Elections Over - What's Next?

Okay, so the election is over, the dust has settled and the backslapping has stopped. What do we teachers do next in California? The California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt recently posted an Op-editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle that I found thought provoking about next steps in the California Legislate. 

In Solidarity,

Ray Gaer

President, ABC Federation of Teachers

CFT president Joshua Pechthalt with LA County Fed Executive Secretary -TreasurerMaria Elena Durazo (in pink) 

Wield the power of the supermajority

Progressive activists joined Gov. Jerry Brown, Democrats and state legislative leaders to pass Proposition 30, the ballot measure to raise taxes to protect public schools and social services. We would have preferred not to do so.

We wanted the Legislature to pass this modest tax but that wasn't an option. Democrats lacked the two-thirds majority needed to pass any tax bill, and no Republican legislator would break his or her rigid "no tax" pledge to join the ranks of the Democrats.

So, teachers in our federation and our labor/community partners spent countless hours knocking on doors, working phone banks, holding rallies and educating family, friends, neighbors and strangers about why it was important to pass Prop. 30. We especially reached out to young people, immigrants and lower-income communities of color to persuade them to vote for a better future. These are valuable activities in a democracy.

If our Legislature functioned properly however, this tax would have passed long ago. California would not have gone through school-employee layoffs, soaring class sizes, skyrocketing college and university tuition, and damaged prospects for Californians' futures on the way to a successful tax initiative.

Democrats now hold a legislative supermajority. They should use it to repair the damage done by the two-thirds rule over the past few decades. After years of reducing public services, especially education, we have large holes to fill in programs needed by millions of Californians.

During the campaign, Brown repeatedly cautioned that Prop. 30 would not solve all of California's problems; it's merely a first step. He was right. But since the election, some Democrats, unexpectedly finding their party with a supermajority in the Legislature, have been singing a cautious tune: We are not going to overreach. Prop. 30 is it for now.

Understandably, these elected officials worry about a backlash from voters as we saw across the country in the 2010 elections. But there's a difference: In Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere, the Republicans implemented the program of the 1 percent - tax cuts for the wealthy and union-busting for public employees. In California, there lies an opportunity to help the 99 percent.

A supermajority allows our Legislature to hold a rational conversation about what services Californians need, how much they would cost and how we pay for them. This is the primary job of elected officials, but the two-thirds rule prevented it. Here are a couple of conversation starters for a discussion long-deferred:

-- California remains the only oil-producing state without a severance tax. The Legislature should put a measure on the ballot to institute one. Oil corporations will not leave California for Texas or Alaska if an oil-severance tax is imposed because they already pay such a tax in those states. Oil-tax revenues, estimated at $1 billion a year, could, for instance, roll back tuition at our public colleges and universities, increasing access to the best guarantee of a successful economic future for students - and for California.

-- It is time to replace the two-thirds vote required to pass local tax measures with a simple majority vote. On election day, 66 percent of Alameda County voters wanted to support public transportation improvements but lost. The Legislature should place a measure on the state ballot to allow local governments to do this with a majority vote. We should be able to raise funds for local public needs like transportation or libraries this way.

A window of opportunity, by definition, doesn't last. The Democrats, acting in the interest of the majority of Californians, should use theirs now.

Joshua Pechthalt is the president of the California Federation of Teachers.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Wield-the-power-of-the-supermajority-4071694.php#ixzz2DXa5Eyv1

A Good Question about Furlough days in ABC

Groupwise email question asked: Is ABC going to restore lost pay too by adding those days back at the end of the year?

My reply:

Thank you for your email. I also saw this on the news and thought about the questions this will raise for ABC. Our financial situation is somewhat different for many reasons and I do not foresee the elimination of furlough day for this school year. First, ABC is the second to last worst funded district in LA County just beating out the revenue limit of Walnut USD so we do not have as much money to spend nor  have we had the financial cushion that other districts have had during this recession. However, ABC has not sent "pink slips" to any permanent teachers during the entire downturn whereas districts like LAUSD laid off over 10,000 teachers last year and on top of that increased class sizes and reduced heath care options. In ABC we have not increased class sizes over the contract limit and we have made minimal changes to our health plans and all on a shoe string budget.

I give you my word T++++ that the ABCFT's negotiating team's first priority is to make sure that we make teachers whole again by getting rid of furloughs as soon as we possibly can. Please remember that like LAUSD we have a structural deficit of 6.5 million dollars that we need to do something about. This means that ABC is still spending down our balance as we figure out how to cut 6.5 million from the operating budget without impacting classrooms and further burdening teachers with furlough days. 

We will keep all unit members informed about the budget decisions to be made in the future. Again, thank you for your email and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Ray Gaer
Preseident, ABC Federation of Teachers

Election Results and the Impact on ABC

Congratulations to everyone who helped to pass Proposition 30 and worked tirelessly to defeat the dagger in our heart Proposition 32. This was a team effort and I wanted to thank everyone in ABC who spoke to their friends and relatives to help spread the word about the impacts of these two propositions.

Today at the ABCFT Representative Council we will discuss the impact of Proposition 30 on the financial situation in ABC. This presentation will be electronically to the reps and on Friday morning we will send out an email with a summary of this presentation to all teachers and nurses.

Look for an email Friday morning in Groupwise for more info.

Again, thanks to ABCFT, CSEA, and AFSCME members who worked hard to phone bank, pass out flyers, attended rallies, march with signs posted flyers and posters and talked to everyone they know about the importance of this election.

Onward and upward!!!

Ray
President ABCFT

AFT President Weingarten Comments on 2012 Election

WASHINGTON —Statement of AFT President Randi Weingarten on the 2012 election.

“In races across the country, from electing a pro-working-family majority in the Senate and pro-worker governors to passing the Dream Act in Maryland, the American people went to the polls and voted decisively for shared responsibility and a fair shot at success. The American people sent a powerful message that we expect leaders to make our economy work for working families, rebuild the middle class, fight for good jobs and oppose efforts to strip Americans of their rights.

“The American people said yes, undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children and played by the rules should have access to a college education and a clear path to the American dream, women should have autonomy over their reproductive rights, and people should no longer face discrimination because of who they love. In California and Ohio, voters took a stand to say that investing in public schools is a critical priority, and California voters also rejected a measure to silence the voices of working people. Because of union members’ efforts over the past two years in places like Ohio and Wisconsin to fight against attacks on working people, voters sided with the candidates who understand that good jobs—jobs that enable a middle-class life, many of which are unionized—are key to rebuilding our economy.

“Across the country, AFT members and other union members played a pivotal role in re-electing President Obama and Vice President Biden, expanding the pro-working-family majority in the Senate, sending new House members to Congress and expanding opportunity across the country.”