Take me home, West Virginia - How will Red for Ed respond as Extreme Voucher Law passed to decimate Public Ed?

I see some of my colleagues salivating over the state teacher strike in West Virginia. Don't hold you breath here in NY. Maybe when the conditions of teachers ... Ed Notes, 2018 -

March 29, 2021 by Norm Scott

There was much hope here in Mudville about a trigger of militancy in NYC -  but I pointed out teachers in West Virginia were eating pet food - don't forget  - it's the economy, stupid, not the ideology.

[ See Diane Ravitch comment:West Virginia Passes Sweeping Voucher Bill].

One of my fave warriors against ed deform, Jennifer Berkshire with her writing

partner Jack Schneider, authors of Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door were interviewed today with one of my fave podcasters, Sam Seder, on Majority Report - listen to the wide ranging discussion of how ed deform got into the door and where it intends to take us to the end of public ed  - (https://youtu.be/ZX05_S17u9M). But let me focus on just one aspect of the interview.

Jennifer (also check out their podcast - Have you Heard) pointed out that West Virginia legislature passed the most oppressive voucher law you can imagine which fundamentally can kill the entire WV public school system and turn the state into what happened in New Orleans. I've been worried since the pandemic began that this will be an opportunity to tie a noose around public school systems - and watch all the people who are screaming about how important it is for kids to be in school jump ship to virtual learning when it becomes convenient. Jennifer pointed out how fundamentally this is all about saving money and since labor is the major cost of education, de-unionizing and de-skilling teachers is the goal. Since teacher unions are one of the major bulwarks of the Dem Party, I see the threat of killing our unions as greater than the voter suppression movements by Republicans.

The West Virginia story also got mentioned in the libertatian anti-union publication of Mike Antonucci - with maybe a bit of glee with the snarky Remember West Virginia?  But you know I still like Mike's coverage because it takes me out of the bubble and also feeds my own libertarian and cynical streak.

I get the snark since the left made such a major deal about the Red for Ed movement that began in WV and spread to other red states - Oklahoma, Kentucky and Arizona. The teacher unions in these right to work states are fairly weak and without a grassroots movement spanning left and right, the ability to resist Republican moves to destroy the movement will be weak if there is an resistance.

My thoughts went back to how a red state which gave Trump his biggest per centage victory despite a long pro-labor history had a wildcat teacher strike that closed every school in the state. There are no charters in WV and at the time I thought the powers that be will never allow teachers to wield such power again. And the recent voucher law was retribution.  

The question is what will be the response and if there isn't one does that mean red for ed is wounded or dead?

The West Virginia teacher strike action three years ago (see wiki) and the New Yorker take) led to all kinds of speculation and inspired entire books, even from the Unity caucus resident leftist Leo Casey has a book  - and an interview with Randi - The Teacher Insurgency: A Conversation with Leo Casey and Randi Weingarten. but even more so from groups to the left of Leo - Labor Notes, Jacobin - see links at the bottom.

I covered the strike as did James on the ICE blog and started searching links on Ed Notes and google but there is so much out there I realized why I don't blog so much anymore - providing full context takes work. Do a full seach for West Virginia in the search box on top of the side panel and you will get loads of stuff but here a few quick hits:

West Virginia: Do-It-Yourself Class Struggle ... - Ed Notes Online

ednotesonline.blogspot.com › 2018/03 › west-virginia-do.

West Virginia: Do-It-Yourself Class Struggle - Jacobin. One lesson from the West Virginia teachers' strike is clear: nobody is coming to save us. We'll have to do it ...

West Virginia Mountain mamma, take me home ... - Ed Notes Online

And I wrote: I see some of my colleagues salivating over the state teacher strike in West Virginia. Don't hold you breath here in NY. Maybe when the conditions of teachers ... [fill in the blank  along the lines of SUCK AS BAD.

Given that many teachers in WV were probably Trump supporters, the strike made for some interesting analysis and we did hear that socialists and DSA played a role in the organizing efforts. Also interesting was the role the state and national unions from the AFT and NEA played both in the level of cooperation and cmpetition. I talked to some teachers at the time who told me some school had members of each and they do compete for members. But as usual, they were tailing behind the rank and file - both right and left and center wing in militancy, often urging caution. 

One of the outcomes of the strike was the formation of a statewide rank and file caucus - WV United Caucus - along the lines of other left DSA type caucuses like in Chicago, Los Angelos and MORE in the UFT. (I had intended to write about them when I first heard of them). They seem to have been somewhat quiet and we would expect some reaction to the voucher law.

Mike Antoucci also covered the red for ed strikes from the libertatian-right and here is his take today where he mentions that the caucus didn't win any positions in the state union elections but I imagine those elections are not very democratic. 

Here is his full piece today - with a bit of the usual cynicism.

https://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2021/03/29/remember-west-virginia/

Remember West Virginia?

We haven’t heard much from West Virginia since teachers there launched the 2018 strike that inspired the #RedforEd movement. It looks as though when the shouting stopped, there wasn’t anything to write about.

Most of the educators who ran for office in 2018 lost, and those that won were mostly incumbents. The group that organized the strike didn’t fare any better in internal union elections. The WV United Caucus has been silent for months.

The press moved on to other pastures, leaving Jayme Metzgar of The Federalist alone to report this:

Last week, with very little noise or fanfare, the West Virginia legislature passed the most expansive Education Savings Account program in America. While ESAs in most states are only open to a small percentage of children, the new West Virginia Hope Scholarship will be available to 90 percent of schoolchildren in the state. Every child currently enrolled in public school is eligible, plus those newly aging in.

“The unions don’t like the bill, but our phones aren’t ringing. We aren’t getting emails. It’s nothing like last time,” said the chair of the Senate Education Committee.

There has been little follow-up to the changes, or lack thereof, in the #RedforEd states. Is no news good news?

 And some links from the left:

The Myths and Realities of the Education Strike Wave - Jacobin

www.jacobinmag.com › 2019/04 › red-state-revolt-revi...

Apr 26, 2019 — Review of Red State Revolt, by Eric Blanc (Verso, 2019). There has been a tendency to mythologize West Virginia's nine-day education strike.

The Lessons of West Virginia - Jacobin

www.jacobinmag.com › 2018/03 › west-virginia-wildc...

Mar 9, 2018 — By: Eric Blanc. West Virginia's historic wildcat strike has the potential to change everything. West Virginia teachers, students, and supporters hold signs on a Morgantown street as they continue their strike on March 2, 2018 in ...

West Virginia's Political Strike Wins Big - Jacobin

jacobinmag.com › 2019/02 › west-virginia-teachers-pol...

Feb 20, 2019 — By: Eric Blanc. Within hours of going on strike, West Virginia educators defeated a dangerous education privatization bill. They've again ...

The Teacher Strikes Could Set Off a Private Sector Strike ...

inthesetimes.com › article › teacher-strikes-eric-blanc-re...

May 15, 2019 — In his new book Red State Revolt: The Teachers' Strike Wave and ... writer and former teacher Eric Blanc details the history of these teachers strikes while ... As rank-and-file West Virginia strike leader Emily Comer told Blanc, ...

The DSA's dishonest and self-serving account of the US ...

www.wsws.org › articles › 2019/08/08 › reds-a08

Aug 8, 2019 — A new book by Democratic Socialists of America member Eric Blanc reviewing the role of the DSA during the teacher strikes in West Virginia, ...

Red State Revolt: The Teachers' Strike Wave and Working ...

www.amazon.com › Red-State-Revolt-Teachers-Politics

55 Strong: Inside the West Virginia Teachers' Strike by Elizabeth Catte Paperback $19.18 ... “Eric Blanc's compelling new book, Red State Revolt, is a thoroughly ...

School Scope: Red State Teacher Rebellion Spreads to Blue State Cities- Norm in The Wave

50,000 marched in Los Angeles to support teacher union

Here is my column for the Dec. 28 edition of The WAVE:

School Scope: Red State Teacher Rebellion Spreads to Blue State Cities

By Norm Scott

One of the major events in education over the past year were the teacher revolts in heavy duty Trump states: West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and the increasingly purple Arizona. These were state-wide revolts, all in places with relatively weak state teacher unions, which did not lead or even support some of the early actions by the rank and file, but jumped on board when they saw which way the wind is blowing. Many of the teachers were Trump supporters.

Now we are poised to see the first big city in the bluest of states join the fray with the successful Chicago charter school teacher strike and the upcoming Los Angeles Teachers Union (UTLA) strike in January. And in Oakland, teachers are increasingly restive, with one group going on a wildcat (no official union leadership support) sick out. While the Oakland wildcats came from the rank and file, Chicago and LA actions are union led.

A report from Capital and Main, a California newsletter:

“Two California teachers unions, which are currently deadlocked in separate contract talks with their respective school districts, are on the verge of launching the West Coast’s biggest teacher walkout since 1989. What happens next will decide far more than fair wages for career educators. At stake are broader principles of equity, expressed as contract demands for smaller class sizes and less testing, the addition of sufficient health and social services staff, and an investment in community schooling and fair funding — aimed at restoring public education as a public good for all Californians, rather than as a private interest granted to the lucky few…” -- https://capitalandmain.com/learning-curves-los-angeles-and-oakland-teachers-rally-amid-deadlocked-contract-talks-1214

The Los Angeles teacher union is led by a very progressive group with Alex Caputo-Pearl as the leader. He has a very firm vision of a teacher union being focused on issues beyond the membership but also inclusive of the students, their families and their communities. Any teacher knows that the conditions their students live in has an enormous impact on their working conditions. And the reverse is also true. Satisfied and happy teachers have a positive impact on the learning conditions of students.

Chicago Teacher Union rank and file at 15 charter schools vote overwhelmingly to approve contract in wake of first strike of charter operator in U.S. history… Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).

Educational historian Diane Ravitch comments: The billionaire backers of charter schools must be furious. The teachers at one of Chicago’s biggest charter chains organized a union and negotiated successfully for higher pay, smaller classes, and protection of their students from ICE. The main reason the billionaires support charter schools is to snuff out unions and their demands.

And speaking of wealthy charter backers, this headline caught my eye: U.S. “Working” to Extradite Cleric to Turkey. The cleric is the reclusive Fethullah Gullen, who has established the largest network of charter schools in the this nation, though they hide their connections to Gullen. He is the major enemy of thuggish Turkey President Erdogan, equally despicable. Hmmm, who to root for? If Gullen is sent back to Turkey, the fate of his charters, all non-union, may hang in the balance.

Michael Moore film and education

Last week, Rockaway Women for Progress sponsored the latest Moore film, Where to Invade Next. Moore “invades” a variety of  nations to “steal” their best ideas to bring back to us. He examines the education system in Finland, which is often considered a model and is in many ways diametrically opposite to the system we have here in the states. Testing is minimal, neighborhood schools are supreme, there are no competitive charters, and 100% of the teachers, who have a major role in educational policy, are in the union.

I’ll close with this: Examine the history of nationalism over the past 150 years and the ensuing wars before jumping on board that train.

See Norm hop off that train at ednotesonline.com.

-->

Can Weak Unions Get Teachers More Money? - NY Times

In West Virginia, by contrast, the weakness of the unions left workers no choice but to take the lead. And the unions were in no position to resist. “I said the unions won’t start the movement, but if it hits critical mass, they’ll have to join in,” said Ryan Frankenberry, West Virginia director of the Working Families Party... NY Times

This is a very interesting piece sent to me by Abigail. I've been putting forth the theme for a long time that the stronger the union leadership -- ie. - Unity - the weaker the militancy from the rank and file because the union structure keeps a lid on and has the infrastructure to deflect or kill insurgencies.

An anti-Janus argument has been that unions control the workers and prevent wild-cat actions. I predicted that in NY State the politicians would set up post-Janus protections for the UFT since it is a partner and that process has begun with the Cuomo push to give  unions the right not to represent non-members. I bet more protection is to come - especially in the area of sole bargaining rights, which are weakened in right to work states. In other words, say of 20% of the UFT left and began to organize a counter union. In some states that is easier than others depending on state laws.s

This has been one of my major push backs within MORE against the proposal passed at the April 28 meeting to try to connect the red state insurgencies to the UFT by creating pressure from below to force the Unity/UFT leaders to engage in strike preparation. See South Bronx for complete proposal (MORE Presents It's Contract Demands of the UFT (Seriously)), which I will dissect in future posts (and probably get attacked within MORE for doing so.)

I have made the point that beside so many differences between NYC and West V et al (how many people in MORE have to work 2nd jobs to make ends meet?) the major difference is the weakness of union hierarchy (and due to right to work state laws, competition between the NEA and AFT for members) and the absolute strength of the UFT/Unity machine.

That in the face of this the MORE proposal also calls for MORE to not run in the 2019 UFT elections and focus instead on its strike prep campaign, only makes Unity even stronger. So go figure the logic of the MOREs.

The NYT article makes the point that the red state movements coming out of the rank and file are not sustainable without a union infrastructure and non-teaching union leaders somehow often just don't feel the pain and are less militant than classroom teachers who are fed up.

It is a must read:

Can Weak Unions Get Teachers More Money?

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/05/05/sunday-review/unions-teachers-money-strike.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsunday

By Noam Scheiber

May 5, 2018

On Thursday, a weeklong walkout by teachers in Arizona resulted in a major victory, as the state’s governor approved a 10 to 20 percent wage increase and a significant investment in public schools.

That followed a roughly $6,000 salary increase that Oklahoma teachers won by threatening a walkout (and later following through). Which in turn came on the heels of a 5 percent raise for teachers in West Virginia, who had shut down schools for almost two weeks.

The teachers were intent on making a statement. “No funding, no future!” they chanted in Oklahoma. And their mantra seemed to carry the day.

That all this took place in so-called right-to-work states, where the power of unions is limited, raises some interesting questions: Do weak unions go hand-in-hand with more effective political activism? Would strong organized labor prevent teachers from getting their way? After all, in Wisconsin, a state where unions were famously powerful, public sector workers suffered a historic defeat at the hands of Gov. Scott Walker in 2011.

Yet the reality is closer to the opposite.

Strong unions tend to be effective at securing gains for workers. Weak unions often shortchange the rank and file. The data show that workers in heavily unionized areas earn a significant premium over workers in lightly unionized areas. And unless the teacher movements in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona breathe new life into unions, or birth lasting institutions to replace them, they are likely to be short-lived.

Perhaps counterintuitively, one need look no further than Wisconsin to appreciate the benefits of strong unions. The measures enacted by Governor Walker — which ended teachers’ ability to bargain collectively over anything but base wages and required the unions to win annual “recertification” votes to officially stay intact — should by all rights have destroyed public employee unions across the state. By some measures they did. Membership collapsed after 2011, from half of public employees to just over one quarter within five years.

But in certain parts of the state, the unions have not only remained viable, they’ve become more aggressive.

Consider Racine, a city of about 75,000 in southeastern Wisconsin, whose teachers have voted overwhelmingly to retain their union.

Just before the Walker measures were enacted, the union secured a two-year extension of its favorable contract — with strict rules on class size, staffing and evaluation procedures. When that contract ended, the union saw to it that most of the key elements were inserted into a “handbook,” said Peter Knotek, a recent president. That included a requirement that the district consult with the union on policy changes.

In 2015, the president of the Racine school board tried to eliminate this provision. His effort narrowly failed, but the teachers were not so forgiving. The union recruited candidates for the nine school board seats and locked down eight of them in the next year’s election.

“We were pursuing an agenda of growing power independent of any other institution in the community,” Aaron Eick, one of Mr. Knotek’s successors as union president, said in an interview last week.

The teachers’ union in Racine is proof that strong unions provide more than just wage increases and protection from arbitrary bosses. They provide a kind of social glue — making members feel invested in a larger mission and promoting a sense of solidarity. Thanks to their involvement in the union, Racine teachers immediately understood the threat that Governor Walker’s plan posed. Hundreds trooped to the capital to resist it.

“Very scared and conservative people were like, ‘All right, fine,’” Mr. Eick said. “People who you never would have thought would participate” got involved.

In West Virginia, by contrast, it was years before teachers rose up to protest their eroding standard of living.

Beginning in 2014, after the Republican-controlled Legislature refused to increase funding for health insurance, foisting benefit cuts and cost increases onto public sector workers, the teachers’ unions pleaded their case to lawmakers. But the unions were ineffectual because they struggled to rile up their membership. Even in many counties where the unions were active, most members were disengaged.

Nicole McCormick, a music teacher who helps lead the Mercer County local, said, “It was like the same 15 faces at every meeting,” even though there were hundreds of members. For the rest, she added: “I was having to say the same thing 25 times and they still wouldn’t understand. ‘What do you mean? What legislation?’”

Worse, the lack of collective bargaining rights set teachers against one another, distracting them from external threats. Without collective bargaining, no one union can operate as the exclusive representative of teachers in a county. In that vacuum, at least two unions competed to scare up members.

“The unions spend a lot of time trying to out-recruit the other one,” said Jay O’Neal, a seventh-grade English teacher from Charleston who was a leader of the protest movement.

Mr. O’Neal and his colleagues were remarkably successful at building momentum for the walkout through a Facebook group. But they won only a down payment on what they’d hoped for. The health insurance issue was deferred to a task force that began public hearings last week — not coincidentally, long after the fervor had subsided.

Mr. O’Neal observed that “we’ve seen people fall off, not be as involved” since the strike was resolved in March, pointing to another problem with weak unions: It is much easier to rouse people for a single, high-profile fight than for sustained advocacy. For that you need institutions that carry on the struggle while workers get on with their daily lives.

“I think sometimes it’s a little glib for people on the political left to say we should just have a more fired-up base,” said Joseph Slater, an expert on public employee unions at the University of Toledo College of Law. “Workers have full-time jobs.”

Of course, strong unions can bring their own baggage. Leaders can grow remote from their membership. A union’s strength may give it irrational confidence that it can defeat threats through conventional politics — like elections and lobbying — rather than more radical measures, like work stoppages.

In West Virginia, by contrast, the weakness of the unions left workers no choice but to take the lead. And the unions were in no position to resist. “I said the unions won’t start the movement, but if it hits critical mass, they’ll have to join in,” said Ryan Frankenberry, West Virginia director of the Working Families Party, who advised Mr. O’Neal and his colleagues.

But, in the end, there is no substitute for a strong union in a long-term struggle against powerful antagonists. And even the West Virginia walkout would have been impossible without the unions, which presided over an authorization vote in every county. “You can’t organize a strike on Facebook, even if everyone sounds really excited,” said Cathy Kunkel, an organizer with the progressive group Rise Up West Virginia who helped teachers strategize.

To really get teachers marching in lock step, Ms. Kunkel said, they needed the heft of a union.

School Scope: Red State Teachers in Revolt – Can It Happen Here?

Published at www.rockawave.com on Friday April 6, 2018

School Scope: Red State Teachers in Revolt – Can It Happen Here?

By Norm Scott
April 2, 2018

As I write this on Monday morning, teachers in Oklahoma are on strike, following up on the 9 day strike in West Virginia and last Friday’s walkout by teachers in Kentucky (over pension cuts) which is continuing today. Arizona teachers are also threatening to strike. Many of these actions are wildcat strikes, meaning they are not being called by the unions themselves but by a membership in revolt, not only against the state, but their own union leaderships which have been forced to go along. “Union leaders haven’t been aggressive enough. We need to be more aggressive,” said Kentucky teacher Nema Brewer, one of the organizers.

That all these states are right-to-work (RTW) red states who voted for Trump by vast margins is no accident. Super majority Republican control of these states have cut taxes so much, especially on the energy companies, education has been cut to the bone, including teacher salaries. And since union members in RTW states don’t have to pay union agency shop fees, the union structures in these states are weakened, thus not having the infrastructure in place to control the members.

I assume most of the teachers in revolt are not left wing or even liberals. A number of them may have even voted for Trump. Usually in strikes you hear attacks against outside agitators. Not in these cases, as the revolts are truly from the grass roots. Are some of the deplorables engage in a militant revolt, including their own leadership? I know people who voted for Trump just because they were generally pissed off and are very militant against the Democrats who sold out teachers and the teacher unions that support them. This militancy may be carrying over into their unions.

The Supreme Court, in the Janus case, is about to make every state, including NY, RTW. One of the arguments used against Janus is that the unions are often partners with the states and in essence help restrain the members. I wonder if these red state teacher revolts, coming so soon before the Court rules, will influence the Justices.

What does that mean for militancy here in NYC where we have the largest and most entrenched union leadership in the nation, where Unity Caucus has enormous reach? Now if 30% leave the UFT, that is a massive reduction in incoming dues. The patronage machine and possibly the high salaries that keeps them coming to Unity take a hit and Unity begins to lose some control - and if people in the schools get pissed off enough, who knows? But I'm a realist. But my guess is that the politicians in NYS know better - to make sure the UFT leaders remain as strong as possible to assure there are no teacher revolts here. Watch Cuomo and the Democrats figure out ways to help the unions keep collecting dues since they know full well the leaders of the UFT are their friends.

Hear an audio feed of a conversation with West Virginia and Oklahoma teachers at: https://www.facebook.com/jacobinmag/videos/2087299477963409/

Norm is always revolting at ednotesonline.com

Are NYC UFT Members Ready to Pull a Red State Teacher Rebellion? What Would it Take?

There are a group of people in MORE who think the militancy of

UFT negotiating strategy

teachers in the red states can be translated to NYC. Others, knowing the mentality of the people they work with, have their doubts. That doesn't mean MORE should sit on its hands. Not to accept the Unity argument we can't win anything back we lost. Put forth a package of demands that include working conditions for a school system we would be happy to work in instead of the Unity acceptance of the pattern and no more. MORE is in the process of doing that.

A story on Tuesday's Brian Lehrer show included an interview with an Oklahoma 38-year teacher who makes around $44k a year and has about 4 jobs. A teacher from New Jersey called in who makes 90K a year. The OK guy practically swallowed his phone.

Then Brian looked up NYC salaries and said starting salary next year will be over 60k. And top of course is going to be 118K. Taking cost of living into account NYS is 17th in real salary. The red states are near the bottom. Here is the promo:

On Monday, teachers in Kentucky and Oklahoma walked out of school to protest cuts in pay, benefits and school funding. Josh Eidelson, labor reporter at Bloomberg News, and Lawrence Lane, a history teacher from Checotah, Oklahoma, and an OEA member, talk about the strikes, which have grown in force since starting in West Virginia earlier this year.

Have a listen to the 19 minute segment:

The salary issue in the red states is crucial -- they haven't had a raise in a decade since the recession cuts. Here in NYC people may bitch about the retro - but do you think retro pay is even on the table? WV people got a 5% raise. Imagine if they said they wouldn't go back without retro pay.

Now the smart thing coming from the instincts of people in the trenches has been building coalitions outside the teacher circle - gettting parents on their side, but also non-teaching union members who are part of the education landscape -- ie, school bus drivers.

There are other issues in the red states where education has been cut to the bone and teachers are working under horrendous conditions. Their fire is aimed at the governors and state legislatures. While we saw the teachers in Wisconsin slaughtered, this is a new ballgame.

Are teachers here in NYC working under similar horrendous conditions? Reading the blogs you'd think they are. Not being in the schools all I can tell is that Danielson, discipline, large classes, abusive supervisors are some key issues. When I go to MORE meetings or to Delegate Assemblies and Ex Bd meetings people complain but I don't get that there is some flash point that would actually make teachers go out on strike. In fact I don't hear as many complaints from the MORE people about their working conditions as I do on the blogs. Could it be that the MOREs have managed to find reasonably safe schools for themselves and thus don't feel the same pressure teachers working under ogres feel. (See the post from Art and Design HS teachers which is getting a lot of hits - Dear Mr. Mulgrew: The UFT chapter at the High School of Art and Design has been living under distress and oppression for the past two years.

Another factor is that these are wildcat actions - out of the classrooms, not the union leaderships, which are jumping on board. I've been reporting that these relatively weak union leaderships have opened up space for people in the schools to organize. Facebook has been a key organizing tool, thus allowing them to communicate with each other without the filter of the union mechanisms. Some pages grew to 20,000 people in no time. You've got to reach a point of desperation to be willing to lose your job -

There is no sense of desperation here in NYC by massive numbers of teachers. Or of there is they just leave the system.

We have Unity Caucus running the union and their machine with the district reps as middle managers have access to every school and every UFT members and the ability to dampen enthusiasm for job actions while also threatening people with the consequences of an illegal strike - 2 for 1 penalties for every day on strike for the teachers and for the union itself, massive fines.

Can there be wildcat actions here in NYC? Hard to imagine that happening. Imagine if even 10 schools went out en masse, especially since the UFT would tell them "I told you so" and abandon them.

We might see pockets of blue flu stuff where large numbers of people call in sick --  In essence that may be happening without our knowing in schools with horrendous supervisors. I imagine the absentee rate in these schools is higher.

A massive blue flu might keep DOE legal happy. I can see possibly some people starting a facebook page and getting a response but Unity trolls would jump on to disparage it.

So what issues might spur people to greater militancy?

If they try to take shit away.

That was an issue in Kentucky where they are trying to cut pensions. What impressed me about the KY teachers was that they are protesting the attempt to fundamentally eliminate guaranteed pensions for newbies -- the unborn as we used to call it.*

Here in NYC I can see the masses stirring (a bit) if there is an attempt to take away what people have. The major threat seems to be healthcare reductions. Read James Eterno at the ICE Caucus blog: http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/pba-files-for-binding-aritration-will.html.
Make sure to read the comments -- and comment yourself.

James reports on the offer to the police - PBA.

The City’s latest purported offer to NYC PBA members is the worst they have seen so far, featuring dramatic increases in out-of-pocket health benefit costs and other givebacks that would effectively wipe out the paltry wage increases they would receive. Among the City’s startling demands:

The health benefits reductions similar to those the de Blasio administration is seeking to obtain from the entire city workforce through the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), including the imposition of new medical deductibles, as well as a tiered copayment structures intended to drive members to utilize City-run Health + Hospitals Corporation hospitals and their affiliated doctors. For example, members who utilize top-tier hospitals and their affiliated doctors instead of HHC facilities would see their hospital in-patient copayments increase from the current $300 to $3,000 and their primary care doctor and specialist co-payments increase from the current $15 to $40.

A 57% reduction in the City’s contributions to the PBA Health & Welfare Funds, which provide NYC PBA members with prescription drug coverage and other benefits. This move would result in dramatic reductions in or the complete elimination of benefits provided to PBA members.

The elimination of the PBA Annuity Fund for both current members and future hires.

Along with thes draconian givebacks, the de Blasio administration is demanding that NYC PBA members accept below-inflation raises totaling 3.25% over two years, including months of zero raises.

Is this enough to stir the pot in the UFT?

Some of my pals in MORE seem to think they can be the straw that stirs the drink by agitating around the new contract. I'm betting on the Unity machine being able to counter whatever MORE throws up against the wall, hoping it will stick.

Let me repeat. That doesn't mean MORE should sit on its hands. Not to accept the Unity argument we can't win anything back we lost. Put forth a package of demands that include working conditions for a school system we would be happy to work in instead of the Unity acceptance of the pattern and no more. MORE is in the process of doing that.

But look down the road a few years to post-Janus and we may see a different landscape if the Unity patronage machine is weakened and they no longer have the personnel to blanket the schools with their message of caution. If MORE is still around then, who knows?

*Mayor Giulianni tried to do something along those lines against newbies in the 1995 contract -- I remember some kind of fee newbies would have to pay and would get back only if they stayed in the system for a certain amount of years. Believe it or not, that was a key issue in the rejection of  the contract by UFT members for the only time in history. The bigger issue was raising the number of years to reach top salary from 20 to 25 years. Female teachers went nuts, feeling they were hit harder because of the years they took for child care. The reworked contract cut it to 23 years.

Republican Oklahoma Teacher to Republican Legislature: This is bigger than party politics

See this Republican teacher lay it on.
Thanks to Jim Horn at Schools Matter for the link. 

https://vimeo.com/263047228



MSNBC_04-03-2018_15.57.27 from Martin Cizmar on Vimeo.

===
Washingtom Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/04/02/teachers-are-walking-out-in-multiple-states-blame-gop-economics/?utm_term=.9a123b2b4d7f&__twitter_impression=true

The Plum Line | Opinion

Teachers are walking out in multiple states. Blame GOP economics.

By Paul Waldman

April 2, 2018 at 1:39 PM

MUST READ - Kentucky United We Stand - Teachers in Revolt - Jacobin

..... One thing I’ve laughed about is that the politicians blame the teachers’ union for all these rallies, uprisings, and actions. They’ve vilified the unions. So when the sickouts happened, I hope the legislators shit their pants. Because the sickouts had nothing to do with the union — workers just said enough is enough. The Republicans have been lying to themselves, saying that this is all happening because of the big bad unions. But it’s actually the work of pissed off moms and dads.
.......People need to understand that right now we’re not fighting for anything new — we just want to hold on to what we have. And it’s not just about teachers, it’s about all state employees....
..... We formed Kentucky United We Stand as a grassroots group of state employees — all public employees, not just teachers. The purpose was to unify a bunch of folks who don’t have a real union presence; a lot of public employees don’t have a strong union.... ....Kentucky United We Stand was the main organizer of a rally on November 1 to oppose the plans for a special session. About a thousand people came.
.... When we started our Facebook group, it was consciously for action. We were very clear and upfront from the beginning. If you’re not ready to fight, then this group’s not for you.
 -----

EB: How have you related to the main union, the Kentucky Education Association (KEA)?

NB:  I don’t want to talk bad about the union. The KEA put out a good call to educate the people in our community about the attacks on pensions and schools. And they’ve done a good job of getting people to the capitol every day over last few weeks. We’ve had rolling protests in Frankfurt throughout this whole session.But my biggest reason for starting #120 Strong was that the union leaders haven’t been aggressive enough. Our general message was: “We need to be more aggressive and we need to be united.” We realized that if we didn’t build unity, this struggle wasn’t going to win. 

----

EB:  This is some pretty amazing work that you’ve done. Have you been involved in organizing anything like this before?

NB:  Not really. I’ve never been a labor leader or had any experience organizing on this scale. But my dad is a mineworker and he’s fighting for his pension. I said two years ago that I was going to fight for my dad’s pension, so I started trying to get involved and I started following state issues.Working people, that’s my focus. But I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m a mom, I have a ten-year old. I like to drink beer, have a cigar every so often, and cuss a lot. I’ve been telling everyone in the struggle: This isn’t about me, this is your movement. I just helped open the door. This is a struggle of regular working people. I’m not anything, not a labor organizer. I’m just a mom that got really pissed off — and really tired of getting kicked by the people in power. This movement is what America should be. Nobody is going to change the world for you. If you’re waiting for superman, he’s not showing. You have to be your own hero.

--- Nema Brewer, Kentucky teacher who was a major organizer of the current fightback

Jacobin has some of the best reporting on the red state teacher revolts. Eric Blanc (EB) has done a lot of the reporting. Now I don't know if Nema Brewer was a Trump voter, many of whom voted for him because they just don't trust politicians, Dems or Rep. I wish some of the reporting would explore the politics of some of the strikers.

I've been working on a theory -- that there are Trump people involved in some of these teacher actions -- that the anger that fueled  their Trump votes is also fueling their enough is enough actions as teachers.

“This Is a Struggle of Regular Working People”

An interview with

Nema Brewer

Kentucky schools are shut down today amid a growing grassroots worker rebellion. We spoke with one rank and filer who helped organize the action.

Schools across Kentucky were shut last Friday and will be closed again on Monday as teachers and public employees organized sickouts against cuts to their pensions. Jacobin’s Eric Blanc spoke with Nema Brewer, a school district employee and organizer in Fayette County, about the emergence and development of this powerful movement.

https://jacobinmag.com/2018/04/kentucky-teachers-public-workers-strike-pensions-budget

Fred Klonsky on Red State Teacher Revolts - Do Weakened Union Leaderships Lead to Stronger Rank and File Movements?

Unions and collective bargaining are also a means of control and provide labor peace.....

The movement is taking place on Facebook and Twitter. Not in NEA or AFT offices and union meetings. That makes things difficult to control. The Koch Brothers, Governor Rauner and others who are backing Janus may be sorry they ever brought this whole thing up..... .... Fred Klonsky,

“Aunty Em! Aunty Em!” , Fred Klonsky

Will Red State Teacher Revolts influence the Supreme Court in the Janus case? The argument made by unions in the Janus case that they are part of the structure that keeps labor peace may just resonate.

What does that mean for militancy here in NYC where we have the largest and most entrenched union leadership where Unity Caucus can reach out to every single UFT member? We will be the last to strike unless Janus weakens Unity Caucus. How? If 30% leave the UFT that is a massive reduction in incoming dues. The patronage machine and possibly the high salaries that keeps them coming to Unity take a hit and Unity begins to lose some control - and if people in the schools get pissed off enough, who knows? But I'm a realist. There are so many teachers not from here - they can always go home - and so many are younger and without families - the major gripers are the old timers it seems - and they are making over 100 grand. So do I expect militancy from the membership? Not much. Some of my pals in MORE actually think they can help spark militancy. Good luck to that.

But my guess is that the politicians in NYS know better - to make sure Unity is as strong as they can keep it so red state teacher revolts don't happen here.

One more point I will make again and again. Look at the photos of the striking teachers -- very white. And I bet there are a whole batch of militant people branded by the left as "deplorables."  The kind of people my left friends in MORE keep telling me are not activists.

Fred nails important points as an explanation for the red state teacher revolts - they are somewhat freed to engage in wildcat strikes that are illegal because their union leaders have less control. There is not a strong enough union structure to control the members in red states where the teacher unions are weakened.

Posted by

Fred Klonsky on March 31, 2018

“Aunty Em! Aunty Em!”

What do West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky all have in common?

Well, yes. Teachers have all walked off the job in those states, or threatened to, in the last few weeks over lousy pay.
They are all part of what I call the rolling national teacher revolt.
Also, they are all in right-to-work states.

That means teachers have limited bargaining rights and the teachers unions there are not able to require membership in exchange for representation.

Yesterday teachers in Kentucky called in sick and Kentucky schools had to close one day early in advance of Spring break.
In Arizona teachers held what Education Week called an “electrifying rally.”

In the shadows of the State Capitol, thousands of Arizona teachers decked in red demanded Wednesday that their state government pump $1 billion back into the public school system and provide school workers with a 20 percent pay increase. If their demands aren’t met, their leaders said, they’ll stage a statewide strike.

This is not the end of the rolling national teacher revolt. Twenty seven states have right-to-work laws.

And the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the case of Janus. If the Court rules in favor of the plaintiff then all America becomes a collection of 50 right-to-work states.

Fifty states where unions are limited in what they can bargain and cannot require agency fees or membership.

You don’t need a crystal ball to know what’s coming if that happens.

Collective bargaining and union membership result in higher wages and benefits for teachers, better working conditions and teacher voice. That’s good for students and their families too.

Unions and collective bargaining are also a means of control and provide labor peace.

The opposite is what you now see in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky.

Many of the teachers slapped on top of their bright red shirts stickers that reminded the many local TV cameras that a strike is possible. 
For a movement that’s largely taken place on Facebook and Twitter, Wednesday also served as a sort of family reunion where teachers working in far-flung districts met each other in person for the first time. 

The movement is taking place on Facebook and Twitter.
Not in NEA or AFT offices and union meetings.
That makes things difficult to control.

The Koch Brothers, Governor Rauner and others who are backing Janus may be sorry they ever brought this whole thing up.