Ed Notes Online: Kentucky wildcat strikes

Showing posts with label Kentucky wildcat strikes. Show all posts

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Kentucky Mom "Goes Rogue" in Red State (By Siding with Teachers Instead of Union Leaders)

Right or wrong, the [Kentucky] sickout teachers voted with their feet. This is a big problem for school districts, but also for unions. The stated purpose of exclusive representation is that it brings labor peace because such differences are handled internally by the union and a single position is agreed upon. If a minority of teachers can shut down a district against the directives of their union, then there is in fact no exclusive representation.
Neither school districts nor unions seem to be contemplating the ramifications.... Mike Antonucci, EIA, Vox Populi?

Yes, labor peace -- we have seen that time and again - there is a partnership between a teacher union and the city and DOE -- they will stop sickouts and other wildcat actions. But when unions are weak, as they are in the red states, shit happens. In fact the unions tried to argue this to stop Janus -- that a weak union can lead to chaos from the ranks. Someone like me with Anarchist/libertarian tendencies, tend to have mixed feelings. While supporting a strong union, I also chafe under the yoke of a Unity Caucus dominated union. For those calling for change in the way the union is run there is often a contradiction in how far to go in being critical.

The situation in Kentucky is intriguing -- we have a revolt from below not only against the anti-union forces but also against their own official union leadership -- and both the left and the right are taking an interest. Here was my first report based on Antonucci on the sickouts in early March -- Kentucky One-Day Wildcat Sickout - Some want to co...

Here is a laugh out loud point from Mike:

Several large school districts shut down after the sickout was called by KY 120 United, identified as a grassroots organization of teachers, but one that apparently has some pull with district superintendents.
If that isn’t confusing enough, both the union and KY 120 United announced that teachers would return to work today, but a smaller wildcat faction rejected the idea.

I posted another Anonucci story about the wildcat actions - Kentucky Unions Attempt to Undercat Wildcat Action...
-- of course, the anti-teacher union Antonucci loves to post bad behavior about teacher unions even if highlighting the actions of teachers in revolt against their own unions which often lead to more fragmentation and a weakening overall.

But then again we have Randi and Mike and other bureaucrats who are running teacher unions. The left also goes after the leadership and hopes to build rank and file movements against them from below -- but that also gets complicated because even when they win power they get sucked into the political fray.

The Kentucky situation is interesting because the left critics of organized labor may be inserting itself on behalf of the wild-cat sick-outs ---- Antonucci reported the other day:

Yesterday I ran a column about the Kentucky Education Association and other union affiliates in the Jefferson County school system and their efforts to get a handle on the “rogue groups” that were organizing teacher sickouts. Their primary argument was that a small number of people were making decisions affecting the livelihoods of thousands of school employees.
“It’s 800 people deciding for ultimately 6,500 teachers and then all the rest of the employees,” said one union president.

Oh, the problem with a small number of people making decisions for the many, something we never see in the UFT/AFT.

Those rogues must be driving the Randis of this world crazy. Imagine if a school in NYC with an abusive principal that is being ignored by the UFT suddenly had a sick-out? I can't imagine --but I say to my friends who constantly remind me how bad things are in the schools -- why hasn't something like this happened? They often answer it is the fault of the UFT who don't mobilize people. Well, who has mobilized the rogues in Kentucky? Sometimes teachers have to take actions. And by the way, who mobilized the founders of the UFT when there was no union? My retired pal has dubber NYC teachers as New York's Meekest.

I came across this interesting podcast on the Kentucky wildcats from the left - What's Left. Here's what they say in the intro:

We interview Gay Adelmann, parent of two and co-founder of "Dear JCPS", a grass-roots parent/teacher alliance built to fight racist policies in education and the erosion of public education through charter schools and privatization. Gay describes her involvement in the recent fight to bust the teachers union and the attack on teachers pay and pension which has produced a recent wave of sick outs in Kentucky. This put her group on the firing line from politicians looking to sneak shady policies past the pubic and union leaders who would rather cut backroom deals than lead fightback. Her story of struggle and transformation is inspiring.

What’s Left? Website: https://what-s-left.webnode.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YoloZGh2To&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3k8-5D10VyowEe5VDLaLRPjjmoIt7l2M63znQAr5aYMsZ_cH9KPtLxwNQ

Mike Antonucci followed up with a critique of the union leaders who are attacking the wildcatters --- (http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2019/04/05/vox-populi/)

Vox Populi?

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"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What media call "philanthropy" for the public schools are actually seed monies to establish a private "market" in publicly-financed education - an enterprise worth trillions if successfully penetrated by corporate America. Cory Booker, one of the "New Black Leaders" financed by the filthy rich, is key to creating a "nationwide corporate-managed schools network paid for by public funds but run by private managers.

"Ed Reformers" want to cash in on public education and to control its content and outcome, not improve it. Provide great education? Baby boomers had as close as this country has ever gotten to it when we were growing up. The Ed Reform Movement has no interest in seeing such a well-educated, democratically astute population ever again.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/cory-booker-clear-and-present-threat-public-education

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

This award-winning series of articles by Jack Schierenbeck originally appeared in the New York Teacher in 1996 and 1997.

Naturally, from a certain point of view. But, despite certain biases, Schierenbeck, a great guy, was one of the best NY Teacher reporters so this is worth reading. Jack suffered a debilitating stroke many years ago (I used to get secret donations to ed notes from him through a 3rd source.)

This chapter looks interesting:

Class struggles: The UFT story, part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

Of course for another view, check out the review at New Politics of the Kahlenberg Bio on Shanker by Vera Pavone and me: Albert Shanker: Ruthless Neocon

Effective Union Organizing

A video series put together by Jason Mann from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers about social media and how to use it for effective union organizing.

The first series was called New Media For Union Activists Roadmap and it's still available on-line at:
http://www.newmediabootcamp.ca/welcome/
I watched some of them and need to rewatch as they are loaded with information.

The second series started last week and it's called "Online Campaigning for Union Activists"

You can sign up for this free series at :
http://act.bcfed.ca/online-campaigning-for-union-activists/

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

Ex-HSA Teacher has left a new comment on your post "Fear and Loathing at Evil's Harlem Success Empire ...":

I am a former Harlem Success teacher. Not many people who work/worked for her like her very much. I once made the comment that she is very nice when I first was hired. Two of her closest colleague responded immediately almost in unison, "Eve is not nice!" Over time I realized that there was a lot of political games going on. Another colleague once said to me that he was tired of "being part of a political campaign." Sending out 15,000 applications for only 400 seats in a school is reprehensible. The money that paid for those mass mailings could have paid the yearly salary of another teacher not to mention the heartache of all those parents who applied but did not get a spot. She does good work trying to give disadvantaged students a quality public school education but at a great cost to staff AND the school's educational budget! school budget.

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

“Waiting for Superman" is the second most intellectually dishonest piece of documentary work I have seen. It is surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," the pro-Hitler propaganda classic, in that regard. Uses personal narratives of adorable children to create narrative suspense that overrides public policy discussion with pure emotion in unscrupulous attack on teachers and their unions, among others

Timothy Tyson
Professor of African American Studies and History
Duke University

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

Even as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and others around the nation are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters. In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it’s ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.
- Leonie Haimson on Parents Across America web site

Full article with charts here.

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

According to a press release issued by the Gates Foundation, the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, these three have entered a ground-breaking partnership to evaluate teachers utilizing the drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. A bird-size device floats up to 400 feet above a classroom and instantly beams live video of teachers in action to agents at desks at Teacher Quality Inspection Stations established by the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

When asked if the drones were authorized to drop bombs on teachers who exhibit inadequacy, Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Gates money puts other methods at our disposal."

Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers said the powerful union has signed on to the drone project...

More at Substance

The Real Reason Behind Push for Standardized Tests: It's All About the Adults

On standardized testing in our schools

A must read article about the standardized test industry.
Written by an insider who has worked as a test scorer, the article outlines a multinational industry based on an army of temporary workers paid by the piece at $0.30 to $0.70 per test, translated in the need to grade 40 tests per hour to make a $12 salary. The article goes on to show how the companies gauge the grading "results" based on the need to ensure new contracts to continue profiting off of our youth. The original article is from Monthly Review. Here it is on Schools Matter blog.

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/12/on-growing-use-of-corporate-test.html

Parallels between America today and Germany in the 1920's and early 30's

"Resentment and obstruction are all the right wing in America have to peddle. Their policies are utterly discredited. Their ideology - even by its own standards - is a sham. They are so bereft of leaders, their de facto leader is a former drug addicted, thrice-divorced radio talk show host. That is literally the best they can muster. But they have built a national franchise inciting the downwardly mobile to blame the government, not the right, for their problems, exactly as Hitler did in the 1920s."

The US Is Facing a Weimar Moment

Published on Sunday, March 15, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings — though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.

Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

SEE MY VIDEO ON HARLEM SUCCESS RALLY 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI

Angel Gonzalez and I attended that rally and used the footage to promote our conference on Mar. 28, 2009, which is where the concept of a group like GEM emerged. Until then we had basically been a committee of ICE working with the NYCORE high stakes testing group. The actions of Eva and crew helped spawn GEM. Mommie Dearest!!

I have more video somewhere. I was hoping to get Leni Riefenstahl to edit it but she died. We would have called it "Triumph of the Hedge Fund Operators."

Ed Notes Extended

Sunday, April 7, 2019