Union
Power…
The assault on unions and
labor rights continues to accelerate.
We've seen the pattern that Scott Walker started being used again in Michigan this week. Rushed legislation and heated rhetoric are
being used to attempt to destroy organized labor and return sole control of the
workplace to management. This reality is
all the more troubling for Wisconsinites who can safely assume that we will see
legislation of this type introduced in the near future.
What is also frustrating
is that the rhetoric used by anti-labor forces seems to be relatively effective
in convincing many citizens that unions are an "evil" that needs to
be curtailed and/or eliminated. According
to the existing reasoning there are enough protections in the existing laws
that make unions and collective bargaining redundant and unnecessary. The Wisconsin State Journal's used this
reasoning in a recent editorial about public educators and their unions. The argument states that if local school
boards and administrations (management) treat their employees fairly then
unions aren't necessary. Of course, if
people were honest we wouldn't need judges, police officers, jails and all the
other apparatus that goes with the reality that there will always be those who
break the rules.
There is no doubt, but
that organized labor is in many ways "on the ropes". Membership is declining. It is difficult to see much in the way of
significant political power being wielded by labor. Now, there are increased legislative measures
being taken to limit the ability of workers to organize. Many conservatives are gleefully predicting
the end of organized labor.
Yet, unions continue to
fight back and work to defend the hard won rights and processes that have
served to create a period of relative stability in American labor history. As is the case during any period of struggle,
groups must work to defend themselves from external attacks, while reassessing
their own organizations and ways of doing things.
I, along with almost 1,000
other educators spent last Saturday debating the direction that our statewide
educators union (WEAC) will take in the near future. The debate was spirited and positive with
many different opinions offered. In the
end there was widespread support for the initiatives that were approved.
At the same time, the
discussion that took place last weekend, and that has been going on in Wisconsin for some time
brought out a few major issues that unions will need to deal with in the
immediate future.
-The larger the
organization, the more bureaucratic and top-heavy it usually becomes. This may be an effective way to organize some
groups, but in labor organizations the power comes directly from local groups
and individuals. The model of top-down,
large groups doesn't attract as much support as a locally run and easily
accessible one. One thing that was said
over and over again by WEAC members was that they had tremendous loyalty to
their local organizations. WEAC or other
larger entities provide needed support, but can't provide the personal
attention that members require.
-We need to make sure that
we are fighting to protect the goals and members of the organization, not the
organization itself. Unions arose
because of the needs of workers and can not survive if they are anything but
focused on their membership. If members
see that their union is working for them, they will support it, if not then
membership will suffer.
-It was troubling to me
that there was some applause given when a speaker at the WEAC meeting spoke
about trusting our elected representatives to make decisions without needing to
always ask membership for guidance. This
type of thinking is part of what has gotten us in the trouble we are in. Too many members have removed themselves from
the discussions around issues of importance.
Union members must remember that any form of representative government
doesn't abdicate the people's responsibility to be part of the decision making
process.
-We have power, and we
must not shy away from using it.
Conservatives would have us return to a time when labor served at the
complete mercy of management. Over the
years, and with no small amount of blood, sweat and tears, labor gained rights
in the workplace. If we allow the
current wave of anti-labor sentiment to succeed we will find ourselves needing
to refight battles that previous generations already won. Defending labor rights is good for our nation
and a huge majority of the people who live here. We can't allow a small minority to shape the
future for the rest of us.
Education-
Speaking the Language…
Every profession,
specialty, hobby or other subgroup of people has their own language that only
the devotees of that particular interest speak.
In many cases this is a relatively harmless and sometimes humorous
truth. Who hasn't sat through an
event/gathering with friends at some point in their lives and wondered what
exactly was being discussed. Words that
mean one thing in one context can mean something totally different in another
one.
However, this terminology
and context can be problematic when the topic being discussed is of importance
to those who are outside of the core group speaking the
"language". Obvious examples
of this are found in health care and the legal system. Often we find people looking for
clarification of information that they are given, while at the same time they
are struggling with a challenging situation.
In cases like this the "language" that is used is a barrier to
accessing information and causes anxiety and potentially unnecessary conflict.
Public education has its
own set of terms, acronyms and organizational barriers that exclude people from
participating in an equal and effective manner.
This institutional "language" creates obstacles that block
information and communication between the people who need to effectively communicate
the most.
As part of the
"system" I often forget just how complex and confusing we have made
our public schools to those who don't have access to the terms and don't use
the "language" on a daily basis.
To be honest, it is tough enough for public school employees to keep up
with the terms and procedures and I shouldn't be surprised that parents,
families and community members are frequently confused and/or frustrated as
they try to navigate the system. It seems
like it's human nature to try and complicate our endeavors in the name of
simplifying them.
It doesn't help that there
are so many layers of bureaucracy and so many different agencies/organizations
involved in educating students in our public schools. Each group brings its own "language"
to the discussions and we often sound like a meeting at the UN when we discuss
educational issues. Added in are the
political pressures and the rapid pace of change that is currently the state of
public education. It's no wonder that it
often appears everyone is talking, but no one is saying anything.
This was made clear to me
when we held our second educator/family/community meeting about public
education last week. I've mentioned this
group before and am very excited about the potential for open discussion about
issues in public education that this group has.
During our meeting many issues were raised, but some that struck me as
being of significance were the issues of communication, transparency and how to
clarify what the challenges facing public education really are.
The group that gathered
consisted of a wide range of individuals with significant experience in the
public school system. There were several
educators, and all the other participants had students who have (or had) been
in public schools for a number of years.
It was a highly educated and very involved group, yet there were many
questions raised that showed just how "user-unfriendly" our public
school system has become.
The system is unfriendly
to families and concerned citizens in many important ways. There is a lack of clear and easy access to
information about what is happening. For
example, our group expressed an interest in making an effort to attend more
school board meetings, yet many in the group talked about their frustration in
trying to navigate the district's website to find out what is being discussed
and when. This inaccessibility to basic
"core" information is a key problem in shaping public opinion and
trust in our public schools as they work to educate all students in a
challenging economic and political environment.
Once information is
located it is often difficult to translate exactly what is being said from
"eduspeak" into a more understandable language. "Eduspeak" is a language that is
used not only in official district communication (website, press releases,
report cards, letters to families), but is also used widely in the political
realm as well. In the end this
"language" serves to further distance the efforts of individual
educators from the discussion about education that is held in public
forums.
In the end we are left
with a public perception that is shaped by the language we use. Unfortunately, this language is one that is
easily co-opted by "reformers" who spin the message to make it appear
like they have the best interests of students at heart. Yet the language used in education policy
debate often does as much to obscure the "facts" as it does to
illuminate them. The terms and phrases
used are often similar to political or bureaucratic language that serves to
alienate those outside of the "inner workings".
Here's a recent press
release from Governor Walker that contains plenty of "jargon" and no real
substance. This is what the public is
getting from all sides nearly every time education is discussed in a public
forum.
Wisconsin
was awarded $22.7 million in education grants through the Race to the Top Early
Learning Challenge education program for at-risk youth. Governor Walker said,
“These funds will support innovative initiatives that will improve quality and
outcomes for children as well as create efficiency and accountability within
the system.”
If we have difficulty with
the language of education we should at least be able to find accurate
information and data from research and testing, right? There certainly is enough data about schools
and education available to give us guidance as we try to find the best
solutions to the challenges we face.
However, the data we have is just as difficult to use in shaping
policies and practice as the "language" is. Almost every imaginable position or policy is
supported by some study or by "common sense" (a horribly overused
term that often is used to defend educational innovations).
When using data on
education it is important to look at the source of the information and to
uncover all the connections that different groups have to each other. Many of the supposedly most ardent "advocates"
of parental and student rights are firmly attached to for-profit organizations
that have frequently failed the very people they supposedly advocate for.
With all the confusing
language, political doublespeak and misleading information, it's no wonder that
many families are frustrated and confused.
It appears that these are exactly the emotions that the
"reformers" want to encourage.
This allows them to push for "reforms" that will improve the
system. There is also a concerted effort
made to divide and conquer by highlighting the failures of a large percentage
of students from specific groups (African-Americans, English Language Learners
and more) in our public schools. Then
the "reformers" can sweep in and "save the day", all the
while obscuring the reality that most of their ideas haven't significantly
improved student achievement on a consistent and long term basis.
In the end educating any
individual student is done in a personal and, to some degree, unique
manner. Each student is an individual
who brings a variety of needs, backgrounds, personality traits and countless
other variables to the education equation.
All of the public posturing and rhetoric about schools and how they
should function does little to help any single student, or even larger
demographic groups. What helps one
student/group may have the opposite effect on another.
What is needed is an open
and honest dialog about our educational system.
This is best done at the individual level, with conversations between
families and educators about the best ways to meet the needs of students at the
local, school level. These discussions
can start the implementation of true reforms as the needs of students are
brought to the attention of local administrators and school boards. There is a shared responsibility to
communicate between home and school. Too
much blame is assigned without real dialog taking place. Educators need to reach out to the families
they serve to build trust in what is happening in the schools and families need
to make sure that they are involved in and aware of what their child is doing
at school. Families and community
members also have a responsibility to initiate and maintain communication with
school staff. No single group is solely
responsible for the level of discourse that occurs.
If we can achieve a high
level of dialog between home and school, I strongly believe that we would see a
corresponding rise in all student's achievement. We would also see a significant increase in
the support for public schools. In our
public school system we have an existing structure that is prepared and able to
provide quality education for all students.
Drastic reform of our school system isn't as necessary as many would
have us believe. If we break down the
barriers between the community and the schools so that both parties could
effectively communicate with each other what a wonderful place schools would
be. At the very least we could avoid the
"us vs. them" mentality that is currently undermining efforts to
improve the educational outcomes for all students.
Spend
Your Money Wisely…
As the holiday shopping
season continues on its merry way, keep looking for ways to support local and worker
friendly businesses. Labor in America
needs our support to thrive. Looking
only for the cheapest product, or the latest fad usually means that you are
shortchanging a worker here in America. Who knows, that worker could be a family
member, neighbor, friend, or even yourself!
The struggles of Walmart
workers continues.
Coming soon to a state
near you…
Walkergate
and Other Political Shenanigans…
Before diving into the
latest on the corruption and hypocrisy of the GOP here in Wisconsin I should note that Republicans
don't have a monopoly on the unethical and irresponsible use of public office
and political power. No one can claim
that there is a clear line between good and evil in our current political landscape. In fact the partisanship that is found in
many political discussions goes a long way towards damaging public confidence
in all politicians and takes focus and credibility away from the outrage
against the level of corruption that exists in our current Republican
controlled government in Wisconsin.
It appears that we have
reached a point where almost anything can be forgiven and almost anything can
be attacked, purely on a partisan level.
When a position can't be defended, then an attack is mounted. An attack that usually ends up with the
argument that "they did it too".
This is an argument that should only appear on playgrounds and shouldn't
be used by any responsible or credible leader in a political discussion. We've all heard this level of discourse too
much recently here in Wisconsin. Outrage over the redistricting done by the
Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature…the
Democrats did the same thing last time.
GOP legislators in the pocket of big business…so what, the Dems are
controlled by the unions. This level of
"debate" gets us nowhere in solving the real problems that face our
society.
When this type of
reasoning is used, the level of discourse around important issues declines,
political opinions are entrenched and those who are not politically involved
become further disinterested and frustrated by the political gamesmanship. This results in less citizen participation
and more influence for special interest groups and donors.
It's time to admit that no
organization, political party or politician is perfect. However, while not expecting perfection it is
clear that we should be able to expect better from our current crop of elected
officials and their sycophantic supporters.
Corruption and greed are never acceptable for any political party or
individual. We elect people to represent
our needs, not to pad their own (or an associates) pockets. It's time that we all start holding our
political leaders accountable, no matter their party or political
philosophy.
Wisconsin Legislators Jetting Off on Corporate-Funded Trip to
Develop Special Interest Legislation |
www.prwatch.org
www.jsonline.com
progressive.org
Citizens need to rise in
support of proposals that will improve the quality of our electoral
system. Redistricting that is done
solely for political gain doesn't serve the people, just the politicians. If more people were aware of, and supported
initiatives like this one then we might start to see our interests represented
in the legislature. Unfortunately,
politicians won't do what is right just for the sake of doing what's right,
they need a push from the citizens they "represent". You can be sure that they are constantly
hearing from a small number of people on a regular basis, now it is time they
hear from all of us.
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