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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>We just made history in Ohio</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Beyond Ohio: Why Public Sector Unions Need to Show Solidarity for Private Sector Workers</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Tijuana Maquiladora Tour November 12, 2011</FONT></H2></LI>
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<DIV><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12815?akid=7827.16102.ihp9S7&t=11" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3><STRONG>60 Farmwokers Stranded After Refusing to Work Below Minimum Wage</STRONG></FONT></A></DIV></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>National Call: Hear How the White House Received Your 9,000 Signatures to End Wrongful Foreclosure</FONT></H2></LI>
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<A style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14px; COLOR: #024a82; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" href="http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe531271746301747d13&ls=fe161d777d63077b721678&m=fefc1172766306&l=fed1157376640678&s=fe3215727764017c7d1d71&jb=ffcf14&t=" target=_blank><STRONG><FONT size=3>CSU faculty union OKs one-day strike at two campuses</FONT></STRONG></A><BR></LI>
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<P class=ecxheadline1 style="FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12795?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=2" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3><STRONG>Pew Report on Young-Old Wealth Gap is Misleading and Divisive; Could Fuel Intergenerational Class War</STRONG></FONT></A></P></LI>
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<P class=ecxheadline3 style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><FONT color=#0068cf><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12800?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=18" target=_blank><STRONG>OWS and Unions: How to Defend People About to Lose Their Homes</STRONG></A></FONT></P></LI>
<LI><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12779?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=32" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3><STRONG>George Will On Public Sector Job Losses: ‘That’s Good’</STRONG></FONT></A></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Pension Trusts Running Short of Cash</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject>Teacher response to "Dont Hold Us Back"</H2><BR></LI></OL>
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<TD><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=LOnz3Jh7NFXHWDZzF40R1zrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG height=71 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/banner_afl-cio_now_blog_626.jpg" width=626 border=0></A></TD></TR>
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<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><B>Nov. 8, 2011</B></SPAN></SPAN><BR>
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<TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=86klntx/sioBuQYwR1io6zrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG title="" alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/work_wp-1.jpg" border=0></A><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=5yujMhnM3PYLLlN7327FRjrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>The jobless recovery staggers along and congressional conservatives are at the heart of the slow pace of job creation, writes economist Heather Boushey</FONT></A>.</SPAN></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Ohioans are going to the polls today to vote “No” on Issue 2 to repeal S.B. 5, the bill signed by Gov. John Kasich that eliminates collective bargaining rights for public employees. But they are facing a combination of recently passed voter-suppression legislation and a right-wing campaign of dirty tricks fueled by out-of-state big money.</SPAN></SPAN><BR>
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<TD vAlign=bottom height=24><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=ljb48XGD9t%2BF6NrfHiSpQzrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG alt="Read More" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/read_more.gif" border=0></A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Got comments? Post them at </SPAN></SPAN><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=daUv7lBKUKbFblH7NIHo6TrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=lXs6CcOUCUC2PNrN3oJUvzrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><B><FONT color=#0068cf>blog.aflcio.org</FONT></B></SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">.</SPAN></SPAN><BR>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=XXNNBjFz4vlRMb37ZABLtzrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>The Conservative-Created Jobs Crisis</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=o4e9SiFEB8BalXG5UjFzKjrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Tell Super Committee: Scrap the Cap</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=CzPRX%2B8jikTKxvd6B9CmUDrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Iceland’s Recovery Proves Fallacy of Economic Austerity</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=OoxPCHJNKZIZ2NAR08QmaTrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>First New Jersey APALA Chapter Founded</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=RKQ8gWnBfSbEGzXPFU9TITrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><STRONG><FONT color=#0068cf>Read more important news</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> of the day on the issues working families care about. </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<NOBR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><STRONG>Follow the AFL-CIO:</STRONG></SPAN></SPAN><STRONG><BR></STRONG><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=ARQd%2B4Nu3uxd0xAPuUPlZjrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG title=Facebook height=24 alt=Facebook src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_facebook.jpg" width=24 border=0></A> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=eYVzQw5/4iiNK0h8jZt/mTrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG title=Twitter height=24 alt=Twitter src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_twitter.jpg" width=24 border=0></A> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=NWiet97JnHZQYNOxKrdqiTrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG title=YouTube height=24 alt=YouTube src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_youtube2.jpg" width=24 border=0></A> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=oM%2BidBxTtc/Gqw864CPtwzrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><IMG title=RSS height=24 alt=RSS src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/images/icon_24x24_rss.jpg" width=24 border=0></A></NOBR><BR></TD></TR>
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<P align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><EM><NOBR>Take the next step. Become a mobile activist</NOBR><BR><NOBR>by joining the AFL-CIO Rapid Action Text Team.</NOBR><BR><NOBR>Text <STRONG>NEWS</STRONG> to <STRONG>AFLCIO (235246)</STRONG> to receive action alerts and more.</NOBR><BR>(Message and data rates may apply.)<BR></EM></SPAN></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px">To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=8AzHm7YbBFQB1FWKt5zzADrRHdLccOrn" target=_blank><B><FONT color=#0068cf>www.aflcio.org</FONT></B></A>.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P><BR><BR>I’m in Ohio right now, where working families just won an incredible victory. <BR><BR>Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to repeal Senate Bill 5—Gov. John Kasich’s attack on middle-class jobs that was designed to destroy collective bargaining rights in Ohio.<BR><BR>We pieced together a short, powerful video summing up the amazing energy that went into this. I hope you’ll take a moment to watch:<BR>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=BWG8L4P909gErU/TzdAHU1aCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><IMG alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/rlt_door.jpg"></A><BR><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=IUOqARmbFJ1TJpQpyriRalaCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><U><B><FONT color=#0068cf>Watch now.</FONT></B></U></A></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><BR><B>Tonight’s victory represents a turning point in our collective work to protect good jobs, working families and workplace rights.</B> But it’s more than that. It’s a long-overdue return to common sense. <BR><BR>From the very beginning of our jobs crisis, anti-worker politicians like Ohio’s Gov. Kasich have used our poor economy to push a cynical political agenda that favors the richest 1 percent at the expense of the 99 percent. Today, Ohio voters rejected that agenda. <BR><BR><B>During this campaign, firefighters, nurses, teachers and other public employees were joined by construction workers, bakery workers and all kinds of private-sector workers. </B>They came together to ensure the survival of the middle class. And together, we’ll keep doing it. Politicians who side with the richest 1 percent will find their radical efforts stopped by working people who want America to work for everyone.<BR><U><BR><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZQlhMH4rtQDYimZ73cG881aCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><B><FONT color=#0068cf>Watch the energy and dedication that went into this huge victory—and join us.</FONT></B></A></U><BR><BR><B>This is <I>our</I> moment, and we won with solidarity.</B> We won because the working people of Ohio—public and private sector, union and nonunion—stood together.<BR><BR>But the solidarity went even further than that: Volunteers traveled not just from neighboring Wisconsin—but from states as far away as California and New York—to help get out the vote. And activists from dozens of states as far away as Alaska gave up their nights and weekends to call Ohio voters from home. <BR><BR>Solidarity means that when workers anywhere are under attack, we will all do whatever we can to help. It means we’re in it together.<BR><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=XvyLwo7pxzg9TXhGTnmUZ1aCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><BR><FONT color=#0068cf><U><B>Watch our video. See what solidarity looks like.</B></U> </FONT></A><BR><BR>I hope you’ll celebrate this moment in your own way. But the most important thing is to find a way to keep your own energy going and growing—so you can be a part of sustaining and growing our movement for all working people—the 99 percent.<BR> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: ">This fight we’ve taken on and won—and the threats we face going forward—are about more than Democrats or Republicans, or 2012 battleground states. They are about good jobs and our right to a voice on the job.</SPAN><BR><BR><B>Together, we're building a new kind of politics.</B> A politics that works for the 99 percent, not just the 1 percent. <BR><BR><B></B>We’ve got to start getting ready now to win tomorrow’s victories. Over time—together—we’ll build a future that works for working America.<BR> <BR>Thank you for being a part of this movement, and for all you do for America’s workers.<BR><BR>In Solidarity,<BR><BR>Richard L. Trumka<BR>President, AFL-CIO<BR><BR>P.S. <B>America is waking up.</B> Here’s one big reason we won in Ohio—people can see that the firefighters, teachers, nurses and snowplow drivers hurt by SB 5 didn’t cause our economic problems. Wall Street did. Ohio voters saw through Senate Bill 5—they understood it was a plan to make the 99 percent bear the burden of Wall Street’s recklessness—and that it would do nothing to create jobs. <BR><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=nzq69XwNzvx%2BLSWZVw4E6laCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><BR><B></B><U><B><FONT color=#0068cf>Take a moment to watch the incredible energy that went into this win.</FONT></B></U></A></P></TD></TR>
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<P align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px">To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=LFONijkOVP0aAXGgFq7iG1aCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><B><FONT color=#0068cf>www.aflcio.org</FONT></B></A>.</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: right"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Eyp8fxfG2rKI%2BLFPMrknzlaCP0NMbFvB" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Click here to</FONT></A></P>
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<H3 style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14px"><A style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/us/politics/votes-across-the-nation-could-serve-as-a-political-barometer.html?nl=us&emc=politicsemailema1" target=_blank>Votes Today May Be Political Barometer for the 2012 Election </A></H3>
<H6 class=ecxbyline style="FONT: 10px Arial,sans-serif; COLOR: #999">By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and SABRINA TAVERNISE </H6>
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<P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #000">Voters will decide issues like workers' rights, reproductive rights and voting rights, as well a number of big mayoral contests.</P>
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<P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #000"><STRONG><FONT size=3>On the News With Thom Hartmann: Harsh Anti-Union Bill Up for Repeal in Ohio, and More<BR></FONT></STRONG>In today's On the News segment: Harsh anti-union Bill up for repeal in Ohio, banksters rake in 17 percent of all the taxpayer subsidies, the Occupy movement received a boost yesterday from senior citizens, poll shows that more than half the country thinks Republicans are trying to stall an economic recovery so they can win elections, and more. <BR><A href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=U%2BQGDH2Tjy9Ei7J25sF69GGg86rDpiZf" target=_blank><FONT color=#cc0000>Watch the Video and Read the Transcript</FONT></A> <BR></P></DIV></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<BR><PRE><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Beyond Ohio:<BR>Why Public Sector Unions Need to Show<BR>Solidarity for Private Sector Workers<BR></FONT></STRONG>By Jefferson Cowie<BR>The New Republic<BR>November 8, 2011<BR></FONT><A href="http://www.tnr.com/article/97160/ohio-referendum-unions-public-sb-5" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://www.tnr.com/article/97160/ohio-referendum-unions-public-sb-5</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Pro-labor forces appear en route to win an important<BR>battle in Ohio on Tuesday, but the greater war they're<BR>engaged in is very much undecided. As significant as<BR>issues like taxes, bargaining, and benefits are for the<BR>health of the country's public sector unions, their<BR>real savior has largely gone unspoken in this most<BR>recent battle--namely, the bolstering of pay and<BR>benefits in the private sector. Progressives will no<BR>doubt be tempted to celebrate their victory--not least<BR>because it marks a setback for Governor Kasich, and a<BR>good omen for Obama's struggle for this key swing state<BR>in 2012--but they should also be wary of myopia.<BR>Anti-labor forces certainly have their eyes set on the<BR>broader terrain.<BR> <BR>When Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker<BR>recently declared that "public employees can't be<BR>haves, while private sector employees are have-nots,"<BR>he was peddling an obvious half-truth, but also<BR>suggesting the outlines of a pernicious anti-labor<BR>strategy. Republicans gladly acknowledge the divide in<BR>our economy that often places many of private sector<BR>workers on the side of have-nots--only to exploit it by<BR>mobilizing resentment against those with relative<BR>security. Public unions should be thinking of ways to<BR>help pull up their embattled fellow laborers in the<BR>private sector--or risk being dragged down themselves.<BR> <BR>THE LATEST POLLING in Ohio gives the pro-labor forces a<BR>25 point lead in the referendum to repeal legislation<BR>that effectively gutted collective bargaining for the<BR>state's public workers. The unions appear to be<BR>succeeding for a number of reasons. First, there does<BR>seem to be an important groundswell--from Wall Street to<BR>Oakland--against these dramatic attacks on working<BR>people. Beyond that, the most important factor is<BR>labor's pouring of massive funds into the struggle,<BR>which puts this on a financial par with a stiff<BR>gubernatorial race.<BR> <BR>Also at play is Republican hubris,<BR>evidenced by their inclusion of firefighters and police<BR>in the legislation. Safety workers are both beloved and<BR>conservative--at least until their turf is attacked.<BR>Then they tend to shun their social conservatism and<BR>turn out the troops. But the promise of Tuesday's vote<BR>as a pro-labor harbinger is undermined by the<BR>persistent weakness of private sector unions in Ohio<BR>and elsewhere in the country.<BR> <BR>Indeed, the successes of<BR>public sector employees have always been closely linked<BR>with that of laborers in the private sector: it's<BR>largely private sector workers, after all, who are<BR>asked to pay for public sector employees through their<BR>tax receipts. Having the mega-rich pony up will<BR>certainly help--especially in a place like New York<BR>City--but outside the worlds of finance capital, working<BR>people are going to be paying a good share bills.<BR>Unfortunately, the numbers here tell a dispiriting<BR>story. Today 36.2 percent of public workers are<BR>organized--a slightly higher number than the private<BR>sector was even in the heyday of American labor history<BR>in the 1950s. Private workers today, in contrast, have<BR>tumbled to a mere 6.9 percent--a figure suggestive of<BR>the wider rot in pay and benefits among unorganized<BR>workers.<BR> <BR>It doesn't take a labor scholar to see the<BR>problem here: A relatively large and well-remunerated<BR>public sector is teetering precariously on a rickety<BR>and crumbling private-sector working class. No wonder<BR>public workers fall under right wing attack as some<BR>sort of aristocracy of labor. This isn't simply a<BR>matter of mean spirited attacks, as these issues<BR>genuinely tap into private sector workers' ability to<BR>pay. We know that once we control for educational<BR>level, public sector workers are not paid significantly<BR>more than private sectors workers, but their benefits<BR>do outstrip those in the private sector--and they've<BR>often given up pay at the bargaining table to pursue<BR>those better benefits.<BR> <BR>A glance at recent history puts<BR>this divide between public and private workers into<BR>even starker relief. Today, private sector workers look<BR>with either envy or scorn at public sector workers, but<BR>it used to be the other way around: When public<BR>employee unions got their start, their goal was to<BR>catch-up to the better-off private sector workers. In<BR>the mid-20th century's age of "industrial pluralism,"<BR>things looked promising for all workers. Wisconsin's<BR>decision to grant unionization rights to public<BR>employees in 1959 and John F. Kennedy's 1962 Executive<BR>Order providing unionization rights to federal workers<BR>laid the groundwork for a widespread expansion of<BR>public sector unionization. By 1970, twenty-two states<BR>had enacted collective bargaining rights for their<BR>employees, allowing them to match the quality of their<BR>remuneration with their private sector brothers and<BR>sisters.<BR> <BR>By the mid 1970s, the incredible growth of<BR>public sector unions began to look a bit like the<BR>upsurge of industrial unions in the 1930s. By 1975, in<BR>fact, a national public employees relations act of some<BR>sort--often thought of as a "Wagner Act for public<BR>workers"--seemed unavoidable. (Had such legislation<BR>passed, it would have taken collective bargaining out<BR>of the morass of state-level politics that public<BR>unions are currently struggling with.)<BR> <BR>Despite signs of labor's private sector rebirth in<BR>the early seventies, the decade ended in retrenchment.<BR>Core industrial unions lost their base, cultural<BR>concerns trumped economic issues, and the Left began<BR>to believe unions to be part of the problem not the<BR>solution. Even then, the rising conservative movement<BR>tried to catalyze divisions between public and private<BR>unions in the midst of a set of city and state fiscal<BR>crises that parallel our own. While public sector<BR>unions only hit a plateau, private unions collapsed<BR>into freefall. By the end of the seventies, the<BR>densities of public and private sector unionization<BR>crossed paths--public unionization was on the way up<BR>and private on the way down.<BR> <BR>Today, there are, in real numbers, more unionized<BR>public workers than there are unionized private sector<BR>workers. To the extent that public sector unionism has<BR>always rested upon the resources of private sector<BR>workers, that split means trouble. Public sector<BR>unionization has often faced a rough road, because of<BR>the sketchy right to strike against the public good, of<BR>course, but mostly because the taxpayers pay the bills.<BR>When the taxpayers are flush, it's much easier to argue<BR>that we deserve a first class public sector.<BR> <BR>So rather than simply organizing to protect the<BR>achievements of that diminished number of workers<BR>who are still unionized, progressives should be<BR>thinking about how to spread those privileges to<BR>even more workers. In that way, private sector<BR>workers wouldn't think of their public sector<BR>colleagues as adversaries in terms of their tax<BR>money--they would think of them as their<BR>allies on a much more pressing issue: how to pry more<BR>wages out of private employers. That said, those<BR>seeking to expand organized labor will have their work<BR>cut out for them.<BR> <BR>After years of being exposed to<BR>conservative messaging, much of the nation remains<BR>skeptical about organized labor. Less than half of the<BR>nation approves of unions today, a figure that<BR>approaches historic lows. Compare that with polling<BR>back in the 1950s (when collective bargaining worked as<BR>advertised), and three fourths of Americans approved of<BR>unions. The Occupy Wall Street movements suggests that<BR>the spark for the national discussion of inequality may<BR>come from outside of the formal labor movement, but<BR>it's hard to imagine right now a more efficient or<BR>proven way of actually redistributing wealth than<BR>bargaining collectively with one's employer.<BR> <BR>Progressives will certainly cheer if and when the Ohio<BR>referendum is defeated, as well they should. But let's<BR>not pop too much champagne yet. No matter what happens<BR>in Ohio, public sector workers everywhere will be<BR>vulnerable until workers can find ways to make the<BR>private sector give up a greater share of its wealth to<BR>its workers. The divide among workers between haves and<BR>have-nots isn't sustainable for much longer. What<BR>remains to be seen is whether it will be resolved to<BR>the benefit of workers at all.<BR> <BR>Jefferson Cowie teaches at Cornell University and<BR>is the author of Stayin' Alive: The 1970s and the<BR>Last Days of the Working Class.<BR> <BR>____________________________________________<BR> <BR>PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to<BR>people on the left that will help them to interpret the<BR>world and to change it.<BR> <BR>Submit via email: labor@portside.org<BR> <BR>Submit via the Web: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/submittous3" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/submittous3</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Frequently asked questions: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/faq" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/faq</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Sub/Unsub: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>PS Labor Archives: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/archive" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/archive</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Contribute to Portside: </FONT><A href="https://portside.org/donate" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>https://portside.org/donate</FONT></A><BR></PRE>
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<DIV><B>TIJUANA MAQUILADORA TOUR</B></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Come to learn about Tijuana communities and workers' conditions and struggles!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Saturday, November 12, 9 am to 3 pm</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Important Notice:</B></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Citizens returning from Mexico should present an U.S. passport. (Otherwise, they need an official ID, birth certificate, and waiting in line when returning to the U.S. for a period of time to be decided by the border gate officer.) More information: the U.S. State Dept. web site: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requi<SPAN></SPAN>rements</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>All tour participants must read the US travel alert to Mexico and sign the tour waiver. Please read the attached file.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Schedule (There may be slight variations from tour to tour.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>9:00 am sharp- San Ysidro/Tijuana border-bus station. We will walk together to cross the border gate and travel to our locations in Tijuana using chartered buses for transportation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>9:45 am- The crosses at the border: More than 7,000 immigrants have died trying to cross the border.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>10:30 am- Otay Industrial Park, Sanyo, Douglas Furniture, other maquiladoras: workers' labor conditions, labor rights and struggles<BR><BR>NOTE: We will visit the Tijuana industrial area but won't enter any factory.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>11:00 am- Community Ejido Chilpancingo-Rio Alamar: industrialization, health, environment</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>11:30 pm- Metales y Derivados, a story of struggle and success for environmental justice</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>12:15 pm- Lunch</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>1:00 pm- Group dialogue about the experience; time for questions and comments</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>2:00 pm- Working women in Tijuana are organizing artisan cooperatives and promoting an alternative economy. They will bring their handcrafts to the tour. To learn in advance<BR>about these cooperatives, please go to <A href="http://www.ollincallicm.blogspot.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://www.ollincallicm.blogspot.com/</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>3:00 pm- Return to the Tijuana bus station</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donations</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>$30 regular, $20 students, $ 50 solidarity</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donations cover the bus, lunch, and a donation to the workers' organizations.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To reserve a place, please go to www.sdmaquila.org</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you prefer to use the postal system, or for more information, please contact:</DIV>
<DIV>Herb Shore: sdmaquila@cox.net, (619) 287-5535</DIV>
<DIV><I> </I></DIV>
<DIV>Sponsored by Colectivo Ollin Calli Tijuana, Colectivo Chilpancingo for Environmental Justice, San Diego Maquiladora Workers' Solidarity Network, Environmental Health Coalition, and Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras</DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12815?akid=7827.16102.ihp9S7&t=11" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>60 Farmwokers Stranded After Refusing to Work Below Minimum Wage</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #de4900; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif">By Jorge Rivas | Colorlines</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P align=left><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><BR><BR>Thanks to you, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) has collected more than 9,000 petition signatures and postcards addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. </FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hoQV6BXy1ah/nX63jYQMFluuwMewcued" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3>You asked him to stop wrongful foreclosures, protect affordable housing, and keep responsible homeownership available.</FONT></A><FONT size=3> <BR><BR>Join our national call to hear from key representatives of the Obama administration on steps that they have taken to improve the housing market for struggling families. </FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=yAKASxfGkLGnY8W8jogjfluuwMewcued" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3>Register today</FONT></A><FONT size=3> to hear how your continued actions make a difference.<BR><BR></FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=/OQJXINotUDPfBGMFUmFxluuwMewcued" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3>Click here to register and receive call-in details.</FONT></A><FONT size=3> (Please note that this call is closed to press.)<BR><BR>Date: Tuesday, November 15, 2011<BR><BR>Time: 3:30–4:30 p.m. EST <BR><BR>Speakers<BR>• Janis Bowdler, Director, Wealth-Building Policy Project, NCLR (moderator)<BR>• Brian Deese, Deputy Director, National Economic Council, White House<BR>• Phyllis Caldwell, Chief, Office of Homeownership Preservation, U.S. Department of the Treasury<BR>• Mercedes Márquez, Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Development and Planning, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<BR><BR></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<A style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 14px; COLOR: #024a82; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" href="http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe531271746301747d13&ls=fe161d777d63077b721678&m=fefc1172766306&l=fed1157376640678&s=fe3215727764017c7d1d71&jb=ffcf14&t=" target=_blank>CSU faculty union OKs one-day strike at two campuses</A><BR>
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<A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12795?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=1" target=_blank><IMG height=196 alt="" src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_1320713641_6251022790f1eac2ec5d.jpg_640x428_310x220" width=313 border=0></A> <BR>
<P class=ecxheadline1 style="FONT-SIZE: 20px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12795?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=2" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Pew Report on Young-Old Wealth Gap is Misleading and Divisive; Could Fuel Intergenerational Class War</FONT></A></P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #666; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Older Americans have just managed to tread water for the past 25 years, while younger households have been devastated by the rapaciousness of the 1%.<A class=ecxreadmore style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; LETTER-SPACING: 0.1em" href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12795?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=3" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>READ MORE</FONT></A></P>
<FONT face="Georgia, Times, serif" color=#4d4d4d size=2><I>Joshua Holland / AlterNet</I></FONT><BR>
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<TD vAlign=top><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12800?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=17" target=_blank><IMG height=81 alt="" src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_picture46.jpg_95x63" width=112 align=left border=0></A></TD>
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<P class=ecxheadline3 style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><FONT color=#0068cf><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12800?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=18" target=_blank>OWS and Unions: How to Defend People About to Lose Their Homes</A></FONT><BR>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #666; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"They got bailed out, we got thrown out!" rang through the streets as we marched to two of the fourteen houses on the same street being foreclosed. <A class=ecxreadmore style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; LETTER-SPACING: 0.1em" href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12800?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=19" target=_blank><B><FONT color=#0068cf>READ MORE</B></A> </P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #4d4d4d; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">By Peter Olney / AlterNet </P></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<P class=ecxheadline3 style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif"><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12779?akid=7826.16102.lqQ1H-&t=32" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>George Will On Public Sector Job Losses: ‘That’s Good’</FONT></A><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif">By Ben Armbruster | ThinkProgress</SPAN> </P>
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<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass PlainTextMessageBody" id=mpf0_MsgContainer><PRE><FONT face=Tahoma><STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Pension Trusts Strapped<BR>By Sharon Terlep and Matthew Dolan<BR></FONT></STRONG>The Wall Street Journal<BR>November 7, 2011<BR></FONT><A href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577011901934288534.html" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707504577011901934288534.html</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Retirement trust funds created to cover<BR>billions of dollars in medical costs for unionized<BR>workers and their families are running short, forcing<BR>the funds to cut costs, trim benefits, and ask retirees<BR>and companies to pony up more cash.<BR> <BR>The biggest such fund-a trio of United Auto Worker<BR>trusts covering benefits for more than 820,000 people,<BR>including Detroit auto-maker retirees and their<BR>dependents-is underfunded by nearly $20 billion,<BR>according to trust documents filed with the U.S. Labor<BR>Department last month.<BR> <BR>The funds, known as VEBAs, or voluntary employee<BR>beneficiary associations, are being hit by rising<BR>medical costs and poor investment performance. Their<BR>funding comes in part from company stock, rather than<BR>just cash payments, making them vulnerable to the<BR>market's volatility.<BR> <BR>Fearing a shortfall, the UAW is looking for answers in<BR>its U.S. government-orchestrated bailout deals with<BR>General Motors Corp. and Chrysler. The union, under new<BR>labor accords reached last month with GM, Ford Motor<BR>Co. and Chrysler, will seek to divert 10% of active<BR>workers' profit-sharing checks into the VEBA funds, but<BR>the plan still needs to clear legal hurdles and could<BR>get blocked by the auto makers.<BR> <BR>Improved investment returns could reduce the shortfall<BR>over time. And, if the union doesn't win approval to<BR>transter funds, it has some leeway to make benefit cuts<BR>before the funds run short of cash because UAW retirees<BR>still get richer benefits than most retired workers,<BR> <BR>Without some sort of intervention, the gap could grow<BR>quickly. This past summer, Joe Ashton, the UAW's top<BR>official dealing with GM, said the VEBA performance was<BR>weighing on the union. "It's definitely an issue," he<BR>said.<BR> <BR>The UAW also isn't the only union being squeezed.<BR> <BR>In Pittsburgh, the United Steel Workers union is<BR>laboring to provide benefits to tens of thousands of<BR>employees covered by more than 30 VEBAs. "No matter how<BR>good your investment performance is, you are not going<BR>to be able to keep up with health-care inflation," says<BR>Tom Conway, vice president of the USW. "The trustees<BR>are having to take a serious look at increasing<BR>premiums, and the retiree contribution has to be<BR>bigger."<BR> <BR>Union-run VEBAs gained popularity in the last decade as<BR>a way to clear retiree-benefit obligations off<BR>companies' books and shift the burden to independent<BR>trust funds. Often, they were last-ditch efforts by<BR>unions to salvage health-care benefits for their<BR>members amid major restructurings or bankruptcies. But<BR>now that the VEBAs are running low on cash, unions are<BR>the ones doing the slashing.<BR> <BR>Two years ago, when the UAW VEBA cut its ties with auto<BR>makers and became an independent trust, it quickly<BR>trimmed some prescription benefits, including free<BR>Viagra, and boosted co-payments for retirees. Next<BR>year, it will increase deductibles and out-of-pocket<BR>payments by participants, according to a statement<BR>posted on its Web site this fall.<BR> <BR>Vincent Forbes, a GM retiree from Lansing, Mich., says<BR>he has managed without the dental and vision benefits<BR>he lost in the shift to the VEBA. "It's the reality of<BR>what people are dealing with today," he says. "Other<BR>people have to pay for these kinds of benefits. I don't<BR>mind paying a little bit more."<BR> <BR>VEBA benefits are considered generous by many standards<BR>and many other retirees have lost benefits as companies<BR>eliminated retiree health-care funding. Just 26% of<BR>large U.S. companies that provide health care extend<BR>those benefits to retirees, down from 37% a decade ago,<BR>according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.<BR> <BR>The UAW first agreed to let the Detroit Three auto<BR>makers offload their obligation to fund health-care<BR>benefits for retirees in a 2007 labor agreement. By the<BR>end of that year, GM had spent $4.6 billion on health<BR>care for active and retired workers, more than it spent<BR>on steel.<BR> <BR>Under the 2007 pact, the auto companies paid into the<BR>separate trust immediately and agreed to a series of<BR>future payments. Combined, the three auto makers<BR>committed $54 billion. Today, the trust is one of the<BR>largest private health-care providers in the nation.<BR> <BR>Since then, the Detroit car companies have heralded the<BR>agreement as transformative because their health-care<BR>costs had made them uncompetitive with their<BR>nonunionized rivals.<BR> <BR>In 2009, when GM and Chrysler fell into bankruptcy, the<BR>government-brokered restructuring allowed the auto<BR>makers to use more company stock to fulfill their<BR>obligation to contribute to the VEBA. (The trust cashed<BR>out its holdings in Ford in 2010.)<BR> <BR>That year, it also became clear that the UAW would have<BR>to do something to shore up the VEBA. The fund was<BR>stretched because returns were falling short of<BR>assumptions and health-care costs were rising faster<BR>than expected, people involved in the restructuring<BR>say. The volatility increased after the UAW agreed to<BR>accept more payments from GM and Chrysler in stock. GM<BR>shares have dropped 28% since its IPO last year,<BR>further affecting the VEBA's bottom line.<BR> <BR>GM declined to comment.<BR> <BR>"At that time, everybody understood the VEBA would<BR>probably not cover all of retirees' health care<BR>benefits and that the UAW or trustees of the VEBA would<BR>have to made decisions about cutbacks," said Steven<BR>Rattner, who headed the Obama administration's bailout<BR>and restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. "It was<BR>going to their problem, not the companies' problem."<BR> <BR>The UAW VEBA has indeed fallen short of the 9% annual<BR>return that was assumed at the fund's creation to be<BR>enough to provide current benefits to retirees for 80<BR>years, says UAW President Bob King . Health-care costs,<BR>meantime, have risen far more quickly than the 5% a<BR>year assumed by the union.<BR> <BR>According to VEBA trust officials, the funds for all<BR>autos averaged a 9.7% rate of return in 2010. They<BR>decline to say how the funds have performed in 2011<BR>but, in response to written questions, they say the<BR>fund has adopted a more conservative assumption of 7%<BR>going forward. At GM, the fund currently has total<BR>assets of $33.23 billion and total benefit obligations<BR>of $44.68 billion, resulting in an $11.4 billion, or<BR>26%, shortfall.<BR> <BR>In negotiations this year with GM, union bargainers<BR>sought help to cover itsVEBA costs, according to two<BR>people familiar with the discussions. GM quickly shot<BR>down the idea but the two sides reached a compromise.<BR> <BR>The UAW, if it clears legal hurdles, will look to<BR>transfer 10% of the profit sharing GM pays current<BR>workers under the contract directly to the VEBA. Such a<BR>step is expected to increase funding by around $40<BR>million a year. The original court settlements bar the<BR>company from making additional direct contributions,<BR>but they permit this transfer, according to lawyers who<BR>worked on the deal. GM, in negotiations, expressed<BR>"serious threshold accounting, tax, legal and other<BR>concerns," according to UAW documents. If those<BR>concerns are addressed within a year, the union could<BR>begin diverting cash.<BR> <BR>Mr. King, speaking to reporters, said he is "really<BR>confident" the transfer from profit sharing will clear<BR>regulatory hurdles.<BR> <BR>____________________________________________<BR> <BR>PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to<BR>people on the left that will help them to interpret the<BR>world and to change it.<BR> <BR>Submit via email: labor@portside.org<BR> <BR>Submit via the Web: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/submittous3" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/submittous3</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Frequently asked questions: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/faq" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/faq</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Sub/Unsub: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>PS Labor Archives: </FONT><A href="http://portside.org/archive" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/archive</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Tahoma> <BR>Contribute to Portside: </FONT><A href="https://portside.org/donate" target=_blank><FONT face=Tahoma color=#0068cf>https://portside.org/donate</FONT></A><BR></PRE></DIV>
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<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass" id=mpf0_MsgContainer><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color=black><WBR>Please see this article by a teacher. As you know we need to improve public education, but not by attacking teachers and public unions. It unfortunate that some non-profit community groups listed below have fallen into the corporate attack on public education. This response by a teacher, don't blame the teachers that do the hard work blame the corporations that want to destroy public education! This "don't hold us back" corporate funded campaign is an attack on teachers and UTLA. The so called pro community non-profits are now used to attack the teachers and their union!! What a shame! <BR><BR>
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<DIV>Carlos Montes</DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.csosite.org/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.csosite.org</FONT></A></DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://www.stopfbila.net/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.stopfbila.net</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.stopfbi.net/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.stopfbi.net</FONT></A></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #333333; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=2>Here is the link: </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A href="http://tinyurl.com/72ycdo5" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=2>http://tinyurl.com/72ycdo5</FONT></A><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></B></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">*******************************</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626"><FONT size=2>In an Era of Funding Darkness, Community Organizations Ally with Corporations, CEO’s</FONT></SPAN></B></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT size=2>NOVEMBER 6, 2011</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT size=2>By Martha Infante </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>It has been a few weeks since the latest salvo in education reform politics, and honestly, I had to calm down before I wrote about it. I am sure there is a reason why this latest campaign pushed my buttons, and the words indignant, meddlesome, and hubris come to mind.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>It was on a long 15 hour day when I returned home after teaching, conducting two parent meetings in the evening, and picking up donations for the Washington D.C. trip. As is customary, I read through my twitter feed to catch up on the latest news. A piece in the L.A. Weekly caught my eye:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>L.A. Charities & Minority Groups Tell United Teachers Los Angeles & LAUSD: ‘Don’t Hold Us Back’</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>I am a UTLA member. Who was I holding back?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>As I read Hilel Aron’s article, the realization dawned on me (as the temperature rose inside of me) that a group of local community organizations had come together and paid money to purchase a full page ad in the Los Angeles Times and La Opinion, citing the school district’s graduation rate as a concern, and asking me, a teacher, to settle my contract negotiations with the district in 30 days, so that I did not “hold students back.”</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>I saw white.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>I saw nothing else for several minutes as I tried to comprehend what I was reading. Thoughts jumbled in my mind:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Of all the factors that have contributed to the struggles of our students, we the teachers, THE TEACHERS, are the ones “holding students back?” </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Not the economy. Not the crime. Not the violence. Not the hunger. Not the fragmentation on the nuclear family. Not the lack of medical care and fresh food in the South Central community in which I work, but me, the teacher.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">They really spent thousands of dollars to buy this ad, buy a webpage? </SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Couldn’t the money used for this ad have helped the students that are hungry and homeless stay in their apartment for one more month, get that tooth taken care of?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Who are the experts in what is best for students? Educators or billionaires? Teachers or journalists? Unions or astrotorf orgs?</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"> I may be a parent, but when the doctor tells me how to take care of my daughter, I yield to the expert. When her 5th grade teacher shared his expertise on how to approach her math work, I listened and implemented. Parents play a huge role in the success of their children but we each have our own job to do; and it differs.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Perhaps what made me see white it is what I see on a daily basis that: colleagues constantly buying food for hungry students or uniforms for those who have stains and holes in theirs. Work done over the weekend and on vacation that is never, ever done. Time taken away from their own families to fill in the gaps left by absent parents lost to disease, vices, non-stop work, or death.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Certainly the ad was not what I needed to see at the end of a 15 hour work day or anyone else who has done the actual work of working in schools</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>There are three fatal flaws in the “Don’t Hold Us Back” campaign.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Teachers are not holding anyone back</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>We don’t need a contract to do right by children. We served children through whole language, fuzzy math, Open Court, and through NCLB. We find a way to make the best of policies imposed ON us by legislators and school board members passing through for </FONT><A href="http://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2011/06/when-is-giving-to-education-not-giving.html" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>bigger</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> and </FONT><A href="http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_19258893" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>better</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> gigs. I am not sitting at my desk waiting for my union and management to agree on the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement to differentiate my instruction for Derek, who already demonstrates coherent knowledge of the social, political, and economic realms of the medieval Muslim empire. Or to speak softly and literally to Sam, who has a clear case of emotional overexciteablity and cannot handle a stern voice. Or to realize that Kyle is an undiagnosed autistic student who needs double the help of his peers in staying organized.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>I will serve my students regardless of when my CBA is settled.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">The United Way et al, has no business interjecting into labor negotiations between me and my employer</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>My labor rights were acquired over a history of 50 years. For every right acquired, there was a reason for it, a struggle behind it. As an educator’s union, we live in an era where due to </FONT><A href="http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/08/08/californias-budget-woes-hit-neediest-students-the-hardest/" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>lack of funding</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>, ergo oversight, we are sometimes managed by a system that is </FONT><A href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-payroll2feb02%2c0%2c3329781.story" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>not in order itself</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>. We are the classroom experts however, and can and should have a say in what is best for schools, best for students, best for our profession. In this recession, I have said </FONT><A href="http://dontforgetsouthcentral.blogspot.com/2009/06/farewell-ms-sanlin.html" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>goodbye</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> to many colleagues who had no choice but to work in schools without the protection of a union. Not one has agreed that working without protections was more beneficial to the school and the student, and these were <B>some</B> of the best teachers I have had a chance to work with in my 20 year career. How can you be a good teacher if you have to use the restroom but don’t have a free minute until 1:00 p.m.? How can you be a master of your discipline if you are assigned to teach 5 different classes in one day, each which requires significant prep time? How can you teach children about responsibility and accountability if they are allowed to call you at 10:00 p.m. and ask what the homework assignment was?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><A href="http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/11/bill_gates_shows_us_how_much_c.html#.TrYO1xHli30.facebook" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>Active and awake teachers and activists </FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>were quick to </FONT><A href="http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2011/11/02/21229/school-reform-groups-dont-hold-us-back-exert-press#disqus_thread" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>connect the dots</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> (read Skeel’s comments) as to </FONT><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/education/22gates.html?pagewanted=all" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>why all of a sudden groups like the Urban League were entering the education reform business</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>. These dots should have been connected by the journalists, like Sam Dillon in the New York Times. But journalists themselves are more often becoming mouthpieces for the billionaires who own their corporations, tell the editorial boards what to think and write. The motivation behind this initiative is another story, told well by Jonah Edelman in a </FONT><A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2koz78pj7Y" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>candid moment of honesty</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>. What’s next? Civil rights groups arguing against civil rights?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Teachers do not need corporations, billionaires, and non-education based organizations telling them how to do their job</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>This is the battle educators have been fighting for many years now. Everyone from politicians, hedge-fund managers, bloggers, and now community orgs are trying their best to force me to implement their preferred reforms. I don’t need someone to tell me what will work; I figure that out on a daily basis in the classroom. Frequently, the reforms imposed on teachers are NOT in the best interest of students. Are we supposed to stay silent?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>As someone who was an inactive union member for most of my 20 years in teaching, </FONT><A href="http://dontforgetsouthcentral.blogspot.com/2009/03/message-from-teacher-in-south-central.html" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>my consciousness was raised</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> when I saw the devastation caused in my school and suffered by my students in the budgetary layoffs that began in 2009. I saw the power of a school community coming together instructionally, emotionally, and righteously…and it was destroyed instantly when our nation entered the financial crisis, causing cut after cut after cut. Those who survived the cuts were left behind to put the pieces back together, to look into our students’ eyes and tell them they mattered, that their beloved teachers would always be cheering them on, in spirit.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>No one, not one education reformer wants to address the effects of poverty on students, magnified by crime, violence, and recession. It’s as if these don’t exist. These reformers have demonstrated time after time their true lack of understanding of what students need first, </FONT><A href="http://marvista.patch.com/articles/space-for-a-new-building-at-walgrove-elementary-likely-to-be-offered-to-a-charter-school" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>and assault the characters of those </FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>who dare point it out (see comment by Marco Petruzzi)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Here are some of the demands of the “Don’t Hold Us Back” coalition (from </FONT><A href="http://www.laweekly.com/2011-10-27/news/progressives-find-religion-on-lausd-reform/" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>Progressives Find Religion on LAUSD Reform</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>):</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2><SPAN> </SPAN>a standard way to evaluate teacher performance;</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2><SPAN> </SPAN>an end to “last hired, first fired,” which looks solely at teacher seniority and not at the teacher; and</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2><SPAN> </SPAN>reinstituting full Public School Choice, which allows outside groups to run flailing public schools (in August, the school board temporarily barred charter schools from being allowed to take over schools under Public School Choice)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>You can have the strictest, most fierce CBA and it will still not quell the rumbles in a student’s stomach. It will however, allow districts rife with cronyism and nepotism to fire loud and pesky teachers at will.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Firing teachers with the lowest AGT will still not stop mom from doing drugs, dad from absent, students from resisting the lure of gangs, promiscuity, and drugs. It will however, cause teachers to flee to better schools, with easier to teach students to game their scores. The more you use tests for purposes other than for which they were designed, the more the data is corrupted (please look up </FONT><A href="http://www.schoolsmatter.info/search/label/Campbell%27s%20Law" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>Campbell’s Law</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>You can eliminate seniority protections in the era of layoffs but why aren’t these civil rights organizations joining Occupy Wall Street to avert layoffs in the first place? When we lost 23 teachers in 2009, we lost good ones, bad ones, and middle of the road ones. It was ugly, but fair. I have seen excellent teachers shunned and targeted in spite of labor rights; the possibilities of no rights for teachers is far worse than an anonymous seniority-based layoffs. Even the laid-off teacher will tell you that.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Public School Choice? An </FONT><A href="http://accomplishedcaliforniateachers.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/month-3-as-a-failing-school-the-hatchet-drops/" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>ill-conceived</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>, market-based reform based on the idea that threats and competition will make teachers and schools work harder.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>One has to wonder why these so-called civil rights groups advocating for the practice of giving away schools to charter organizations that have been proven </FONT><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/nyregion/charter-school-sends-message-thrive-or-transfer.html?pagewanted=all" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>over</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> and </FONT><A href="https://bitly.com/bundles/rdsathene/8" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>over</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> to not accept the same number of special education English learner students as the local public schools. Isn’t that the true civil rights issue? Why aren’t they funding full page ads against charter schools with sky-high attrition, or against Geoffrey Canada, the charter school CEO that </FONT><A href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/nov/11/myth-charter-schools/?pagination=false" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>kicked out an entire group of students</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> because of low test scores? Can they help my student’s parents who are denied access to local charters because of low grades/test scores/special ed designation?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>At best, all I can conclude is that these organizations have been misinformed. But my gut feeling and experience tell me this is a naive conclusion. Scores of folks who are themselves suffering the effects of the recession have found that compromising their principles for employment in the education reform industry will at least put food on the table, get more hits on their website, </FONT><A href="http://www.dfer.org/images/Gloria-Romero.jpg" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>get their names in the paper</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2> for their next election.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>This coalition has chosen to communicate through public channels, all made possible with funding from the billionaires. I will respond on the free WordPress blog and say this: you don’t speak for me, my students, or their families. </FONT><A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEKfGo9NuiA" target=_blank><B><SPAN style="COLOR: #63181b; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><FONT size=2>They can and have spoken for themselves</FONT></SPAN></B></A><FONT size=2>. You have offended my sensibilities to the core, and should be ashamed that you have chosen to advocate for market-based reforms instead of opening a true dialogue with teachers who have dedicated their lives to helping students.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Below are the groups responsible for the “Don’t Hold Us Back” campaign:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2> </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Edward J. Avila</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President, Alliance for a Better Community</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Elise Buik </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President and CEO, United Way of Greater Los Angeles</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">James Cuno</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President and CEO, The J. Paul Getty Trust</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">John Emerson</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Chairman Emeritus, Music Center</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">David Fleming </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Of Counsel, Latham & Watkins LLP* Founding Chair, LA County Business Federation</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Ronald Gastelum</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Attorney at Law*</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Russell Goldsmith</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Chairman and CEO, City National Bank</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Antonia Hernandez</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President and CEO, California Community Foundation</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Mickey Kantor</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Partner, Mayer Brown LLP</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">George Kieffer</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Stewart Kwoh</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President & Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Legal Center</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Andy Lipkis </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President, Tree People</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Cindy Miscikowski </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President, Board of Harbor Commissions Port of Los Angeles System</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Thomas M. Priselac</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President & CEO, Cedars Sinai Health System</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Robert K. Ross, M.D.</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President & CEO, The California Endowment</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">John H. Semcken III</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Vice President, Majestic Realty Co.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Robert Simonds</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>The Robert Simonds Company</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Steve Soboroff</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Soboroff Partners</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Blair Taylor</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President & CEO, Los Angeles Urban League</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Gary Toebben</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>President & CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Matthew A. Toledo</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>CEO & Publisher, Los Angeles Business Journal</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">John Mack</SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Vice President, Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners; Former President Los Angeles Urban League</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT size=2><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Other organizations include:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Communities for Teaching Excellence</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>The Community Coalition</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Inner City Struggle</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Council of Mexican Federations</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>East L.A. Community Corporation</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Families That Can</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Southern Christian Leadership Conference</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Educate Our State</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Watts/Century Latino Organization</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Parent Revolution</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Dream Team L.A.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Youth Policy Institute</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Youth Speak Collective</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT size=2>Union de Vecinos</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=2>Plaza Community Services</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=ecxMsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #262626; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Ed Trust West</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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