Pussy Riot, Teachers, Workers and Repression

Repression in Russia is all over the news after Putin and his goons conspired to sentence the feminist punk band Pussy Riot to two years incarceration over an anti-establishment video that took place in an Orthodox church. There is outrage everywhere, including from Madonna who had supported the band's politics with a washable tattoo, visible on her back when she removed her shirt on stage. Lack of free speech is a travesty but hearing Amy Goodman repeatedly say, "Pussy Riot," with a little Mona Lisa smile, was priceless. 

Perhaps it is time to take the advice of their innovative name and think in terms of a pussy riot here, to defend the incredible, shrinking specter of women's rights. It would be open to pussies of all genders, of course. 

So much depressing and scary news, it's hard to know where to begin. In New York City only 55% of teachers were granted tenure after their probation. The NYTimes is writing about an upcoming movie that targets that newly much-vilified enemy of capitalism...The Teacher's Union. It's called "Won't Back Down," and sounds absolutely appalling.

And the Caterpillar workers in Illinois accepted a contract that was unacceptable even to the Union leadership. It included a six-year wage freeze, increased payments for health care and reduction of pensions. In the new anti-worker environment people are understandably frightened for their jobs. The entire state of Illinois, where the Caterpillar workers are, is talking pension reduction for all civil service employees. 

So, as bad as Obama may be, we can only hope that the R&R ticket of Ayn Rand fanatics doesn't get into office and do away with Medicare and Social Security.

The War on Workers Intensifies

As Republican reactionaries wage their battle against the most fundamental of women's rights and Rush Limbaugh flaunts his pathetic ignorance, the war against workers, unions and the most basic of protections such as job security, paid sick time and health benefits continues at every level.

Teachers are the latest public enemy and the drive in New York to evaluate them publicly based on the test scores of their students is gaining momentum. At long last teachers are speaking out and being published in the mainstream media. "Confessions of a 'Bad' Teacher," appeared in the New York Times and "What Value is Added by Publicly Shaming Teachers?" appeared on the Huffington Post.

My own workplace, a large library system in that city by the bay, has joined the trend, shamelessly hammering the relatively few employees who are still working there. Everyone who could retire, has done so and I must add that I am hoping to join them shortly. In the meantime, and it is mean time in every sense of the word, threatening and provocative emails arrive in our inboxes almost weekly, warning us of how we will lose our employment if we conduct any sort of political activity, even on our own time, from work computers.

Oh, did I forget to add that we are in contract negotiations?

The latest threat letter was specifically geared to employees on part-time requisitions (of which I am one) who are seeking extra hours through a substitute-finding database linked to all the Library Branches. I'm not going to bore you to death with direct quotes from this unsavory document but I can sum it up like this: Employees are not permitted to search for extra hours on work time, even during their own breaks. And employees who use any combination of sick leave on their regular work hours when they are scheduled to sub in a given week, will be penalized by not being allowed to use the sub service for time periods ranging from 1 month up to six months.

I am aware that some people, to get more work hours, sometimes schedule themselves for seven days a week of work, followed by another seven. So you can see why someone who is working this way may need to use some sick time to keep going. Oh, did I tell you how much work we have because we are so understaffed? Or how stressed out and crazy members of the public have gotten since the economy went into the toilet.

Well if I didn't, just use your imagination!

(Disclaimer: This entry was written on my own time, at home from my personal computer) 

Eroding Teacher Seniority Will Bust Unions

Same Stuff, Different Day

The right-wing debate against public employees has shifted and now it is teachers that are being targeted on all levels. From the privatization of education through charter schools, to misguided movies like "Waiting for Superman." Educators have become the new enemy, responsible for everything from the massive disobedience and lack of discipline of students to the failure of the public education system in this country.

In poor and working class communities the problems of poverty, parental neglect (often due to financial necessity), and the lack of motivation of the students themselves are some of the reasons for this systemic breakdown. But as with other union targets before them, all logic is being tossed aside, replaced with the easy out of a new dog to kick.

Even Obama who is now waxing populist in deference to the Occupy Movement, has raised  and praised the idea of "replacement teachers" as a cure-all for the ills of the education system. This is presented as a simple formula in which the "best" teachers will be rewarded while those who no longer have "passion" and have outlived their usefulness, will be let go. Ending teacher tenure is their new rallying cry.

In reality, terminating the seniority system will destroy the teacher's unions and erode job security, benefits and pensions for the whole profession. It serves as a crack in a door that was previously shut tight, a perfect way to break in and destroy a highly organized, predominantly female, group of professionals. Doing away with seniority means that all ongoing employment decisions will be subjective and open to the ebbs and flows of bias and personal prejudice. Older people will be discarded for their "lack of energy." Teachers who take too much initiative will be replaced for their lack of obsequious and deferential behavior. Unpopular minority group status (LGBTs, blacks, latinos, etc.) will be used as factors in decision making. The list goes on and on but the end result is that people will lose their livelihoods at the whim of those in power.

The teachers who survive this reorganization will be young and full of vigor. But the burn-out rate is high in teaching and, given four or five years in the classrooms, especially those of inner city schools, even the hardiest young, bright-eyed idealist will lose some of her enthusiasm and spark. And so teaching will become a stint kind of job, much like service in the military.

Indiana is now poised to join Southern states in passing a "right-to-work" bill (Brave New World Speak for massive anti-union legislation), the tenured teacher is poised to be a relic of the past.

All union jobs and protections will go the way of the dinosaur if we end seniority protections for some workers. We must stand with our educators in ensuring that they don't have an ax hanging over their heads as they try to perform an already difficult job.