The Offical Website of the PJSTA

Posted on October 10, 2013 by thepjsta

Obama Hates Unions

Labor Haters: Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama

President Obama, who is trying to destroy the industry in which we make our living, was at it again yesterday. He was comparing the GOP to striking workers who should be fired.

Via the Washington Examiner…

President Obama again compared Republicans in Congress to workers going on strike, telling reporters Tuesday that GOP lawmakers had no more right to shut down the government than factory workers had to walk off their jobs.

The president made similar remarks at an event in Rockville, Md., on Thursday. He even referenced that event in his remarks Tuesday.

Both times, he compared GOP lawmakers to hypothetical striking workers. He argued those workers would be rightfully fired if they tried to shut down a plant to extract concessions from management.

In each case, Obama seemed unaware that the worker activity he was describing was a classic organized labor strike, a federally protected activity under the National Labor Relations Act. The law was signed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 and is considered one of the era’s major liberal victories.

It makes you wonder why labor has endorsed him in the last two elections. Unions may want to start paying attention to a politician’s actions when choosing who they endorse, rather than just handing over the endorsement to anyone who pays them lip service. Despite claiming to support unions in the past, Obama has proven to be nothing more than another anti-labor neoliberal pandering to the corporate dollar.

Thursday’s Assembly Hearing

Via the Suffolk PAC: NYS Assembly Hearing – Testing

Please don’t forget about the forum being held by members of the NYS Assembly on the issues of high stakes testing and common core which will take place in Suffolk county on Thursday, October 10, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Sagtikos Arts and Science Building at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood NY.

We would like to thank all of you who have helped us find speakers for this Thursday’s hearing and have gotten the word out to your members. If we haven’t heard from you please be sure your local is represented in the audience. We need to show our legislators that we really care about these issues.

1 Comment

Posted on October 4, 2013 by thepjsta

Reign of Error Book Club

A reminder that next Wednesday, October 9th will be our first book club meeting for Diane Ravitch’s new book Reign of Error. We will be discussing the first four chapters of the book on Wednesday night. Anyone is welcome to attend. Details can be found here. If you haven’t already picked up a copy of the book, make sure you do this weekend! It debuted at #10 on the NY Times Best Sellers list.

Also, be sure to catch Diane on “All In with Chris Hayes” tonight at 8:00 pm on MSNBC.

Diane Ravitch being introduced by Matt Damon at a speaking engagement this week.

KYE: Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch

Know Your Enemies: Merryl Tisch

For those not paying attention, New York City Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has gone on record as saying that he would place a moratorium on co-locating charter schools in New York City. Co-location is when a public school has to give up parts of it’s own building so that a charter school can have that space to operate in. It has become a major problem for New York City public schools. Additionally de Blasio has said that he would charge those charter schools rent for operating in public school buildings.

None of this sits well with New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, who thinks the public dislikes teachers. Tisch, whose family is connected to charter schools and for profit education companies, blasted de Blasio over his position on charter schools.

“Anything that you do that makes it prohibitive for charter schools to grow and thrive in New York City is not a great way to proceed,” Tisch said. “I’m sure charter school operators are paying attention to campaign rhetoric.”

She added: “I want New York to be a place where charter schools grow and thrive. Charter schools are public schools. Charter schools have been a valuable alternative to failing schools. They’ve been a valuable part of rebuilding public schools.”

Somebody should remind Merryl Tisch that charter schools are not public schools. Just because they siphon money away from public schools does not make them public schools. Public schools don’t get to shut down to hold rallies. Public schools don’t get to fire entire grades of children.

Know Your Enemies ladies and gentlemen… Merryl Tisch, New York State Board of Regents Chancellor.

Tomorrow is our first “Win Back Wednesday”

Reminders for “Win Back Wednesday”…

Email your New York State Senator and Assembly member. Tell them that they represent you and that you do not support high stakes testing. Tell them to put the tests to bed!
Wear RED for public ed! Teachers, administrators, parents, students should all wear some sort of red to show their support of public education and to raise awareness of the corporate reforms that are seeking to destroy it.
If people want to know why you are wearing red, direct them to thepjsta.org/red4ed or give them a copy of our flyer.
Post as your Facebook status “Today I am wearing #red4ed because _____________” and share why you support public education. Use the #red4ed hashtag on all social media.
Share our video below with all of your friends…