Local organizing helps lift labor to historic week: What do Virginia wireless workers, Maryland administrative assistants, Harvard grad students and JetBlue flight attendants have in common? They were all part of last week’s historic organizing surge, as more than 10,000 workers joined unions. The JetBlue flight attendants and Harvard grad students — with about 5,000 each — comprised the bulk of the wins, voting respectively to join the Transport Workers and UAW. Local efforts contributed as well, with six Cricket wireless workers joining CWA 2222 and over 100 administrative employees working for a Montgomery County contractor filing for an election last week with UFCW 1994 MCGEO. Other locals, including OPEIU 2, report ongoing organizing campaigns as well. These local efforts buttress a resurgent national labor movement that has captured national headlines as teachers across the country have staged massive strikes.

https://itsgoingdown.org/reinstate-the-dekalb-8-support-bus-drivers-fired-for-organizing/

Across the country teachers, bus drivers, and other school employees have gone on strike for better pay and benefits in a massive groundswell of action. In DeKalb County (located east of Atlanta) in Georgia, 400 bus drivers took part in a sickout, and in response, the school district fired 8 drivers.

These firings represent the first wave of attacks against workers for taking part in grassroots organizing. We need to stand behind these bus drivers and make their fight – our fight.

Reinstate the DeKalb 8!

Dekalb County school bus drivers continue their three-day sick out into Monday morning, April 23rd. Almost 400 drivers called in sick to work Thursday and Friday morning after a series of fruitless negotiations with the Dekalb County school board. Drivers are calling for better pay that rewards experience and keeps up with rising costs of living, a better retirement package, and safer working conditions for drivers and students. DeKalb County school bus drivers are among the lowest paid in the state, facing exorbitant health care and living costs, despite not having received a pay increase since 2010. Meeting after meeting, drivers have brought their concerns to the board and received no acknowledgement of their concerns and no decisive action to respond to them. “We might be bus drivers, but we are highly educated. We see through you,” said an anonymous bus driver who participated in the sick-out.

Management is leading a slander campaign against drivers, alleging that their actions have put students at risk. In a statement made on April 19th Superintendent Dr. Stephen Green alleged that drivers “pu[t] our children in harm’s way” when they didn’t show up to work Thursday and Friday, despite a letter he delivered to parents Wednesday night asking them to make arrangements to bring their children to school. Another driver who wishes to remain anonymous shares: “We care about our students. You have to have a love for children to do this job for so many years.” Drivers have reached into their own pockets when children go to school hungry and provided support for students when they can’t afford school supplies. Management for years has forced both students and bus drivers to ride on unsafe buses that have neither air conditioning nor heating systems, and made drivers take on longer routes because of a persistent driver shortage.

“The Superintendent always says we are the first person the children meet in the morning, and the last person they see from school on their way home.” Drivers point out that improving their work conditions also improves the safety and welfare of the children they transport to and from school. Management cut the transportation budget in half in 2013, leaving students on overcrowded “hot box” buses with no AC during the hot summer months. Parents have taken note too – they want their children’s bus drivers to work in safe and just environments. Concerned parents are circulating a petition in support of the bus driver’s demands.

In response to their mobilization, management has so far fired 8 workers by having school police deliver letters of termination to worker’s homes intended to intimidate workers who have been involved with the sick-out. The letter reads:

“The District has received reliable information that you have personally encouraged and promoted the “sick-out” strike by bus drivers and monitors … As a public employee, it is unlawful for you to encourage, promote, or participate in strike activity.”

With their sickout, the Dekalb County school bus drivers are picking up the torch that was lit by teachers and school bus drivers in West Virginia, and has been carried by education workers striking and and waging sickouts in New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and Wisconsin (so far…). They are also following the successful example of paratransit drivers on Atlanta’s MARTA system, who held a one-day strike on February 14th and threatened another one for April 18, until management caved to their demands at the eleventh hour. Workers across the country are taking direct action to address their needs on and off the job, and their bravery and coordination are paying off.

“We just want to be heard, and we want what we deserve,” says another “sick-out” driver. “What we’re asking for is reasonable. We want respect.” The DeKalb County school bus drivers have brought the national movement of education workers to Georgia. They are the first workers in this movement to face immediate retaliation for their activity. Their sickout was organized entirely by themselves, without the involvement of any union. It is important for everyone who supports education workers to immediately stand behind them and demand their immediate reinstatement.

The Atlanta IWW and GDC are working with the drivers to continue their mobilization. The most important way that you can support currently is to call in to the DeKalb County Board of Education for Tuesday, 4/24 – Thursday, 4/26 to demand the immediate reinstatement of all fired drivers, with no loss in pay or other discipline, and no other retaliation against drivers.

Call-In Campaign:

Please call the Board office at 678-676-1200 between the hours of 8 AM and 4 PM EST, and ask to speak with Dr. R. Stephen Green, the Superintendent. Whether you speak with him or someone else, we suggest the following script:

HELLO, MY NAME IS ________. I WOULD LIKE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I SUPPORT THE SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS. I THINK IT IS SHAMEFUL THAT THE IMMEDIATE REACTION IN RESPONSE TO THE SICK- OUT WAS TO FIRE DRIVERS, RATHER THAN TO NEGOTIATE WITH THEM. THE DRIVERS HAVE A RIGHT TO ORGANIZE WITHOUT FEAR OF RETALIATION, INCLUDING BY WITHDRAWING THEIR LABOR. I SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THEIR JOBS, AND DEMAND THAT THE DISTRICT IMMEDIATELY REINSTATE ALL FIRED DRIVERS, WITH NO PAY LOST AND NO OTHER KIND OF DISCIPLINE. NONE OF THE DRIVERS WHO PARTICIPATED SHOULD BE RETALIATED AGAINST. I ALSO DEMAND THAT THE DISTRICT IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZE THE DRIVERS COMMITTEE AND BEGIN NEGOTIATING WITH THEM. WILL YOU AGREE TO REHIRE THE DRIVERS AND RECOGNIZE THEIR COMMITTEE?

https://mtea.weac.org/2018/04/25/thousands-protest-to-demand-a-student-centered-budget/

Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association

Photo Credit: Joe Brusky

In an incredible show of solidarity and strength, well over 3,000 MPS education workers, parents, students, and community members picketed up and down Vliet Street outside of MPS Central Office. Quickly, the crowd grew so large that Vliet St. was closed as the picketers spilled into the street and took over 5 city blocks.

Workers from all over the city joined the picket. Unions representing transit workers, healthcare workers, electrical workers, communication workers, postal workers, auto workers, delivery drivers, and museum workers all came out to support MPS students and educators in our fight for a fair budget. Many groups representing making up the pro-public education Schools and Communities United coalition were also present.

Educators from Madison, Racine, Kenosha, and the greater Milwaukee area also came out in support. Massive 24-foot parachute banners were unfurled and carried by the crowd. Parachute banners painted with messages were walked on the picket.

The picket was so large, MTEA President Kim Schroeder and Vice President Amy Mizialko climbed up on the roof of the union office to address the crowd.

Their message was simple: These cuts are an attack on every MPS student and education worker in this district and we will reject any budget that does further harm to our schools. It doesn’t have to be this way. MPS has a billion dollar budget, and cuts can and must be made farther from the classroom.

To cap off the evening, our entire line headed towards the front door of central office. The doors were locked despite the public school board meeting that was to be held inside. Picketers began knocking on the locked front doors and chanted, “This is a public meeting, let us in!” When the doors were finally opened a loud line of educators, parents, and students streamed through the hallways, chanting to remind the MPS Administration and School Board of our demands.

Our action yesterday showed our strength and demonstrated our commitment to our students. We will continue to fight against cuts that hurt students and education workers.

Where do we go from here?

Here are key dates and events for you to remember as we fight back cuts to students and educators.

Superintendent Driver’s Preliminary Budget Released – Friday, April 27

Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA) Facebook Livestream Reaction to Budget – Sunday, April 29 at 5pm

MTEA Executive Board Meets to Determine Next Steps – Wednesday, May 2

Facebook Livestream to MTEA Members – Wednesday, May 2 at 7:30pm or immediately following the MTEA Executive Board Meeting

First MPS Budget Hearing – Thursday, May 3 at MPS Central Office (Time to be determined)

Further actions to come to WIN for our students!

Click here for more photos from the picket.

“Specials” refers to art, music, and physical education classes in MPS (Photo credit: Joe Brusky).

http://www.qualityschoolsbetterlives.org/#about

The District continues to depend on a largely part-time work force to provide critical support services, including student nutrition, health and safety, and classroom support. Additionally, after school programs and parent training, which are proven to increase graduation rates are in dire need of expansion. Career ladder opportunities to hire more teachers from our local school communities have not been funded in years. And while we’ve worked with the District to lift the wage floor at LAUSD, many of the District’s most experienced, long-time workers still struggle on wages that have not kept up with the rising costs of living.

__________

We are SEIU Local 99—the Education Workers United—representing nearly 35,000 employees in public and non-public education in early education, K-12, and community college levels throughout Southern California, including 30,000 school workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

SEIU Local 99 members at LAUSD are Teacher’s Assistants, Playground Workers, Special Education Assistants, Bus Drivers, Gardeners, Custodians, Cafeteria Workers, Community Representatives and others providing essential student services. We share a deeply personal commitment to student success. Nearly 50% of us are also parents of school-aged children and 70% of us are graduates of LAUSD schools.

Together, we are lifting our schools and raising our communities.

AFSCME 3299 SUPPORT PLEDGE

AFSCME 3299

https://afscme3299.org/

Why is our AFSCME 3299 bargaining team calling for a strike vote?

Our Bargaining Team has been negotiating in good faith. UC still has yet to offer real wage increases, benefit protections, job security, safe staffing and ending discrimination in the workplace. Instead, UC wants us to take cuts. We have reached the final impasse in SX Bargaining. If UC continues to refuse to meet our core demands, we must be prepared to take all actions necessary to win, including striking. That’s why our bargaining team is calling for a strike vote to show UC that we are ready to fight for what we deserve. Patient Care workers are voting to join the lines with Service workers in solidarity; all UC workers deserve better.

University of California union votes for strike, commencement speakers urged to boycott: https://tinyurl.com/y926sovv

https://www.facebook.com/wisconsinppc/

Wisconsin’s religious leaders, organizations, and local communities, teaming up to fight against systematic poverty, racism, and environmental destruction.

Non-Violent Moral Fusion training in Milwaukee Saturday, April 28, 2018 at ATU Local 998 ? Please register here. Thank you! https://goo.gl/forms/sLtd2iZsyRns6SRg1

Public Meetings, May 10 and June 14: 3020 W Vliet Street, Milwaukee, African American Women’s Center (WAAW), 6:30 P.M. 

More info: The Wisconsin Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival

http://peoplespowerassemblies.org/may-day-2018/

List of May Day events: peoplespowerassemblies.org

Hosted by Black Lives Matter to Wisconsin UUs

1342 N Astor Street, Milwaukee, First Unitarian Society Of Milwaukee 

On April 30, 2014, Dontre Hamilton died in Red Arrow Park at the hands of a Milwaukee police officer. The event witnesses the loss to his family and this community, and honors the activism of his family and supporters in the pursuit of justice and police accountability. Please join us in recognition of the continuing struggle against racial oppression and bias in this country.

All our welcome.