Hi everyone,
You may or may not of heard about this massive national labor strike that happened on November 30th in England as union labor organizations expressed their displeasure and frustration over the governments negotiating tactics and the imposed austerity measures. The government is seeking to cut the pensions that middle class people have worked for entire careers. A national strike is a major statement about the frustration and anger public workers are experiencing as the government takes an axe to public retirements.
Remember, in California 8% of your salary you never see on your paycheck because you are paying into the STRS retirement fund. STRS is your organization and it protects YOUR money for retirement. Make sure that you educate people about the fact that YOU pay into your retirement fund and that your pension is not a handout like the media would like the public to believe.
Also, remind people that you don't get a paycheck for the summer when they say how great it is that you have a summer vacation. How would they operate on a 10 month salary. Sure you can spread it over 12 months but your still only getting 10 months worth of salary. Don't let the public be misinformed.
United States public workers may find no alternatives in the future than to force a national strike if the United States government continues on its current path of protecting the 1%. When the Occupy Movement is snuffed out the next step is a national strike. Below is a quick article to give the details about the UK strike is below.
In Solidarity!
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
Local #2317
(Reuters) - Teachers, nurses and border guards protesting over pension reform staged Britain's first mass strike for more than 30 years on Wednesday in a confrontation with the government over its austerity measures.
November 30 Strikes: More Than 10,000 Schools Hit By Action
Strike disruption has hit thousands of schools across the country as public sector workers staged a walkout over pensions.
Millions of children remained at home as schools were forced to close their doors completely, or remain open for just a few pupils.
Early Government figures suggest that almost three quarters of England's state schools were hit.
And data gathered by the Press Association from 76 English local authorities suggests that in these areas alone almost 8,500 schools have been affected in some way. In Wales, more than 1,500 out of 1,776 schools have closed their doors.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said the union estimated that 90% of schools would be affected.
Many headteachers will not have informed government of whether they intended to close their school or not, she said.
Dr Bousted said: "No-one is pleased that schools are closed because we know what disruption that causes, but it's very important that the Government understands the depth of anger and hurt."
Speaking at a rally in Manchester, Dr Bousted said: "We are not here to say that there must be no changes. We are here to say to the Government, stop treating us with contempt."
The Department for Education (DfE) said it believes that more than half of England's 21,700 state schools (58%) are closed, with a further 13% partially shut.
Around 13% are open, the DfE said, while the rest are unknown. Schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also affected.
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