Scott Walker is running for president. Are we
shocked? Probably not. What is shocking, is that after his track record running
Wisconsin this man thinks he should be left in charge of the entire country. It
might have something to do with the Koch confidence boost he’s been given. His last name might not be Bush, but that doesn’t mean that rich,
white dudes (e.g., Charles and David Koch) won’t dictate his every move in a
throwback to the Bush-Cheney years.
Now we could sit here and tell you what a jerk he is (who has
that kind of time?), but instead we want to show you the negative effects Scott
Walker has had on Wisconsin, and who’s paying the price for it.
To make this story even more interesting,
let’s compare Scott Walker’s Wisconsin with its next-door neighbor Minnesota. It’s a tale
of two states: Both economies grew from foundations in manufacturing, farming
and mining, with strong histories of organized labor. Then came the 2010
elections. Both states, still reeling from the recession, elected new
governors. Those two governors took these two states down two very different
paths. No need to keep score at home, we’ll do that for you.
Today, Minnesota’s unemployment rate is 3.6 percent—far below the national rate of 5.7 percent—while Wisconsin’s
job growth has been among the worst in the region and its income growth has been among the worst in the
nation. Also, when Scott
Walker said, “We showed that when we say ‘Wisconsin is open for business,’
we mean it,” the operative word was show.
Last we checked, as soon as Wisconsin passed “right to work,” this 100-year-old Wisconsin company decided to move to Minnesota.
We’ve got news for you, Scott Walker: Trickle-down
economics doesn’t work for the majority of us, and
frankly, it never has—it’s
only great for rich people. We
want a healthy middle class, and we need a different approach that begins with
a high-quality public education that gives future generations the skills they
need to get good jobs with fair wages, helping everyone climb the ladder of
opportunity. And you say you want that too:
What has
made America amazing has been the fact that throughout our history, throughout
the more than 200 years of our history, there have been men and women of
courage who stood up and decided it was more important to look out for the
future of their children and their grandchildren than their own political
futures.
“Union-made” has new meaning as higher education faculty and staff mark their work. We especially like this stamp, “Graded by Union Labor,” from the AFT-AAUP local at Rutgers University.
In a new campaign video, Jeb Bush tried to emphasize his “education governor” credibility by visiting school classrooms. Eagle-eyed reporting by Buzzfeed noted that “[a]lmost all of the classrooms have something in common: they are operated by Academica, the state’s largest for-profit charter school management company.”
Wouldn’t a candidate for president want to steer away this kind of controversy? Apparently, Academica’s record of cashing in on kids and buying political influence dovetails nicely with Bush’s vision for “public” education in the USA.
Get me out! Of student debt, that is. The AFT is spreading the word that public service workers often can have their loans forgiven completely—and many others can reduce their debt load with loan consolidation and income-based repayment. All the info is laid out on forgivemystudentdebt.org, a website pulled together by Jobs with Justice and the Student Labor Action Project. These activist organizations also have organized workshops, clinics and trainings that AFT locals are offering widely. Learn more.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, to no
one’s surprise, finally announced he was running for president today. Governor
Christie is known for being outspoken and unapologetic (read: a total bully),
but he thinks he is exactly what America needs.
In our own effort to #TellItLikeItIs (yes,
that’s his real hashtag), we think Gov. Christie is more suited for the Jersey
Shore than the White House. Remember the good ole days when GTL stood for gym,
tan, laundry? Not anymore.
A pending Supreme Court case seeks to limit the freedom of teachers, nurses, firefighters, first responders and other public employees to come together and advocate for better public services and better communities. Read a joint labor statement on Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s long-overdue proposal to change the overtime rule will help millions more American workers.