) gave away the store in
today's agreements with the city and the State Education Department
concerning teacher evaluations. This is part of a 2010 law that New
York State passed to try to get Federal Race to the Top money. Details
had to be negotiated with unions. While we still don't have a final
agreement on a new evaluation system in New York City, what is
emerging is a system with few safeguards that has the potential to
allow the Department of Education to terminate many tenured teachers
starting in 2014. 
At the state level, the NYSUT lawsuit on evaluations was resolved by
today's agreement with the state. 40% of a teacher's annual rating
will be based upon student performance on tests, with half of that 40%
being standardized tests and the other half being locally developed
assessments (whatever that means) that the State Education Department
must approve. The other 60% will be based on subjective measures such
as principal observations and they can throw in some peer review,
parent review or student review if the local district and union want
to.    
 http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/evaluation-agreement-bad-news-for.html@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

,President Obama's White House Champions of Change program comes as we observe this year the 50th anniversary of when Cesar Chavez began building the United Farm Workers, one person at a time in one small valley farm worker town after another. Cesar and a small group of dedicated men and women who joined him built a movement based on selfless service to others. In so doing they inspired so many farm workers and millions of others from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to social and political activism. Their example is as relevant today as it was five decades ago.The UFW's commemorative events in 2012 include our 50th Anniversary Convention May 17-20 in Bakersfield, Calif., and a five-city California concert tour featuring top recording artists. The White House Champions of Change program, emphasizing nonviolence and aiding the most needy, is also fitting recognition of the cause Cesar and so many others pioneered.If you know of someone deserving of being named a Champion of Change, please submit a nomination.

Arturo S. Rodriguez, President
United Fatm Workers
From: latino at who.eop.gov
Sent: 2/17/2012 11:14:13 A.M. Pacific Standard Time
Subj: Fwd: White House Chavez Champions of Change NominationsWhite House Champions of Change:Cesar Chavez’ Life and LegacyThe White House Champions of Change program highlights the stories and examples of people across the country that represents President Obama's vision of an America that is built to last.  People that are working day in and day out to grow the economy and restore middle-class security through projects and initiatives that move their communities forward, including providing education and skills for American workers, supporting innovation and manufacturing, recognizing the importance of clean energy, and investing in our human capital and infrastructure. Cesar Chavez was one of these Champions of Change that came of age a migrant farm worker and a witness to the injustice that pervaded fields and vineyards across California.  Yet, amidst hardship and exploitation, Cesar Chavez saw the promise of change—the unlimited potential of a community organized around a common purpose and dedicated his life to bringing about justice and dignity for farm workers and Latinos throughout the country. As we prepare to celebrate the life and legacy of this humble leader, we are seeking nominations to recognize those Champions of Change who like Cesar Chavez have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of others throughout their community and across the Nation.Click Here to fill out the form to nominate a Cesar Chavez Champion of Change to come to the White House to be honored for his/her work. Use this form to nominate a champion to come to the White House to be honored for his/her work. We are seeking champions (13 and over), who exemplify one or more of Cesar Chavez’ core values listed below:Service to Others and Sacrifice- Service that is predicated on empowering others; sacrifice that is spiritual and courageous.A Preference to Help the Most Needy and Celebrating Community- A concerted effort to support programs that reach the most needy; respectful expression of cultural diversity through the reinforcement of the values of equity and responsibility to and for one another.Determination and Acceptance of all People- An attitude that with faith, steadfast commitment, patience, and optimism human beings can prevail against all odds; an absolutely indispensable necessity to the well-being of this country.Non-Violence and Respect for Life and the Environment- Invoking non-violence as the most powerful tool for achieving social/economic justice and equality; respect that holds as sacred the land, the people and all other forms of life.Knowledge and Innovation- Overcoming ignorance through education; a creative capacity to find pragmatic strategies and tactics to resolve problems and situations that often seem insurmountable to others.Please submit nominations by midnight on February 24th.*Note: Multiple submissions do not increase likelihood of being selected. 
Check out our website at: www.ufw.org and keep up with the latest news.Check out the UFW's Social Networking pages. Click to visit our Facebook Fan Page, Facebook Cause,YouTube, Flickr, MySpace,and Care2 pages. Please link to us and become our "Friend" and follow us on Twittertoo!If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the UFW List Serve.If you want to change your mailing address and/or phone number click hereIf you want to receive our alerts at a different e-mail address, send an e-mail to ufwofamer at aol.comPlease add us to your safelist: Please add ufwofamer at aol.com to your address book so that our messages don’t get trapped in your spam filter. If you have questions about how to do this, drop us an e-mail.Privacy PolicyTo unsubscribe, go to: http://action.ufw.org/unsubscribeThis email was sent to cgpelayo at hotmail.com.United Farm Workers,  P.O. Box 62, Keene, CA 93531, http://www.ufw.org@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Occupy SpringOccupy Wall Street calls for May Day general strikeby Nathan Schneider | February 15, 2012,	 11:56 amAt the General Assembly meeting last night, Occupy Wall Street’s dreamer contingent got a very special valentine: the GA endorsed the Direct Action Working Group’s proposal to call for a general strike on May Day—May 1, 2012. Occupiers celebrated with cheers and Valentine’s Day balloons.The text approved by the GA is as follows:May Day 2012 Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with the calls for a day without the 99%, a general strike and more!! On May Day, wherever you are, we are calling for: *No Work *No School *No Housework *No Shopping *No Banking TAKE THE STREETS!!!!!The prospect of an Occupy general strike has been circulating for a while already. One of the several Facebook event pages devoted to it has more than 10,000 attendees. Occupy Los Angeles began calling for a May 1 general strike as early as last November, and Occupy Oakland joined at the end of January. Occupy Wall Street’s Direct Action group tried to take a strategic approach to the idea; though many of its members had little hesitation about calling for it, they took steps to ensure there was consultation, and therefore buy-in, among some of those whose participation would be vital. Since the beginning of the year, they’ve been holding twice-weekly meetings—with as many as 150 people crowded into a church or a union-office basement—which included labor organizers, immigrants’ rights groups, artists and anarchists.Together, these stakeholders debated what a general strike could even mean in 2012, given the poor state of organized labor, and whether making such an ambitious call would turn into anything other than an embarrassment. “It has to happen on a huge enough scale that retaliation is unthinkable,” a person noted at one of the initial meetings on January 11. While one voice that night argued that “you use this tool to gain specific ends”—the tool of a general strike—another preferred to “not issue any demands, but rather take what is ours.” From these discussions, it was agreed that the more open-ended language of “a day without the 99 percent” should stand alongside that of “general strike.”These meetings have focused at least as much on what to do during a day without the 99 percent as what not to do. In addition to forming committees devoted to shutting the system down, there are others for mutual aid, art, education and more.Perhaps one of the most promising aspects of a May Day action is the overlap with the May Day Coalition for immigrants’ rights, which has already been planning actions that day, and which has tremendous mobilizing power around the country—as the massive protests of 2006 showed. At the end of the January 11 meeting, an organizer of laundry workers, speaking only in Spanish, told the Occupiers, “Any campaign you have is our campaign.” The Occupiers, in turn, will have to demonstrate that the immigrants’ concerns are theirs as well.Everything depends on what happens between now and May. “I’m really excited about how much time we have leading up,” someone said at the January 11 meeting. It’s much more time, after all, thanAdbusters gave between its initial call for Occupy Wall Street in July and the September 17 start date. Now, the Direct Action Working Group has already made May Day its biggest priority, and all actions it is planning in the meantime are being thought of as creating a narrative of escalation leading to that day—beginning with yesterday’s Times Square kiss-in. The challenge is to show people, in one form or another, that something like a general strike is even possible, and to practice what taking part in it would actually mean. Above all, perhaps, it’s a challenge to the imagination; as art critic and organizer Yates Mckee says, this is a chance to begin “imagining and dreaming what a city of and for the 99 percent would look like.”After one of the meetings, an original organizer of Occupy Wall Street looked around at her friends and said, “Look at us! We all have crazy eyes!” It was true; no one looked quite sane. But to call for a general strike in New York City in 2012, and to even begin to follow through on it, probably takes a bit of crazy.

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Listen to Native Voice One http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/nv1/ppr/index.shtml

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