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| Arizona Teachers March Through Phoenix April 2018 |
This blog, known as Facts For Working People holds weekly conference calls. The most recent one was the second time we have had one of the new leaders of the teachers and educators strikes and movements from West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona and Puerto Rico, join our calls and share their experiences. This Blog has on a number of occasions posted videos of three of these new leaders and articles from another. We would ask our readers to please check out this material. Links to these are included below. Also, go to the Puerto Rico label on the right to read more on the huge struggles that have been taking place in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the hurricane and around education.
Last weekend Rebecca Fligelman Garelli, a leading activist of the Teachers and
Educators movement in Arizona joined our conference call and helped us understand the great developments that
are taking place in this state. What was made clear is that we are seeing the
beginning of a new movement of working people. Arising out of these struggles
are new leaders from the rank and file of the movement who are not prepared to
accept any longer the refusal of the established leadership to fight back
against the bosses' attacks. This is a development of the greatest importance.
Sister Garelli laid out her and her movements'
experience. It was extraordinary. It was inspiring.
When the movement in Arizona began, there were only 20,000
members in the union, a tiny minority of the teachers, and with a trade union
leadership that was not prepared to fight, in fact, opposed any attempt to
fight in any serious way, and was in a state controlled by the Republican
Party. The new leadership in Arizona went on the Internet and reached out to
all teachers, union and non-union in public schools and so-called charter
schools. Charter schools are the way that the US profit motivated corporations
and their capitalist system is moving to privatize education.
Also, a very important step taken by the new leadership that
had arisen initially among the teachers was that they called on all workers
in education to vote whether they were in a union or not, in a public school or
Charter School, canteen workers, cleaners, or grounds people. They got a huge
majority vote to take action to defend and expand public education and spending
on education.
The Republican state government frightened by these
developments approved a measly raise, but only for the teachers. This was prior to the threat of a walk out. The new movement
said NO; it was going to take action. Faced with this the Republican state
government offered around $60
million.
This new movement through its new leadership drew up 5
demands:
- 20% wage increase for all.
- Return education funding to level of 2008.
- Moratorium on all tax cuts. (The tax cuts were going to
the rich and corporations.)
- A different salary structure. Reinstate the steps (years of experience) and lanes (professional growth, i.e. degrees/credits) salary structure
- Competitive wages for all workers in education.
Faced with the new movement's rejection of its offer and its
decision to go ahead and act for its five demands, the Republican state
government which had been forced to offer a $60 million increase in education
spending, suddenly found it could spend $406 million rather than the earlier
offer of $60 million. By their action, the teachers and educators increased the
offer from $60 million to $406 million. This was, and is, an enormous victory.
This shows that resolute action and a mobilized rank and file with a determined
leadership can win gains for working people. This new movement must receive the
gratitude and the support of all working people.
But if anybody thinks that the increase to $406 million is
the end of the matter they must think again. The new movement's demand for a
return to the 2008 spending level would mean an increase of around $1.1
billion. So this new movement is fighting on for the other 600 million plus.
151,000 signatures were needed to put this increase of spending back to where
it was in 2008 on the ballot in November. The level of support was astounding
and the campaign received 270,000 signatures, almost twice the amount needed.
This is now on the ballot in November. The corporation
bought and paid for capitalist politicians of both parties, the Republicans and
Democrats are not happy. Both have over the years cut education spending and
been moving to destroy public education, promote charter schools and privatize,
that is, make profit out of education. President Obama, Arne Duncan, Eli Broad
and Bill Gates all have worked toward privatizing public education
The new teachers and educators movement in Arizona is now
taking the fight on to the electoral front in the coming elections. This movement has created Legislative District (LD) Facebook pages as a platform for educators to discuss candidates. This is the way the new movement in
Arizona is approaching the coming elections and taking their battle on to the
electoral plane. This is a positive development.
While respecting the decisions this movement makes as it
continues to battle on for a better education system, this Blog advocates that
the various struggles should run their own candidates out of these struggles.
One way to approach that in this situation in Arizona is only to support candidates that pledge to support the five demands. This Blog also stands for the building of a mass party of the working class
rooted in the work places and working class communities and rooted in the new
democratic union movement which will develop. These teachers and educators
movements are the early steps in this direction.
These new movements of workers in education have a number of
distinctive features. They are overwhelmingly led by women. This Blog has been
continually emphasizing that women have moved in their tens and tens of
millions into the paid workforce over the past decades. This Blog has
emphasized that today an estimated 50% of factory workers in the world are
women. This means a huge strengthening of the working class. This Blog has
insisted that the new workers' movement that will develop and that is beginning
to develop to take on the corporate capitalist offensive, will have a
leadership which involves women as never before. This is shown in these new
teachers and educators movements.
Another feature of these new movements is the use of the
Internet. In Arizona the new teachers and educators movement has 55,000 people
on its Face Book page. In Arizona and all the other movements of the teachers
and educators throughout the US, activists are using the Internet in a big way.
This is an important step forward.
Another feature of these new movements which is extremely
important and positive is that they are working together and very much linked
up and linked up not only through through social media. A meeting has been
organized for the weeks ahead which will be attended by the elected leaderships
of the education workers in all the states where this movement has developed.
Its purpose is to discuss coordinated action.
Another feature of this movement which shows its maturity
and consciousness is its approach to the existing trade union leadership. These
new movements are aware that the existing trade union leadership has shown that they are
not prepared to fight; this is true throughout organized labor. As a result
these new leaderships are determined to keep the leadership of their struggles in
their own hands. But they are not ultra left. They are prepared to relate to
and accept any help they can receive from the existing trade union leadership
but they are clear on the role that these leaders have played and would play
again if they got control of the movement so this new leadership is keeping
control of its struggle and forces in its own hands.
In relation to this point we wish to make the following
comment. It is related to the various left organizations that exist in the
country. The overwhelming major of these, from the largest, the Democratic
Socialists of America, through Labor Notes and others, do not openly explain
and confront the role of the trade union leadership. That role being to
capitulate to the offensive of the corporations, the bosses. Some do it by
hiding behind super rrrrevolutionary phraseology and not taking part in the
union struggles against the bosses and against the policies of the union
leadership, particularly the disastrous Team Concept that argues that bosses and
workers have the same interests.
Some do it by taking part in union work but in doing so refuse to take up and explain and oppose the role of the union leadership and their policy of capitulation to the corporations and bosses. This Blog believes this is a very mistaken policy. Here's a few posts from this blog on these issues and please browse through the labels for issues that matter to you.
Report: Labor Notes Conference 2018. A New
Era has Begun.
Honeywell,Teachers, all Struggles are"Our" Struggles.
Why the Teachers Revolt Must Confront Racism Head On.
AFL-CIO Leaders Abandon Puerto Rican Workers
Honeywell,Teachers, all Struggles are"Our" Struggles.
Why the Teachers Revolt Must Confront Racism Head On.
AFL-CIO Leaders Abandon Puerto Rican Workers
Those of us who were on Facts For Working People conference
call last Saturday 14th July were and are extremely enthusiastic about the
participation of the Arizona teachers and educators leader on the conference
call and what we learned from this activist. Just as was the situation with the
participation of the teachers and educators workers leader from Kentucky on a
previous call. And we understand how privileged we are to receive information
from and to hear from and learn from these leaders and these new movements. We
are now passing on what we have learned and the opinions expressed to all
workers and people who read this Blog. We ask our readers to share this as
widely as possible. And to organize support for these workers in struggle.
contact these new movements, learn from these new movements. A genuine discussion
took place on our conference call. An exchange of views and experiences, a
genuine dialogue.
One question that was raised in the discussion was where did
the movement see the money coming from to meet its demand for a return to the
spending level of 2008. The state government are trying to take it from other
programs, such as medicare and medicaid or through some sort of vehicle tax.
The plan of the state government which represents the corporations and the rich
and their capitalist system is that if they have to give some concessions to
the education workers they will take it from other workers and in this way they
wish to achieve two objectives. One - protect the tax cuts and the welfare they
hand out to the corporations and the rich. And two - divide the working class
by having other workers blame the teachers and education workers for cutting
into programs or raising taxes on other working people.
The leaders of this educators movement, it consciously calls
itself that to make sure it includes all workers in education not just
teachers, have taken the position that they want what they call a
"Dedicated Funding Source" that is, that it has to be spelled out
where the money is to come from. And it is not to come from other programs
which benefit working people or by taxes on motor vehicles which is what the
state government is seeking in an effort to both shield the rich and the
corporations and also divide and rule the working class. This is still being
struggled over.
Facts For Working people Blog had heard from activists who
follow our Blog in Britain that a major trade union there called Unite has set
a Unite Community organizational structure with a very low dues amount and to
which anybody who opposes the corporate capitalist attacks on working people and
the environment can join. The information about the web site of this
trade union community initiative has been put on this Blog and is now being
shared directly with the new teachers and educators movements. These movements
are very interested in hearing more on this development. This shows the
importance not just of linking together the working peoples struggles in the US
but also in drawing together and learning from and sharing experiences with the
struggles of working people world wide. See a video of Unite’s
Community Membership here.
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