California students take on the millionaires who increase their fees.

It is great the California students are fighting back. Maybe the ice is cracking and the fight back has begun. Many thousands of students in California are on the march against increases in education fees and cuts in faculty and jobs in general. Under their thug of a governor the cops have waded in clubbing students and making arrests. We have to support the California students. Go to their website, go to the US embassy websites and march on their buildings, give your support, do not let the California students stand alone.

There is sympathy for the students amongst the workers in the state's education system and some involvement also. However the trade union leaders in their cowed passivity and with their links to the capitalist Democratic Party have tied their members hands in "no sympathy clauses" and refuse to take their members out in action. "No sympathy clauses" it is unbelievable. What is a "no sympathy clause?" It is a screw every body else clause and inevitably in the last analysis screw yourself clause. All contracts with or without these clauses have to be broken. The workers have to come out in solidarity with the students. For strikes and days of actions until the increase in student fees are reversed.

The fees have just been increased by 32%. This decision was taken last night by the multi millionaire filth who make up the board of regents, the body selected by the capitalist class in the state to control education. California has been plundered by the profit mad corporations for decades and centuries and especially the oil and electricity corporations over the recent years. Now its budget is in severe deficit. And who are they attacking? The youth, the poor and the working class. Meanwhile the multi millionaires and billionaires are still living the high life.

Of course they have their minder in the governors mansion to do the job for them. He was a thug when he was an actor, if he can be called that. His movies concentrated on violence and killings and bombings. This is what he fed the youth and the population as normal. He is responsible for increasing the culture of violence in the state and the country, he is responsible in doing so for destroying lives and families. And now as governor he is destroying lives and families more directly. He is leading the charge to cut the state's budget.

Every professor, administrator and clerical worker has been put on furlough amounting to an average pay cut of 8%. On top of that fees for students have been increased by 32% from next fall. As an example of what this will mean the University of California will cost about three times what it did a decade ago.

The budget cuts in the state of California topped $30 billion over the last two years. This was during the period when the government in Washington was handing hundreds of billions to the banks. The state's higher education budget has been slashed by 2.8 billion this year including $813 million from the university system. The dean of the college of chemistry at Berkeley describes the cuts as a "stupendously stupid thing to do." He explains that the high investment that was previously put into education in the state was "a huge economic driver for the state." He like many other commentators fear that if these cuts go through the world class higher education system in California will be "dismantled." And not only that at a time when more jobs are needed to cut the unemployment rate the budget cuts will cut jobs further.

The New York Times, November 20th, describes the ferocity of the cuts on jobs. Across ten campuses, 1,900 workers have been fired, 3,800 positions done away with and hiring deferred for another 1,600." The thug in the governors mansion, the profit addicted privately owned corporations and their capitalist system, the corporations capitalist parties, the Republicans and Democrats are responsible for this.

An 18 year old freshman at San Marcos campus explained what the fee hikes meant to him. He said he was worried that if his parents, migrant farm workers from Mexico, could not afford state university fees, his younger siblings might end up working in the fields. Another student explained that she already worked two jobs to cover her fees and the higher fees meant she might have to take on a third job.

This is the reality that these fee hikes mean for working class people. Meanwhile the millionaire and billionaire filth on the regents board and the class they represent increase the fees to fit in with the cuts in spending on education carried out by the other members of their class in the state legislature.

Support the California students.

Disrupt the classes still open.

For students and workers to take solidarity action together.

Organize solidarity wherever we are.

Email the California state offices and US embassies.

March on and demonstrate at the state offices and US embassies.

Send messages of solidarity to the California students. This is the most militant fight against the bosses offensive in the US in years. Victory here can open up a generalized offensive in which we can all improve our lives.

Sean.