The NY Times actually mentions Indian Slave pipe-fitters, Rick Berman, need for teaching about unions, IN: Laborers get 1st raise after 3 years, more

We start with a story that Omaha Steve pointed out in the Labor section at Democratic Underground, it seems that Rick Berman's firm has launched a new nationwide ad campaign against unions and the Employee Free Choice Act.

• Labor Officials Denounce Union Attack Ads -WCSH6/Maine (6/6/08):

The ads depict workers talking about how unions take away their rights and bully people into joining unions.

"What the ads play on is a sense that, 'I'm not gonna win, I should keep my head down and I can't make a difference, because somebody out there is going to beat me down,'" McKay said. "That's exactly the problem unions see."

The next story is by Donald P. Russo, a labor attorney from Bethlehem, PA

• Young people need new lessons about labor unions- The Morning Call.com (6/7/08):

Big business and the Republican Party have done a remarkable job of convincing young people that unions are bad. The propaganda campaign has been a remarkable success. Young people working at low-wage, part-time jobs, with no health insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation or pension benefits actually think that they are doing well and that it would be a bad thing to bring in a union. As an employment attorney, I am seeing situations that are slowly bringing me to the realization that ''union busting'' is now a full-time pursuit in the workplace. What is most disconcerting, however, is the split I am observing among liberal Democrats.

Tula Connell over at the AFL-CIO WebBlog brings us some distressing news on the latest unemployment figures

• Busted: Unemployment Rise Worst in 20 Years (6/6/08):

The corporate media mouthpiece Bloomberg may say the nation’s economy is “stalling” in the wake of today’s announcement that the jump in the U.S. unemployment rate is the worst in more than two decades, but working Americans know the real word for it: Disaster.

Jobs fell by 49,000 after a 28,000 drop in April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent, the fifth straight month in a row that jobs decreased.


Source: Department of Labor. Prepared by the Staff of the Committee on Ways and Means, 5 June 2008.

Holy crap, Julia Preston at The New York Times is actually reporting on the Indian slave pipefitter hunger strike

• Workers on Hunger Strike Say They Were Misled on Visas - NY Times (6/7/08)

Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
Reji Davis, center, and other workers from India on a hunger strike on Embassy Row in Washington. They say they were promised permanent residency.

“I sold my home to raise that money,” said Mr. Pazhambalakode, 43, who is one of the protesters and has a wife and child. “I can’t go home empty-handed because of that great debt.”

Meanwhile, on the Gulf Coast, Signal was seeking skilled workers, overwhelmed with orders for repairs on oil rigs battered by Katrina.

“We were on our knees,” Mr. Marler said, “and we wanted to contribute to turning the Coast around. We were approached by these labor providers, and we jumped at the chance.”

Maybe a phone call to The United Association would have been a better idea, Mr. Marler. Fpr more info on this topic and a few other related articles here at Joe's Union Review, check out the links below, maybe the Times has a spot for me.

• Modern day Slavery hunger strikers going on day 20, Get E-Active!
• Indian Ambassador refuses to visit with "slave" hunger strikers
• Slavery in the news: Indian 'guest workers' to hold hunger strike in DC
• More H1B Visa abuse news
• Slavery: Alive and well in USA Pt.2, Indian pipefitters abused in H2B Visa scam, main stream media picks up story full year after facts are released
• Offshoring and H1B Visa abuse, the 1-2 punch to knockout US tech workers
• NY Times blows the lid off of Made In India manhole covers in New York

Richard at Union Review points an article at Forbes, which shows how the corp's are in fear of a rise in union membership.

• Forbes: Fears Of A Union Renaissance- UnionReview (6/6/08):

Forbes is running a piece today called "Fears Of A Union Renaissance." In the article they menion that the US Chamber of Commerce is fearful of a potential union resurgence in the United States.

The article says, "Now the group, which represents business interests, is opposing a laundry list of bills fluttering about Capitol Hill, which the chamber says would make it easier to organize a union, expand worker benefits at the expense of employers and lift the caps on punitive damages sought by employees in lawsuits."

They are referring to the Employee Free Choice Act.

You can see more about their tactics in the first link I posted above, and heres another tactic, illegally firing organizers and union sympathizers...

• Starbucks Fires Outspoken Michigan Barista for Union Activity- Starbucks Union(6/6/08):

Starbucks' pretext for the illegal anti-union firing was that Dorsey was guilty of some months-old attendance infractions.

"Today I joined the growing number of baristas that Starbucks has fired in its relentless union-busting campaign," said Cole Dorsey. "Starbucks' disrespect for the right to join a union is appalling and absolutely will not stop our efforts to have a voice at work."

Starbucks, I like the coffee and the way they have legal workers in their stores and the fact that their is organizing drives and some union workers, I'm hoping they will have all union stores one day, heres some more Starbucks info at this site, speaking of this site, I got a nice plug from a fellow labor blogger

• New Link - Far Left Field (6/7/08):

If you haven’t checked out the site please do so. The blog is proudly pro-union, despite the strange site address, and covers everything from organizing drives to music to an unbelievable list of labor links that I was shocked to find myself on!

He's talking about us here at Joe's Union Review, I'm very proud to have been noticed, I urge my readers to check out the stories there as most are labor related, with social and political issues and some music thrown in. No shock needed, Far Left Field's 3rd article, well over a year and a half ago was about the Employee Free Choice Act, and continues to this day bringing forth labor news and views such as last Fridays "Investing In Workers". Hers some more news

Laborers Local 274 in Indiana, gets new deal after 3 years without pay raise and strike

• Labor strike settled against contractors in Indiana- WISHTV8 (6/5/08):

The laborers asked contractors for more money and better benefits. Union leaders said they just reached an agreement for a new contract and will not be picketing on Friday.

Thursday morning, picketers were outside Wilhelm Construction in Indianapolis, one of Central Indiana's largest contractors. Laborers also picketed in Lafayette, Terre Haute, and Bloomington too.

Seems they didn't feel like writing much, so heres a bit more from some previous stories

• Construction workers strike local projects - 18WLFI (6/4/08)

Other building trades are showing support by stopping work on the job sites. Local 274 President Jim Terry said several union contractors who are not part of the Indiana Construction Association have signed an interim agreement with the union.

That temporary agreement will allow work to continue on some construction projects.

Union members said they have not had a new contract in three years and hope an agreement will be reached soon. "In the three years, we haven't had a cost of living increase," Steve Foltz said. "And we're just trying to catch up with the other trades. We're trying to get this settled, hopefully before the end ofthe week. It's just a security thing, a few extra cents to the hour."

even when they report about it, they seem to get it wrong, they have had a contract, which expired on May 31st., they have not had a raise in 3 years

• Several construction projects stop -News10 (6/4-5/08)

Indiana State University's new recreation center is supposed to open in 2009, but a dispute between the Laborers International Union of North America Local No. 204, and Hannig Construction could change that if the two don't come to an agreement on a new contract, which ended May 31.

"You would think that the contractors would have enough respect for the people who work on their projects, when they know that they have not had a pay increase in over three years," said Charlie Toth, Business Manager for Local 204.

Theres some more news out there, check out the headlines over at these blogs and sites

The NY Times actually mentions Indian Slave pipe-fitters, Rick Berman, need for teaching about unions, IN: Laborers get 1st raise after 3 years, more

We start with a story that Omaha Steve pointed out in the Labor section at Democratic Underground, it seems that Rick Berman's firm has launched a new nationwide ad campaign against unions and the Employee Free Choice Act.

• Labor Officials Denounce Union Attack Ads -WCSH6/Maine (6/6/08):

The ads depict workers talking about how unions take away their rights and bully people into joining unions.

"What the ads play on is a sense that, 'I'm not gonna win, I should keep my head down and I can't make a difference, because somebody out there is going to beat me down,'" McKay said. "That's exactly the problem unions see."

The next story is by Donald P. Russo, a labor attorney from Bethlehem, PA

• Young people need new lessons about labor unions- The Morning Call.com (6/7/08):

Big business and the Republican Party have done a remarkable job of convincing young people that unions are bad. The propaganda campaign has been a remarkable success. Young people working at low-wage, part-time jobs, with no health insurance, paid sick leave, paid vacation or pension benefits actually think that they are doing well and that it would be a bad thing to bring in a union. As an employment attorney, I am seeing situations that are slowly bringing me to the realization that ''union busting'' is now a full-time pursuit in the workplace. What is most disconcerting, however, is the split I am observing among liberal Democrats.

Tula Connell over at the AFL-CIO WebBlog brings us some distressing news on the latest unemployment figures

• Busted: Unemployment Rise Worst in 20 Years (6/6/08):

The corporate media mouthpiece Bloomberg may say the nation’s economy is “stalling” in the wake of today’s announcement that the jump in the U.S. unemployment rate is the worst in more than two decades, but working Americans know the real word for it: Disaster.

Jobs fell by 49,000 after a 28,000 drop in April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent, the fifth straight month in a row that jobs decreased.


Source: Department of Labor. Prepared by the Staff of the Committee on Ways and Means, 5 June 2008.

Holy crap, Julia Preston at The New York Times is actually reporting on the Indian slave pipefitter hunger strike

• Workers on Hunger Strike Say They Were Misled on Visas - NY Times (6/7/08)

Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
Reji Davis, center, and other workers from India on a hunger strike on Embassy Row in Washington. They say they were promised permanent residency.

“I sold my home to raise that money,” said Mr. Pazhambalakode, 43, who is one of the protesters and has a wife and child. “I can’t go home empty-handed because of that great debt.”

Meanwhile, on the Gulf Coast, Signal was seeking skilled workers, overwhelmed with orders for repairs on oil rigs battered by Katrina.

“We were on our knees,” Mr. Marler said, “and we wanted to contribute to turning the Coast around. We were approached by these labor providers, and we jumped at the chance.”

Maybe a phone call to The United Association would have been a better idea, Mr. Marler. Fpr more info on this topic and a few other related articles here at Joe's Union Review, check out the links below, maybe the Times has a spot for me.

• Modern day Slavery hunger strikers going on day 20, Get E-Active!
• Indian Ambassador refuses to visit with "slave" hunger strikers
• Slavery in the news: Indian 'guest workers' to hold hunger strike in DC
• More H1B Visa abuse news
• Slavery: Alive and well in USA Pt.2, Indian pipefitters abused in H2B Visa scam, main stream media picks up story full year after facts are released
• Offshoring and H1B Visa abuse, the 1-2 punch to knockout US tech workers
• NY Times blows the lid off of Made In India manhole covers in New York

Richard at Union Review points an article at Forbes, which shows how the corp's are in fear of a rise in union membership.

• Forbes: Fears Of A Union Renaissance- UnionReview (6/6/08):

Forbes is running a piece today called "Fears Of A Union Renaissance." In the article they menion that the US Chamber of Commerce is fearful of a potential union resurgence in the United States.

The article says, "Now the group, which represents business interests, is opposing a laundry list of bills fluttering about Capitol Hill, which the chamber says would make it easier to organize a union, expand worker benefits at the expense of employers and lift the caps on punitive damages sought by employees in lawsuits."

They are referring to the Employee Free Choice Act.

You can see more about their tactics in the first link I posted above, and heres another tactic, illegally firing organizers and union sympathizers...

• Starbucks Fires Outspoken Michigan Barista for Union Activity- Starbucks Union(6/6/08):

Starbucks' pretext for the illegal anti-union firing was that Dorsey was guilty of some months-old attendance infractions.

"Today I joined the growing number of baristas that Starbucks has fired in its relentless union-busting campaign," said Cole Dorsey. "Starbucks' disrespect for the right to join a union is appalling and absolutely will not stop our efforts to have a voice at work."

Starbucks, I like the coffee and the way they have legal workers in their stores and the fact that their is organizing drives and some union workers, I'm hoping they will have all union stores one day, heres some more Starbucks info at this site, speaking of this site, I got a nice plug from a fellow labor blogger

• New Link - Far Left Field (6/7/08):

If you haven’t checked out the site please do so. The blog is proudly pro-union, despite the strange site address, and covers everything from organizing drives to music to an unbelievable list of labor links that I was shocked to find myself on!

He's talking about us here at Joe's Union Review, I'm very proud to have been noticed, I urge my readers to check out the stories there as most are labor related, with social and political issues and some music thrown in. No shock needed, Far Left Field's 3rd article, well over a year and a half ago was about the Employee Free Choice Act, and continues to this day bringing forth labor news and views such as last Fridays "Investing In Workers". Hers some more news

Laborers Local 274 in Indiana, gets new deal after 3 years without pay raise and strike

• Labor strike settled against contractors in Indiana- WISHTV8 (6/5/08):

The laborers asked contractors for more money and better benefits. Union leaders said they just reached an agreement for a new contract and will not be picketing on Friday.

Thursday morning, picketers were outside Wilhelm Construction in Indianapolis, one of Central Indiana's largest contractors. Laborers also picketed in Lafayette, Terre Haute, and Bloomington too.

Seems they didn't feel like writing much, so heres a bit more from some previous stories

• Construction workers strike local projects - 18WLFI (6/4/08)

Other building trades are showing support by stopping work on the job sites. Local 274 President Jim Terry said several union contractors who are not part of the Indiana Construction Association have signed an interim agreement with the union.

That temporary agreement will allow work to continue on some construction projects.

Union members said they have not had a new contract in three years and hope an agreement will be reached soon. "In the three years, we haven't had a cost of living increase," Steve Foltz said. "And we're just trying to catch up with the other trades. We're trying to get this settled, hopefully before the end ofthe week. It's just a security thing, a few extra cents to the hour."

even when they report about it, they seem to get it wrong, they have had a contract, which expired on May 31st., they have not had a raise in 3 years

• Several construction projects stop -News10 (6/4-5/08)

Indiana State University's new recreation center is supposed to open in 2009, but a dispute between the Laborers International Union of North America Local No. 204, and Hannig Construction could change that if the two don't come to an agreement on a new contract, which ended May 31.

"You would think that the contractors would have enough respect for the people who work on their projects, when they know that they have not had a pay increase in over three years," said Charlie Toth, Business Manager for Local 204.

Theres some more news out there, check out the headlines over at these blogs and sites

Catholic school teachers walk, as Pope visits New York

From NY1 (4/14/08):

Catholic School Teachers Set To Strike

April 14, 2008

Staff and students at several Catholic schools around the city are preparing for teachers to walk off the job Tuesday morning after talks with the Archdiocese broke down Monday afternoon.

Both sides failed to reach a compromise on wages, health care and pensions before the pope's scheduled arrival in the United States Tuesday afternoon.

The Lay Faculty Association, which represents 450 teachers at ten schools, including five in the city, says members will go on strike, just days before Pope Bendict XVI arrives in New York City after a visit to Washington, D.C.

The archdiocese says the strike won't interfere with the pope's visit in any way.

"This is not going to have any impact on the pope's visit," said archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling. "The only thing it might do is cost the teacher a couple of days pay, for going on strike, and also, I think, embarrass the teachers union themselves for doing this."

A union spokesperson says during the strike, some schools will be closed, while others will stay open, but will then release students at 10 a.m. The spokesperson says its up to individual schools to decide how they intend to proceed.

The union has rejected the deal offered by the Archdiocese of New York's Association of Catholic Schools. The archdiocese says it has made a generous offer to the union and that the terms will not be improved if the teachers go on strike.

The archdiocese was able to reach an agreement with another group of lay teachers that went on strike for two days earlier this month. It came to terms on a four-year deal Friday with the Federation of Catholic Teachers.

NY: 8 months working without a contract, Catholic teachers stage sick-out at 10 schools, likely to strike during Pope Benedict XVIs' visit

So you can afford to send your kid to Catholic School for a better education.

In the New York City area, there is a good chance that with the smaller enrollment and smaller class sizes your child will have a much better means of actually learning without all the nonsense involved such as...

• social promotion
• overcrowding
• plots to blow up the school and kill students and teachers alike
• the whole you got better shoes than mine so I'm gonna steal them thing

In that, you pay a very high price for the benefit to send your child to school, but the cost almost always seems worth it. Which brings us to the point of the job action. These teachers, who all make well below the Public school teachers salary, have been working without a contract since August 2007.

The union, the Federation of Catholic Teachers, states that the Archdiocese of New York has been holding back information on the current costs of their health care package, which has been the major stipulation since the Archdiocese submitted their "Final offer" in November 2007

The "Final offer" included increased premiums which the union said was too high, so a few weeks later they began seeking a new health care plan from an outside group. They wound up finding a plan through Local 153 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union(OPEIU). One item needed to calculate the new plan, was the cost of running the plan they had in place in 2007. According to the NY Times (4/5/08):

That group agreed to do a feasibility study (new group for OPEIU plan), Ms. Perry said, but told the union it needed to provide information from its previous plan. While the archdiocese has provided a lot of information, Ms. Perry said, it has yet to turn over one of the most vital pieces: the actual cost of running the plan, known as the utilization cost, from 2007. The union has repeatedly asked for these figures since last December, Ms. Perry said, but the archdiocese has provided years-old information.

“The cost of health care makes it difficult for people to make ends meet,” Ms. Perry said. “This strike is an unfair labor practice strike in order to get the information.”

But Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the archdiocese was preparing those documents and had been planning on turning them over to the union within the next few days.

Last December?? The union has been asking since last December for some paperwork to avoid the strike and the Archdiocese, knowing the union wants to come to terms, has been stalling? Why on earth are they potentially putting the kids education at risk?

On April 1st., the union members had a strike vote, and announced they were going to start it during the Popes visit, according to NY1 (4/1/08) :

Catholic school teachers voted Tuesday night to go on strike over contract terms the week Pope Benedict XVI comes to New York.

About 300 city Catholic school teachers have been working without a contract since August and union officials say Edward Cardinal Egan has been unreceptive.

Of the more than 150 members of the Lay Faculty Association that joined in Yonkers to vote on whether to authorize the strike, only 20 members voted against it. When the union's head announced the vote, the crowd cheered.

The union wants to raise top teacher salaries from $53,000 a year to $60,000. Talks stalled in December over salary and benefits for the next three years.

Teacher Mary Anne Lamassa says that when she compares what the archdiocese brings in every year with what she takes home as a math teacher, the figures just don't add up.

"My salary is only $52,000 a year," she said. "I know at a public school I could make much more than that, but I like where I teach. I like serving the diocese and working with the students at Cardinal Spellman."

They said the timing of the strike would show the church they mean business.

"We need to get the message out to the Catholic community who will be here during that time, and it's important for everyone to understand that we are not protesting the pope's visit, but we need to get the message out to the Catholic community that we have a problem here in New York," said Anthony Cusimano of the teachers union.

"The pope will probably not even know we're here," said Henry Kielkucki, the union head. "The pope will probably not even know there is a strike. It's the Catholic community that's going to have to say 'why are your teachers going on strike during this very holy time?'"
(continued)
In a statement, a spokesman for the archdiocese said, "To use the visit of the Holy Father as a means of protest and division is an insult to the Holy Father and to the people of God at this diocese."

Ignoring the need for the information to get a more competitive health plan which could have avoided this entire mess is an insult to the teachers, the students and the hard working families who can afford to choose to send their kids to a Catholic School. It seems this could all have been settled almost a year ago when in May 2007 negotiations first begun.

Poughkeepsie Journal has a forum where this is being discussed, I'm waiting for my confirmation E-Mail, you can get E-Active and speak your mind too.

Get a job: New York's teachers union, the UFT, needs a good web personality

Got a message about a job listing

The UFT, the United Federation Of Teachers, one of the biggest mover and shaker unions in the entire United States, is looking for a good person who has a strong commitment to unionism and public education, among other qualifications. Heres the description of the position from IdeaList.org

Web Outreach Coordinator

• Education: Bachelor (BA, BS, etc.)
• Location: New York, New York, 10004, United States
• Posted by: United Federation of Teachers
• Job Category: Editing & Writing Salary: Negotiable
• Last day to apply: March 31, 2008
• Last updated: March 3, 2008
• Type: Full time
• Language(s): English
• Job posted on: February 29, 2008
• Area of Focus: Education and Academia, Media and Journalism

Description:

Web Outreach Coordinator
Representing more than 200,000 people, the United Federation of Teachers is the union of New York City public school teachers and other non-supervisory educators. The Web Outreach Coordinator is a key member of the UFT’s small Web Communications team and works closely with the Director of Internal Communications. The Web Outreach Coordinator will play a key strategic planning and implementation role in all of the union’s online communications efforts to better serve its members. Primary duties will include making the UFT Web site more effective, managing the UFT blog edwize, and overseeing email blasts.

Additional Qualifications:

The online coordinator should be able to manage both the front and back end of the UFT blog and Web CMS technologies. That requires strong communication as well as technological skills.

Responsibilities include:

• Helping shepherd the redesign of the union’s Web site to make it more dynamic, interactive and informative
• running edwize, the UFT’s labor/education-oriented blog, including:
  1) editing/organizing/finding content
  2) being responsible for a regular flow of new items
  3) recruiting new writers
  4) monitoring comments and enforcing ground rules
  5) developing a strategy for driving more traffic to edwize
• helping develop a strategy for increasing the use of e-mail and other forms of online communications to reach and engage chapter leaders, rank-and-file members and parents
• trouble-shooting and optimizing the current UFT Web site (including sharing the work of routine maintenance)
• helping create action alerts, online petitions, surveys, e-activist campaigns, meeting notices and news bulletins
• contributing to joint projects of the Web communications team

Qualifications:

• At least three years of experience in Web communications
• BA/BS degree
• Knowledge of Web 2.0
• Hands-on proficiency in HTML, CSS and CMS technologies; a plus if knowledge of WordPress, Photoshop, Drupal, Dreamweaver, ASP and PHP and scripting technologies.
• Experience supporting Web-based content management systems
• Strong writing and editing skills
• Strong commitment to unionism and public education
• Knowledgeable about local and national blogs and proactive in disseminating information to like-minded blog communities
• Both a self-starter and a team player
• Ability to think strategically
  

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Excellent Benefits

How to Apply:
Resumes and cover letters may be sent to:
D. McFadyen
United Federation of Teachers
Communications Department
52 Broadway, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Email: uftwebjob@uft.org
No faxes or phone calls please.

Permalink: http://www.idealist.org/en/job/267261-316

Join the Unions and community organizations in 3-19 rally to reverse City and State funding cuts

Got this from my E-Mail

KEEP THE PROMISES! -TO BUILD MORE SCHOOLS -TO FUND FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN -TO LOWER CLASS SIZE -TO IMPROVE MIDDLE SCHOOLS -TO EXPAND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS PROGRAMS -TO KEEP AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND TUTORING SERVICES We may face uncertain economic times ahead, but this much is certain: We must keep the promises to our kids. Show your support for the KEEP THE PROMISES COALITION BRING YOUR UNION'S BANNER! What: "Keep the Promises Coaliton Rally" Where: City Hall Park When: Wednesday,March 19th Time: 4:00PM

Click the picture below for leaflet, had to convert from PDF to JPG so it isn't very clear

Heres more info from New York Teacher from 2-14-08

‘Keep the Promises’ coalition forms to reverse city, state ed funding cuts

A diverse coalition of education advocacy groups, community organizations, clergy, labor unions and dozens of elected officials has launched a major campaign to fight state and city budget proposals that could cost New York City public schools $700 million.

Members of more than 60 community groups, parent organizations and unions, as well as some 40 state and city elected officials, gathered on the steps of City Hall on Feb. 10 to announce the formation of the “Keep the Promises” coalition in response to budget reductions and proposed cuts in education for city schools. The list of cuts includes the following:

• The city has imposed an immediate 1.75 percent cut to schools — a $100 million, midyear cut that will disrupt schools’ programs, schedules and staffing.
• The mayor’s 2009 budget proposal cuts New York City education by $324 million.
• The state budget proposes to give city schools nearly $200 million less than was expected in the Contract for Excellence, stalling progress in class size reduction, full-day pre-kindergarten expansion, improving middle schools and other programs and services.

The state is also proposing to cap building aid, which will slow school construction.  

“When government promises to safeguard the quality education of our children, parents and the public have a right to expect those promises to be honored,” UFT President Randi Weingarten said to reporters as she stood on the City Hall steps flanked by dozens of her coalition colleagues.

She said that “in the absence of an independent Board of Education and an independent schools chancellor, public school children need champions to intervene and protect them. That’s why we are part of this coalition launching this campaign.” Weingarten said the coalition would fight to have the funds restored because the city’s children deserve the quality education they’ve been promised.

“Make no mistake,” Weingarten added. “School-based educators would never dream of saying, ‘Now that we have less we will do less.’ Instead we will fight the school cuts.”

Geri D. Palast — executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which took the state to court to win increased funding for New York City schools — noted that after 13 years of litigation, New York State “legislated a promise” to add $2.35 billion in classroom operating aid for New York City over four years. At the same time, Mayor Bloomberg said the city would add $2.2 billion. The state also said it would provide $11.2 billion to subsidize the city’s $13.1 billion school construction plan to “finally fund the constitutional right to a sound, basic education,” Palast said.

However, she added, both the state and the city are proposing $700 million in cuts in these commitments. “Long overdue funding of these promises tied to accountability for this catch-up plan must be immunized from short-term economic fluctuations,” Palast said. “A generation of kids has already paid the price for delayed funding with their futures.” (Click for: Full Story)

NY: UFT ad attacks standardized testing, after $160 million is wasted in test prep and data processing.

“While testing is an important part of measuring student progress, it should not be done at the expense of educating the whole child,” - UFT President Randi Weingarten.

From: The New York Daily News

Teacher union ad attacks testing plan
by Erin Einhorn Daily News Staff Write 2/25/08

A Brown-eyed blond girl gazes at a seed she has planted in a large glass jar and beams as a teacher helps her set it on a classroom shelf.

It's hardly the stuff of political attack.

But the 30-second ad - which will start airing today during morning and prime-time TV - is paid for by the city teachers union and targets the standardized exams that teachers say devour too much of the school day.

"A child's mind is a precious thing that's growing every day," a soothing female voice intones during the ad. "Standardized school tests can measure her progress in certain subjects, but New York City teachers believe it takes a well-rounded curriculum - including science, civics, language, arts and sports - to help young imaginations thrive."

Teachers union President Randi Weingarten has assailed Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for recent investments in an $80 million test prep program and an $80 million computer system to crunch testing data. She was furious when Klein revealed a plan to measure teachers by children's scores.

The ads appear to be her answer. They'll air in the city during news programs and such shows as "60 Minutes" and "Law & Order." The union estimates they'll be seen at least 10 times by 11.6million people.

"While testing is an important part of measuring student progress, it should not be done at the expense of educating the whole child," Weingarten said in a statement. Weingarten's spokesman refused to say how much the ads would cost beyond saying it's "clearly a significant buy."

Klein spokeswoman Debra Wexler said the union was "promoting a false choice" with its ad.

"We need to provide students with a rich, well-rounded education and we also need to assess," Wexler said in a statement. "If we don't assess, we don't know whether our students have learned or our teachers taught."

My comment:

Standardized tests do not teach, as a matter of fact the entire idea of No Child Left behind does exactly the opposite of what one would think. It leaves children behind. While the Bush administration wholeheartedly pushed this legislation, it left it up to the states to pay for it. Some states have actually had to sue to get federal aid to pay for this standardized testing. How silly we are to think that we must focus on a mere test instead of actually teaching our students. It wastes our money and lets those children who can remember answers get pushed through the system knowing how to pass a test. Well, why not? With an impending draft on the horizon, think of it in terms of when you had your driving test and they didn't want you to have bad habits, the new version of a bad habit is free thought, and intelligence. Try to tell the drill instructor or a McDonalds manager that you have free thought.

NCLB is doing exactly what money corporations want it to. Keep the youth ignorant, dumb and easily pliable for their future careers in the military, the service industry and the security industry. While ignoring the professional fields where workers are needed such as nursing staff. Did you know that we are now importing from the Caribbean and India most of our nursing staff due to lack of qualified American workers? What about technical schools? Talk about underfunded.

Once a country of inventors, the US is now lagging behind about 20 nations in Science. As with anything in this world, you get what you pay for. I tend to believe that they do not want a smart class of workers in our USA. Why create a well educated society who the politicians and the corporations would have to answer to. Go Randi, tell the chancellor to stuff the PC's up his proverbial asset. We want our $160 million back.

Randi Weingarten, will soon replace Ed McElroy, who is retiring as president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second largest teachers union in America. This may be the beginning of a larger movement to battle the No Child Left Behind rule, which according to The Elementary Educator from a 6/07 story entitled "The NCLB Effect: Mediocrity Is More Important Than Excellence":

There are a lot of disconcerting things about No Child Left Behind, but here’s one that I find particularly troubling. We spend a ton of time measuring many subgroups of students to make sure that they are making adequate yearly progress: special ed. students, students of all different races, low-income students, and so on.What about gifted students? Who is making sure that they are maximizing their potential?

Let’s be honest. Which group of people is likely to have more of a positive impact on the world for generations to come (for example, by designing new inventions, finding cures for diseases, or coming up with innovative entrepreneurial ideas that alter the way we do business): the top 1% of students or the bottom 1%?

Mark Pullen, a 3rd. grade teacher from Michigan and the author of the above blog has some real insight on teaching, one of his other posts, "Teaching without telling", points out:

Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that throughout my teaching career, my definition of “teaching” has been a whole lot closer to “telling” than “causing learning to occur.”

We’ve known for a long time that students learn best when they are doing things through multiple modalities, particularly when they are speaking and actively doing the task to be learned. One source asserts that “students retain 10 percent of what they read, 26 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they hear and see, 70 percent of what they say, and 90 percent of what they say and do.” I’m not looking to squabble over those exact percentages, because other sources come up with somewhat different numbers, but the key point remains: students need to be speaking and doing more than listening and watching.

Which further strengthens the argument against the standardized testing methods that have sucked the life from actual teaching. Also pointed out is a great blog post by Jenny, an Elementary school teacher from Virginia, entitled "Super Bowl - Quite a Test"

The New England Patriots lost their first game all season last night. I know, that's not news to anyone. But it's got me thinking. After an almost perfect season, losing one game has meant that people have called the Patriots' performance disappointing or a failure. This one game, just a few hours, has changed many people's impressions of the team. Is that reasonable?

We seem to do the same thing to our students with standardized tests. One bad day, a few hours of sub-par performance, and a child can be labeled negatively for some time. Their scores on a test often are viewed as more accurate, exact, and important than anything their teachers might know about them. All the anecdotal notes, classroom tests, and other assessments carry less weight.

Our students, at their young ages, aren't ready for a Super Bowl of standardized tests.

Now thats in a language we can all understand. But nothing says it better than when from the mouths of babes

The NCLB law is not working and leaving so many kids behind as a nation whether learning disabled, gifted or anywhere in between! As a direct result of this law and it's funding, the states are just using standardized practice test taking curriculum targeted at the minimum grade level standards rather than empowering children with knowledge to apply in novel situations in their future endeavors. The minds of our future leaders are at risk! HELP! (from YouTube)

This post is dedicated to the teachers, the ones who actually are trying to teach in a ever changing field of play, where all efforts are pushed into attendance and minimal passing grades at all costs, regardless of student progress. I got a lot of 90's in classes i never attended.

This post is also dedicated to Mr.Heffner, Mr. DiGiacomo, Mr.Guadagno, Mrs.Krieslamen, Dr.Hayes, Mr.Katz and my friend Dianne who has to deal with all the bullshit from both sides, being a mother and an educator.

Louisiana school bus drivers union gets banned for study on bus temperatures

From AFT-NCLB Blog - Dec.12th

*Click above for video

When school started this year, bus drivers in one of our local unions in Louisiana, the Caddo Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel, collected data on the temperatures in their buses. They found cases where the thermometer hit more than 110 degrees. The union took this information to the school board in an effort to get some relief, for both the drivers and the children.

The district’s response to the union raising the issue was to ban the conducting of surveys or studies on school grounds without the permission of the administration.

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