CLOSEmsdf Picket (December)

901 N 9th Street, Milwaukee, 11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.

Why do we picket?
1. To educate people on the inhumane conditions at MSDF
2. To memorialize the 17 people who have died in MSDF since it opened.
3. To let WI taxpayers know that each day someone spends in MSDF for a crimeless rule violation it costs us $100.84 vs $40 to treat that person in the community where their job, housing & support systems stay secure.
4. Former Governer Tommy Thompson has said building MSDF was a mistake. Its time the state corrects that error.

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Please join us during the lunch hour on December 20 on the 10th Street side of the courthouse. Partway through the picket we might march over to the state office building on 6th and Wells, where the DOC has offices.

Parking is metered or nearby public lots. If you don’t mind walking a couple blocks, its often easier to find free parking on the other side of the freeway.

We’ve been holding down this monthly picket since the spring of 2017. A coalition of Milwaukee organizations have joined up to shut down MSDF. This facility is a building within a building, where captives have no access to fresh air or sunlight. They are triple bunked in lockdown cells for over 20 hours a day. There is no outdoor rec. The facility was built and is run using funds that should be used for diversionary programs to keep people out of jail, instead it’s being used to keep them on supervision under arbitrary and vindictive probation and parole officers.

We are organizing this protest on every 23rd (unless that lands on a weekend, when there’s less foot traffic). The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has called for actions on the 23rd of every month (to bring attention to 23 hour a day lockdowns). http://www.nrcat.org/about-us/take-action-current-legislation/563-together-to-end-solitary

Can’t come?

SIGN THE PETITION!!!!

If you haven’t signed the petition yet yourself, please do here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/its-time-to-close-milwaukee-secure-detention-facility-msdf

Waukesha: Licencias para todxs / Driver Licenses for All

ENGLISH BELOW

Foro comunitario de Waukesha: La lucha para devolver las licencias de conducir a los inmigrantes y gente de bajos ingresos
Sábado, diciembre 15, 5pm
Casa de Esperanza, 410 Arcadian Ave, Waukesha, WI 53186
Info: 414-643-1620

Seguimos en la lucha para pasar legislación para restaurar las licencias de conducir a los inmigrantes y gente de bajos ingresos. Daremos informes sobre nuestro progreso durante este foro y organizaremos nuestras próximas acciones. ¡Sí se puede!

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Waukesha Community Forum: The Fight to Restore Driver Licenses for Immigrants & Low-Income People
Saturday, December 15, 5pm
Casa de Esperanza, 410 Arcadian Ave, Waukesha, WI 53186
Info: 414-643-1620

Join us as we continue our efforts to pass legislation to restore driver licenses to immigrants and low-income people. We’ll be sharing updates on our progress so far and planning our upcoming actions. ¡Sí se puede!

https://bit.ly/2L9Pt2h

More information coverage: Chicago Teachers Union

The first-ever teachers’ strike against a charter school operator has ended after four days.

The Chicago Teachers Union announced on Sunday that the bargaining team for the educators at the Acero charter school network reached a tentative deal with management. The deal agrees to raise pay for teachers and paraprofessionals to better align with their peers in Chicago Public Schools, to reduce class sizes, and to provide sanctuary for undocumented students.

The tentative agreement will now be voted on by the 500 union members who work in Acero charter schools. It’s expected to pass—classes across the 15-school network are expected to resume today.

“Thanks to hard work and very long hours from both bargaining teams, we were able to reach an agreement that values teachers and staff for the important work they do, while still maintaining the attributes of our network that help produce strong educational outcomes for our students,” Acero Schools CEO Richard L. Rodriguez said in a statement.

The tentative deal also shortens the school year and reduces the teachers’ work day to more closely align with Chicago Public Schools. Acero changed the way the school day is structured to ensure the same amount of instructional time for students, the statement said.

Union leaders are now heralding the victory as the path forward for educators at charter schools. Just about 11 percent of charter schools across the country are unionized, according to data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (In Chicago, about a quarter of the city’s charter schools are unionized.)

But teachers’ unions have become more open to the idea of representing charter teachers in recent years. The Chicago Teachers Union had merged with the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, which includes Acero teachers, just this year.

“We are now a movement that commands national attention and can stop a city,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement. “The message to educators at charters is that if you want smaller classes, a voice on the job, and higher pay, give the union a call…”

In the dead of the night on Tuesday, December 4, 2018 the right wing majority in the Wisconsin state legislature ignored the will of the voters and rammed through racist, anti-worker lame duck legislation.

The Bradley Foundation and ALEC stooge Scott Walker is again making national and international news for his life’s work of cruelly attacking poor and working people, a part of the brutal international austerity assault by Wall Street which is putting the planet in jeopardy of being destroyed.

The slate of lame duck bills is now heading to Walker’s desk for his signature. Scott Walker has a decision to make:  respect the voters or override the will of the people.

Call Scott Walker at 608-266-1212 and tell him to respect the voters and veto the lame duck power grab agenda.

Email Gov. Walker here.

Call outgoing Gov. Scott Walker at 608-266-1212 and tell him to respect the voters and veto the lame duck power grab agenda. You can also email him here.

More Info: https://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/

https://geopoliticsalert.com/

Jim Carey

Last weekend, the global markets saw a ray of sunshine as Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Donald Trump agreed at the G20 meeting in Argentina to what the US president described as a “truce” in the trade war. Although  Despite Trump starting this trade war, this was mostly seen as a positive sign that perhaps both leaders were ready to work towards a negotiated end of the tariffs leveled by both countries in the past year.

Now, however, it seems any type of forward progress will need to move through a series of deep state actors who, beyond anything else, oppose peace between Beijing and Washington.

This fact revealed itself earlier this week when Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, was arrested in Canada…

This all sets a disturbing trend for the US on the global stage. This is yet another warning that, even if Trump breaks an old international agreement, you can’t even trust the new one he negotiates with you directly. People like Bolton don’t just wish for a confrontation with China but also Iran and Russia. If this behavior under Trump is allowed to continue we could face even more serious consequences in the future.

Airstrikes, military occupations and the failure to realize the economic potential of the Horn of Africa

Peace Action of Wisconsin

Hosted by Kenosha Education Association

Save Our WEA Solidarity Rally!

3600 52nd Street, Kenosha Unified School District, 5:30 – 6:45 P.M.

Providing educators with fair and competitive benefits and wages is crucial to attracting and retaining highly-qualified professionals that will dedicate themselves to providing our students with the education they deserve!

It’s time to have our voices heard and give our input on Tuesday, December 11th at 5:30pm as board members take action about insurance providers.

Join us at the solidarity rally immediately following the meeting to stand in support of a higher cost-of-living increase as we head into our next negotiations session on December 17th!

RSVP here: bit.ly/SaveOurWEA

After weeks of productive negotiations, Spectrum last Friday abruptly cut off talks with Local Union No. 3 IBEW and slammed the door on 1,800 workers who have been on strike since March 2017. In response, the union announced the launch of a multi-pronged campaign, with support from both private and public sector unions as well as Governor Andrew Cuomo and elected officials, to fight back against Spectrum’s callous, anti-worker actions.

IBEW Local 3 is re-launching a picket line outside of Charter Spectrum’s New York Headquarters and Spectrum News NY1’s television studios at Chelsea Market in Manhattan to protest the corporation’s refusal to offer workers fair wages and benefits. On Wednesday, Governor Cuomo, along with elected officials and labor leaders from across the state, joined the striking workers’ for a massive rally outside Charter Spectrum headquarters.

In addition, Local Union No. 3 is launching a digital campaign backed by a significant media buy to support the boycott pledge and encourage customers to drop Spectrum in favor of other service providers. The campaign will inform millions of customers in New York State about Spectrum Charter’s anti-worker actions and provide information about alternative service providers in their area.

Read more here, check out video from Wednesday’s rally here, and find out how you can #CutTheCord on Spectrum here!