Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/45838
Stand Up and Fight Back Bargaining limited It's time to stand up and fight back The map above graphi- cally demonstrates the attack on unions which has defined the last two years. tives as well as some education "reformers" in various parts of the nation. That is, of course, a gross insult to every public servant and every educator who ever stood in a classroom, and every educator who ever will. We have both the power to implement and the ideas for change. To weaken the voice of edu- cators in the education process is foolish by definition. As we have seen the return of old time union busting, we are seeing U nfortunately, anti-unionism has been a part of the agen- da of some ultra-conserva- the return of old time union and people power in the streets. Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan have been dramatic examples of that, but may soon pale in compari- son to Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street began as a youthful imitation of the Arab Spring uprising, only aimed at the excesses of corporate greed that is killing the middle class. Unions have joined the effort and it is now nationwide. Delaware has been spared much of the tumult of the rest of the nation. We have a Governor and a legislature that has respected union rights, even when we disagree. However, an injury to one is an injury to all. We must be knowl- edgeable about what is happening to our sisters and brothers in the rest of the nation. We must estab- lish our own union culture, which is the best protection against encroachments on union rights. Our union is more than an insur- ance policy against trouble. Our union is a movement to improve the lives of educators and the children we serve. Check out OccupyWallSt- Unions.org T • 6 October 2011 DSEA ACTION! his is a clearinghouse for unions and union members supportive of the uprising against Wall Street and corporate greed. Go there for a list of the unions that are endorsing this movement. is the unofficial de facto online resource for the ongoing protests happening on Wall Street. The focus is on New York City. Unions have begun to officially endorse the Occupy Wall Street movement. Go to www.occupywallst-unions.org for the growing list of local and state unions. • is the unofficial hub for all of the events springing up across the country in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. www.dsea.org www.occupytogether.org http://occupywallst.org