MARCH 4 Strike and Day of Action

MARCH 4 Strike and Day of Action

Ran across this and found it rather interesting.

It looks like some unhappy Americans have plans to rally and march all over California tomorrow (March 4,2010).

(snippet from site)
..."March 4th is right around the corner and the local, national and international anticipation for this historic day is growing by the minute. Students, teachers, staff, parents and workers from all over California, the nation and the world have been organizing and building for the Strike and Day of Action. Below is a tentative list of events that will be happening on March 4th in California."....

Check out the link below to read list of demands, endorsements and schedule of events.
defendcapubliceducation.wordpress.com...

This is the first I am hearing of this and was wondering if anyone had more info?

If this is the real deal, I think it may be interesting to watch what happens tomorrow in the streets of California.

Except for the unionized teachers and administrators, nobody I know here in California cares. Many Californians know that the Unions have been running our schools into the ground. L.A. teachers for example are paid more than most other teachers in the entire U.S., yet kids continue to severely under-perform. It's a terrible situation and I'm all for charter schools. Unions haven't exactly proven to be very effective, so it's time to try something new, and something less expensive. They keep screaming for more and more money, yet there's no difference in the child's performance at school. In fact it's getting worse! Finally people are onto them, so they have these strikes. They brainwash their students into believing that we're evil for wanting to get rid of their outrageous salaries and benefits. Whenever I see them marching down the street, striking with their students marching beside them, I throw up in my mouth a little from the disgust I feel.

Here's a great video to watch: "Stupid in America". I don't know how to embed YouTube Videos, so if someone is willing to do it, that would be nice.

www.youtube.com...

LOL!

Well it is after 5 p m on March 3rd, and this is the first I have heard of this. I called my buddies in Cali, and they haven't heard of this. I called my buddy who is in law enforcement in Cali, and he hasn't heard of this.

What a shame too! I really wish the people would follow through and organize and make a unified statement to government, but alas, that takes money, and the money is in bed with the politicians.

Anyhow, thanks for bringing this to ATS.

How can something happening tomorrow that most of us have never heard of [my rationale being that it has not been posted on ATS before] be a nationwide / worldwide event?

Frankly, it's things like these that give the impression that the rest of us don't care. It's unlikely that many will suddenly change their plans given the event takes place tomorrow and leaves little room for organizing anything. Then, the media will run it as a non-show of American dissent.

If they actually want to organize an event that will garner attention, making people aware of it would be a good first step.

The link is blocked by my work filter. A lot of websites are blocked, so that is not unusual, but I am surprised that "wordpress" is blocked, because we have access to just about any type of news outlet. (Including ATS and even Huffington.)

Therefore, I say the article that I can't see is probably not very credible, and if anybody organized, it was probably only a handful of mixed nuts.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by getreadyalready]

When will you americans understand. Protests do nothong but give the government more reason to take away your rights.

Anyone living in Calfornia and is able to attend should go along to this protest and get involved. You must start to fight back, or you will lose everything lying down.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

It looks to me (from the article) that it's not a march of people against the horrible actions of the Government that have been discussed here on ATS recently, it's a bunch of unionized teachers who want yet MORE tax payer money and MORE tax payer funding. That's probably why none of you have heard anything. I'll let you know what it's like out there tomorrow since I live in Southern California. I've seen it before. They're out there for themselves, not for the country or the good of children everywhere. They want to continue ruining education and raking in the dough, that's all.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by 2manyquestions]

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Nothing worng with being out for yourself when part of a union. If this could happen in more industries you would have a lot more rights when it comes to your job. Unionise and fight.

I know it is easier said than done, but you must try.

Huffingtonpost would like you to send them pictures and video of the events.






snippet from source; www.huffingtonpost.com...

"California Student Strike: Send Us Your Videos & Photos

March 4 is a day of action for students in California. In the face of mounting tuition hikes, layoffs and budget cuts, student activists will stage walkouts, teach-ins and protests at schools across the Golden State.

The activities organized around the event, self-identified as a "strike and day of action," will take place across all 23 campuses in the California State University system as well as University of California schools and various private colleges. Based on the main organizers' website, the point is fairly simple:

The politicians and administrators say there is no money for education and social services. They say that "there is no alternative" to the cuts. But if there's money for wars, bank bailouts, and prisons, why is there no money for public education?

Some student activists have already started rallying behind the mission. Protests last week at Berkeley became violent with fires in the streets and police in riot gear. To the south, one student hung a noose from the library door in an apparently racist gesture that prompted further protests on that campus and CSU-Sacramento. She has since denied any claims that her actions were motivated by race."....

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

Nothing worng with being out for yourself when part of a union. If this could happen in more industries you would have a lot more rights when it comes to your job. Unionise and fight.

I know it is easier said than done, but you must try.

I understand your point, and yes, unions did have good intentions back in the day. Unfortunately these days Unions in some cases are worse than the mafia. They buy political candidates, they threaten private and government businesses, they constantly ask for more and more and more, but the tax payers can't support these spending habits.

We have come to the point where a state worker... a GOVERNMENT worker gets a fat pension, better pay and better benefits than a worker in the private sector. Here in California the state is going bankrupt because there is so much spending, especially on the salaries and pensions of state employees. These were all negotiated by unions. We pay their salaries, and we're sick and tired of seeing them under-perform at their jobs day in and day out while we all struggle to pay more and more taxes. We're sick of the taxes, and a lot of our tax dollars go to these union perks.

Watch the video I posted in my first reply. It expresses my frustration with unions perfectly.

By the way, I think we should get rid of unions all together and simply impose certain requirements on employers. Maybe there should be only one organization which investigates and enforces fair employment practices. Everyone (state or private) should be fairly treated, and nobody (who hasn't earned it) should receive special treatment compared to their fellow co-workers just because they pay to be part of some group. In my opinion Unions in their current state are one of the diseases destroying the U.S. from the inside out.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by 2manyquestions]

reply to post by deepred


I salute these students. But it is what you would expect from the Golden State. This point cuts right to the heart of the issue.

''The politicians and administrators say there is no money for education and social services. They say that "there is no alternative" to the cuts. But if there's money for wars, bank bailouts, and prisons, why is there no money for public education?''

When will the Pentagon Budget be slashed? It is an absolute joke. When will Banks be properly regulated so they do not expose the World to this economic disaster again?

This isn't just about these students. This is about every American and every person living in the real world.

The only way to get what you want is to protest, is too pressurise, just like the special interests in Washington do now. How do you think you got the basic rights you have now? Massive strikes in the late 19th and early 20th century by the middle class, working class and immigrant workers, during World War One, During the Great Depression, During the 60's.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by deepred

 

I salute these students. But it is what you would expect from the Golden State. This point cuts right to the heart of the issue.

''The politicians and administrators say there is no money for education and social services. They say that "there is no alternative" to the cuts. But if there's money for wars, bank bailouts, and prisons, why is there no money for public education?''

When will the Pentagon Budget be slashed? It is an absolute joke. When will Banks be properly regulated so they do not expose the World to this economic disaster again?

This isn't just about these students. This is about every American and every person living in the real world.

There's something most people seem to miss. Yes, we are spending a lot of money on wars, but we're also spending a ton of money on government worker salaries, incredible benefits and fat pensions!

The state worker unions keep badgering the state to hire and keep more and more of their workers when we clearly can't afford to! How many people in the private sector have been laid off? Now compare that to how many state workers have been laid off. Nearly none! Why? Because the union keeps fighting to keep them employed even though the regular person can't afford to pay the taxes!

As for education, same goes for the teachers unions. These guys have been in power for years and years. They keep getting more and more state funding, but the results keep declining. More students are dropping out, less of them make it to college, and the huge influx of money hasn't made a difference whatsoever in the quality of education.

Students should be pissed about their tuition rates going up, but if union teachers want to help their students, then maybe it's time they took a pay cut, maybe it's time they fired a few hundred incompetent teachers who don't deserve the pay and benefits they're getting. Just a few months ago there was a case of a teacher who was molesting his students, but the union wouldn't allow the school district to fire him, because the union developed several very complicated rules, making it incredibly hard to get rid of a union teacher. They sent him home and continued to pay him his full salary for a couple of years!

So the point I'm trying to make is that not only should we be looking at the spending of the Pentagon, but also we should be investigating these unions that feed off of tax payers.

reply to post by 2manyquestions


But the only employer hiring is the Government! If you just knock all them off or cut their salaries the situation would be even worse, with more unemployed and less spending into the economy.

It is interlinked. The only reason that the regular person cannot afford to pay taxes is becasue you cannot unionise in unskilled, manual and other work, and get a better deal, better pay for yourselves.

Why should teachers in these universities take a pay cut? They fought for their rights and they deserve them, you cannot balme them for dropouts, that is down to the individual. These aren't kids at these universities.

You shouldn't look for other people to lose their rights because some in society do not recieve them, you should strive to fight to get the same equality.

It is a similair situation here in the U.K. Massive cuts are being made to the universities budgets and students are beggining to mobilise.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

But the only employer hiring is the Government! If you just knock all them off or cut their salaries the situation would be even worse, with more unemployed and less spending into the economy.

It is interlinked. The only reason that the regular person cannot afford to pay taxes is becasue you cannot unionise in unskilled, manual and other work, and get a better deal, better pay for yourselves.

Why should teachers in these universities take a pay cut? They fought for their rights and they deserve them, you cannot balme them for dropouts, that is down to the individual. These aren't kids at these universities.

You shouldn't look for other people to lose their rights because some in society do not recieve them, you should strive to fight to get the same equality.

It is a similair situation here in the U.K. Massive cuts are being made to the universities budgets and students are beggining to mobilise.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by Peruvianmonk]

You clearly don't understand what's going on here in California. You are under the impression that Unions are good people who want only the best for everybody. Wrong. That may have been the case when Unions first started popping up and standing up for workers, but today it is completely different. If only I had the time to explain to you all the injustices perpetrated by unions, but unfortunately I'm at work and I don't have the time to go deep into it.

Look... here in California the state has created a very negative environment for businesses. They are taxing businesses (as well as individuals) to death. Many businesses have moved out of here, because they struggle to make a profit and pay all their taxes. Since they're being taxed to death, they can only afford to pay their workers so much. The private sector is suffering in order to support the parasite that is the state. The state has been expanding and hiring more and more government workers. These government workers (some of which are uneducated and barely graduated high school) are getting better pay than the average private sector worker, the very worker who pays THEIR salaries! Do you understand? The government is supposed to work for us, not us for the government. Their salaries should be comparable with ours, based on performance and education, not based on what union stands up for them. These are our tax dollars going to waste.

If the state provided a more business-friendly environment, the government wouldn't have to hire all those people, because those people would be able to find employment in the private sector. The more businesses in the state, the more jobs in the state. It makes sense!

If the state doesn't lay off some of their workers or at least cuts their pay, the LUCKY ones left with a job in the private sector will have to pay higher taxes in order to pay state workers their salary. The less state workers there are, the less the state needs to pay out in salaries. Of course now that we are in a crisis and thousands, if not millions of people have been laid off, the state is hurting. They are inventing new ways to charge us. They've proposed, for example, the idea that all parking would be charged for. Imagine going to the grocery store or anywhere else and be unable to park your car without paying for it. No free parking anywhere. They have hiked up ticket prices, they have raised our income taxes just last year, and they are finding more and more ways to collect revenue.

People are barely able to survive here anymore. Those who are able are running out of here, to other states in hopes that they'll be able to stretch their dollar a little further.

If the state had stopped hiring so many government workers and if they had not signed contracts with unions to pay their workers exorbitant and ridiculous salaries and pensions, there would be more money for everything else. You follow?

As for teachers,... the reason I say take a pay-cut is because they too are receiving incredible benefits, pensions and salaries, yet they show NO signs of improvement. Let me put it this way. Teachers keep screaming they need more money, yet even when they are given more funding, students are still failing! It's obvious that money isn't the problem here, and millions of dollars isn't going to help. It's the teachers! They're no good! Their methods aren't working, and that money isn't going into the students. Please, just watch the video I posted at the very top in my first post. I promise you it is very enlightening.

[edit on 3-3-2010 by 2manyquestions]

look, all i know is we keep giving them more money every single year. and the next year they are out with their signs again wanting more.

i think i may make a sign that says "B-o-o-H-o-o" with a big picture of a tissue.

Originally posted by LurkerMan
look, all i know is we keep giving them more money every single year. and the next year they are out with their signs again wanting more.

i think i may make a sign that says "B-o-o-H-o-o" with a big picture of a tissue.

I would love to wave that flag.

I'm at a the University of Washington, but we've got a socialist-leaning student group (really more of a coalition of socialist-leaning student groups) organizing a student strike against budget cuts, tuition increases, and what they're calling 'privatization' of education.

It's kind of ridiculous, but they have a list of seven demands:

Student-Worker Coalition's demands:

1) Transparent and democratic budget allocation
2) Cut from the top administrators; cap all salaries at $150000 per year
3) No layoffs
4) No speed ups (extra work) for workers
5) Accessible public education for all
6) Freeze tuition (no tuition hikes)
7) Replace loans with grants

Link: www.facebook.com...

I'm actually part of a libertarian-leaning student group and we're organizing a pretty interesting plan of infiltration and counter-protest. The assumption we're working under is that there are very few who actually believe such socialist principles and that we're going to show the students who just get riled up over tuition that the free market has better solutions and how truly terrible the consequences of the changes the strike is pushing for are. It should be a lot of fun...

reply to post by AndyMack


Sounds interesting. I'd love to hear more about it. Give us an update when you're ready.

Originally posted by 2manyquestions
: "Stupid in America". I don't know how to embed YouTube Videos, so if someone is willing to do it, that would be nice.

www.youtube.com...

Just add [ bars to the number portion of said video....


If that dosen't help , the best way is to hit the quote on my post and look at they way I did it.


As for th OP...the donimnos are starting to fall. What happens in Cali spreads to the rest of the nation.


[edit on 4-3-2010 by Grayelf2009]