Tag: strike

PJSTA Passes Reso in Support of SEA; Launches Solidarity Campaign

At today’s Representative Council meeting the PJSTA’s governing body passed a resolution in support of the Seattle Education Association who are currently on strike in Seattle as they fight for the schools Seattle’s students deserve.  Additionally the PJSTA pledged to launch a solidarity campaign in our schools and asked NYSUT to similarly support the SEA while encouraging it’s locals to issue their own resolutions in support of the SEA.  Details on the solidarity campaign will hit the buildings tomorrow.

Here is the text of the resolution…

Whereas the Seattle Education Association is locked in a contract battle that has important consequences for educators everywhere; and

Whereas Seattle teachers have worked diligently to build coalitions within their communities and have won the support of parents, and mobilized for a contract that includes not only fair compensation and secure working conditions, but a decrease in high stakes testing, and increased services for their students; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association is seeking to install site based teams in each school to address structural inequities and institutional racism that plague their school district; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association is seeking caseload caps for school psychologists and counselors to better meet the needs of the students that they serve; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association has not had a cost of living adjustment in 6 years and the district has $50 million in reserves and has recently received $40 million in new monies from Washington State; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association went on a one day strike last spring in protest of the current reform movement that is damaging public education and, therefore stood tall for all public school teachers across the country facing similar reforms, including members of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association is a fellow affiliate of the National Education Association; and

Whereas a victory for Seattle teachers would greatly encourage teachers everywhere, including members of the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association and the New York State United Teachers, to continue in our increasingly stronger efforts to combat damaging and abusive public education reforms in our own communities; and

Whereas a victory for the Seattle Education Association would be a victory for public-sector employees across the country who continue to oppose the privatization of public resources and the plundering of public assets; and

Whereas the Seattle Education Association membership has voted unanimously to authorize the strike; therefore be it

Resolved that the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association supports the Seattle Education Association in its fight to negotiate a contract that meets the needs of its members, their students, and their communities; and be it further

Resolved that the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association will launch a solidarity campaign, to be shared via social media, in its schools and encourage all of its members to participate in the campaign as a show of support and solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Seattle; and be it further
Resolved that the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association urges NYSUT and its affiliates to adopt a similar resolution.

SEA on strike.

Seattle Teachers On Strike!

*UPDATE* 5:36 AM

After negotiations fell apart last night, Seattle teachers will be on strike to begin their school year today.  We send out thoughts of support and solidarity to our sisters and brothers in the SEA!

Seattle teachers unanimously vote to authorize a strike.
The Seattle Education Association is ready to strike tomorrow, on the first day of school in their district, if negotiations tonight do not reach an agreement.  In a situation reminiscent of the Chicago Teachers Union’s 2012 strike, the teachers in Seattle are ready to strike for more than just typical “bread and butter” union issues.  While things such as salary increases and length of work day are part of negotiations, the negotiating team in Seattle has also made demands to reduce high stakes testing, address structural inequities, and increase recess time for students who have continually had recess time dwindle all while they have been besieged by increasing amounts of test prep.

SEA member Jesse Hagopian, who helped lead the historic high stakes testing boycott in 2013, discusses the pending strike below…

This summer I had the pleasure of spending some time with SEA member Dan Troccoli, a member of the SEE Caucus in Seattle, who is a wonderful example of what it means to be a union activist.  Here is his take on the pending strike, originally published on socialistworker.org…

MY NAME is Dan, and I have been teaching in some form or another for 15 years. My union, the Seattle Education Association (SEA), is currently in negotiations with Seattle Public Schools and recently voted unanimously to authorize a strike for the first day of school if we cannot reach an agreement with the school district.

The mood in our union is angry and defiant. Educators have been pushed around for a long time, and many have just had enough. Our strike is about respect. It’s about fairness. But more than anything, it’s about redefining the narrative around public education and reasserting the voice of educators in how public education is shaped going forward.

During the discussion on the strike question, many members began supportive remarks with a disclaimer along the lines of “I don’t want to strike, but…” I understand the sentiment behind that phrase. Teachers are a dedicated bunch. We sacrifice our time (in the form of many unpaid hours) and invest a huge amount of emotional energy worrying about our students. It’s a fact so many people are aware of that it easily belies the corporate education reform game of shaming teachers.

Yet I have to say that I want to go on strike. Just walking an info picket line the other day, I saw many students and rejoiced seeing them after being apart for the summer. And yet, I think of how the Washington state legislature consciously ignored the mandates of the state Constitution and a state Supreme Court decision to fully fund education for years. I think of how supports for struggling students, such as counselors and even summer school, have been cut. I think of the massive ranks of amazing educators I’ve known over the years who have either left the profession or been forced out by cold, draconian administrators.

The SEA hasn’t been on strike in 30 years. The problem with that is that people forget. We forget about the power we have to change these things. And our employers forget, too.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

WHEN I think of going on strike, I think of some of my struggling students whose parents lost their job and had to move just as I was getting through to them. I think about some whose parents were unexpectedly deported and were suddenly homeless. And I think of many of my students who live with the daily realities of oppression, whether it be from racial profiling or homophobic teasing.

I think of what it will take to change these much larger issues, and my resolve is bolstered a thousandfold. This is because of a fundamental reality: that collective struggle is the most powerful means of making change–not simply because it marshals and coordinates the main power that ordinary, working people have, but because it requires people to work together and depend on each other with such urgency that they begin to overcome divisions among themselves and can for the first time really envision the possibilities of much larger change.

Ignoring this important lesson has proven disastrous for the labor movement. It is no coincidence that unions are experiencing their lowest membership numbers in 70 years now, at the same time that the number of strikes is at an all-time low. The last time that the SEA negotiated, the union wasn’t prepared for a strike, and we ended up with a contract that included the same inequitable and inaccurate growth ratings based on student test scores in our evaluations–exactly what we are currently trying to remove.

During our strike vote, many people talked about having trust in the negotiating team and the elected leadership. Indeed, those groups have shown more resolve recently than in previous bargaining. But to me, the strength in the union isn’t trust in anyone having elected me, but trust in all the members of that union having the courage to stand together. Because, again, that’s the most powerful way we can change things for the better.

This is so important, particularly now when our politicians are so out of touch and misrepresent us so badly that many people seem desperate to find among any of the candidates who would deliver some change. They miss the important reality that the ones we can look to are all around us–that we don’t need politicians to represent us when we have the power, if it is organized and mobilized.

So I want to strike. For my students, for our future and for a change.

Dan Troccoli
SEA Board of Directors, Social Equality Educators

PJSTA Flashback: 38 years ago!

A friend of ours sent this along.  The newspaper clipping below, from the Long Island Press dated September 8, 1976 tells the story of three Long Island locals who voted to authorize strikes.  One of those locals was your very own PJSTA!  In case your eyes don’t allow you to read it, the part about our local says…

Meanwhile, Comsewogue teachers (Port Jefferson Station) were to hear at dawn today whether night-long negotiations had reached a settlement, or whether they would strike.

Bill Hippner, spokesman for the teachers said their president, Robert Carr, would call the strike this morning if their was no settlement.  The 6:30 a.m. meeting was in the theatre at the Arcade shopping center.

As you enjoy your Labor Day weekend, let this article be a good reminder of the courage that our predecessors in the PJSTA showed in order to win many of the benefits that remain in our contract today.

On a side note, Bill Hippner’s work for our union continued long after he retired.  As recently as this past May he was still serving as the retirement representative on our Representative Council.  If you touch base with him at all be sure to thank him for the immeasurable amount of work he did for our union!

Teacher_Strike_9-8-76

PJSTA Unanimously Votes to Support Portland Teachers

At tonight’s executive board meeting the PJSTA’s executive board unanimously approved the following resolution…

Whereas, the Portland Public Schools are harming students and educators with a refusal to negotiate a fair contract, particularly in regards to class sizes, teacher workloads, wages, insurance coverage, and staffing levels and

Whereas, the Portland Association of Teachers, a fellow NEA local, now sit on the front lines of the fight for quality public education;

Be it resolved, that the Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association supports them in their fight.

Portland, Oregon Teachers Vote to Strike!

Yesterday we mentioned the possibility of Portland Oregon’s teachers going on strike.  Late last night the PAT‘s rank and file overwhelmingly authorized a strike.

Via Reuters…

Teachers in Portland, Oregon’s largest school district, voted Wednesday night to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a walkout that could disrupt classes for nearly 48,000 students, union officials said.

Portland’s 2,828 teachers have been engaged for months in contentious off-and-on negotiations with the district on a new three-year contract, and the strike authorization vote clears the way for a strike on February 20 if no settlement is reached, the Portland Association of Teachers said late Wednesday.

“No teacher ever wants to go on strike, we want to be in classrooms with our students,” union president Gwen Sullivan said in a statement after the vote.

…

“We can still negotiate after a strike vote,” Miles said. “We are still at the table. We are still trying to come to an agreement.”

A strike authorization does not necessarily mean that the teachers will walk out. It does, however, allow union leaders to declare a strike if negotiations are not successful.

…

The district already is bracing for a possible walkout with plans to keep its 78 schools open using substitute teachers if the need arises.

Some parents, however, have expressed concern at the prospect of their children crossing picket lines to attend classes or extracurricular activities during a strike.

“I don’t think we would send them to school with substitutes. We support the teachers,” said Ali King, the mother of two daughters in the sixth and ninth grades. “Even with qualified subs, it will be a disruptive atmosphere.”

…

Students at several Portland high schools were planning to stage their own rallies to show support for teachers before the vote on Wednesday.

The union and school district have been at odds over class size, teacher workloads, wages and insurance coverage, but the issue of staffing levels has emerged as the chief stumbling block.

The @PATSolidarity Twitter account reported…

Our brothers and sisters in the PAT, and NEA local, have moved to the front lines in the battle for quality public education.  We will monitor this situation very closely and the PJSTA will support them in any way we can as we stand in solidarity with them.

Largest LIRR Union Votes Unanimously to Strike

We first mentioned this possibility yesterday.  Last night one of the LIRR’s unions voted unanimously to strike.

Via the Daily News…

Members of the Long Island Rail Road’s largest union voted 500 to 0 on Wednesday to strike, a development that helps lay the groundwork for a walkout as soon as March.

Two locals that make up the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union voted in Massapequa, L.I. The third local in the union didn’t participate.

“The membership spoke loud and clear tonight … and said we will not sit back and be disrespected,” said Anthony Simon, SMART’s general chairman. “I have never been prouder to be their leader.”

…

About 6,000 LIRR workers have labored without a contract for more than three years, and talks aimed at producing a new contract have reached an impasse. Workers are angry that officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — the LIRR’s parent company — won’t adopt a contract settlement proposed by a Presidential Emergency Board. It includes modest raises, but MTA bosses shot it down last month.

…

The emergency board, made up of neutral mediators, delivered its recommendations in December after hearing labor and management experts testify about MTA finances and various additional factors. The board concluded the MTA could afford to pay the raises it proposed — amounting to about 2.85% a year for six years — without raising fares in 2015 higher than the 4% jump already planned. It also said workers should start contributing 2% of their base pay for health care.

But the MTA is pushing for a three-year wage freeze for all of its workers unless pay increases are offset by cost savings related to productivity. The mediators didn’t endorse the work-rule changes the MTA sought to balance out potential rises for LIRR workers.

We will continue to follow this story as it unfolds in the coming month.

Two Strike Votes Tonight

Tonight there will be two strike votes taking place.  One of the votes will feature a teachers union while the other features a Long Island union.

This evening at 7:00 pm Pacific time teachers in Portland, Oregon will be voting on whether or not to authorize a strike.  The Portland Association of Teachers, an NEA local, is made up of nearly 3,000 teachers plus more than 1,000 substitute teachers.  Today, in solidarity with their teachers, students held walkouts around the city of Portland.  As the story unfolds we will have more here at thepjsta.org.  You can follow @PATSolidarity on Twitter to keep track of the story in real time.  The PJSTA is proud to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Portland!

The other strike vote taking place tonight is that of the LIRR’s largest union.  Via Newsday...

The Sheet Metal, Air and Transportation Union/United Transportation Union, which represents nearly half of LIRR laborers, will cast their ballots at back-to-back meetings in Massapequa Wednesday night. SMART UTU general chairman Anthony Simon, who expects a unanimous “yes” vote from members, said he will also be handing out picket signs and coordinating strike captains.

Smaller LIRR unions have already approved similar votes to walk off the job as early as March 21. Simon said his union’s vote — the first of its kind in two decades — is “the toughest for our members ever to make.”

“This is going to affect their finances, their families, and the Long Island economy,” Simon said. “But they are standing united with their union, because they have been pushed around far too long.”

…

In November, President Barack Obama appointed a Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve the dispute. After listening to arguments from labor and management during a weeklong Manhattan hearing, the board largely ruled in the unions’ favor, saying that the MTA could afford to give workers raises without having to raise fares. The unions accepted the board’s nonbinding recommendations, but the MTA rejected them.

The PJSTA proudly stands in solidarity with all of their brothers and sisters in the labor movement.  We will have more on these situations as they unfold.

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.

School Bus Drivers on Strike

School bus drivers in New York City, members of ATU Local 1181, are going on strike.  Read AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento’s statement:

“School bus drivers and crews are going on strike for one reason and one reason only; the Mayor has decided to put his pride over the safety of New York City children.  Rather than admit that he created this problem and can solve it simply by putting safeguards in the bid, he is hiding behind an unrelated court decision that he falsely claims is forcing his hand.  The only hands that have been forced are those of school bus workers, whose only choice is to stand up to the City’s utter disregard for safety and demand that children are driven by the experienced and highly skilled workforce they deserve.

“No one is more disappointed by the need for this strike than the workers who have dedicated their careers to serving school children and their parents, but sometimes difficult and painful choices must be made in order to protect what is fundamentally right.   The Labor Movement stands proudly with our brothers and sisters in ATU Local 1181 as they fight to ensure that New York City children’s safety comes first.”

Statement by New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez:

“The impending strike has been a manufactured crisis from the beginning.  This is a completely avoidable situation that the City could solve in an instant if it only had the willingness to do so.  It is unconscionable that City Hall is putting our children’s safety at risk by removing contract language that has been in place for thirty years, and that the City has advocated for as recently as 2011.  We need to make sure that only the most experienced and highly skilled workforce is responsible for transporting our most precious cargo day in and day out.  At the end of the day that is what this strike is about.”

Black Friday with the PJSTA

LONG ISLAND
Take ActionWalmart has seen their fair share of “days of action” from community and labor activists. But the recent call to “Stand Up, Live Better,” culminating in walk-outs throughout the country this month, is a game-changer.

The momentum has been building for months. Workers from throughout the supply and distribution chains have walked out and even taken their demands to Walmart’s Home Office in Arkansas. The rest of us have stood in solidarity with them—leafleting, organizing delegations to managers, picketing, and inspiring a groundswell of activity across the country of historic proportions.

On Black Friday, November 23rd, 2012 we will be sponsoring two actions: 

East Meadow Walmart, 10:00am

2465 Hempstead Turnpike,  East Meadow, NY 11554 

“100% off for the 99%” 

Centereach Walmart, 11:00am

Assemble on Middle Country Road (Rt 25); 161 Centereach Mall, Centereach, NY 11720