Almost 300 students gathered outside of to protest Wisconsin's anti-union legislation on Thursday. Fearing the bill may have, the teens walked out of class in support of collective bargaining.
(Watch the video by clicking on the image to the right.)
"This is obviously something that the government and big businesses are pushing, but the people don't want it at all and I know Illinois doesn't want it," said Alex Knorr, 18, a senior at Niles West and an organizer of the event.
"So, this is kind of the students' way of saying we don't want [the anti-union bill] in Illinois and we don't want it in our school," she added.
Hundreds of students lined up in front of Oakton Street and held signs that read, "Union Rights = Human Rights" and "Care about our teachers like you care about your kids." Truck drivers and other motorists honked their horns in support of the protest.
Many students cheered at the top of their lungs, while others broke out into dance to stir up the crowd. Meanwhile, teachers oversaw the event, making sure the demonstration was safe and peaceful.
The idea of a walkout came after liberal filmmaker Michael Moore applauded Wisconsin high school students for organizing a mass walkout on March 10 to protest the anti-union legislation, which Republican Gov. Scott Walker enacted by signing the next day. However, unlike the students at the state capitol in Madison, Niles West's demonstration called for all attendees to go back to their final class at about 2:40 p.m.
"If we don't go back to class then it won't be as strong of a statement," Knorr said. "People will say we just wanted to ditch class and that's not the case."
The demonstration began around 2 p.m.--or eighth period, the second to last class of the school day--and lasted for about 40 minutes. Students were told by teachers that if they cut class to attend the protest, they could expect a detention slip the following day.
Niles West Principal Kaine Osburn said students would have to serve a detention for skipping class.
"I think some students are legitimately demonstrating in civil disobedience," Osburn said as he observed the protest. "They love their teachers, had great experience with their teachers, and I'm sympathetic.
"But I do support what the school board [and] the elected representatives of the community are trying to do to make the school better," he added.
Eric Krikorian, 18, a senior at Niles West who also helped organize the demonstration, said Facebook was an excellent tool in raising awareness among fellow students about the walkout. He noted that in less than a week, more than 200 students said they would be attending the rally.
"I don't think detention will be a problem," Krikorian said jokingly. "But with this, it would be nice to show the rest of the nation that we're in Illinois and what's happening in Wisconsin isn't going to happen here."
Krikorian, whose mother works at a nearby public school, said Wisconsin's anti-union law is something that really hits home. The controversial statute places limits of the collective bargaining rights on public employees in the state. It is scheduled to take effect March 26, but the Dane County district attorney filed a court challenge over the measure this week.
"My mom works at a school and is in the initial stages of starting a union," Krikorian said. "She was talking to me last night to say how happy she is that we are doing this, because it's really almost a fight for power."
Yet for others, fear of the anti-union law spreading isn't the only reason they attended the demonstration. , which includes Niles North, and has some parents worried that administrators don't appreciate their teachers and that more communication between teachers and students is needed.
Ilene Collins, a Skokie resident and mother of two, said most people move into District 219 because of the excellent schools. But with the pending layoffs, she said she is concerned the decision will have a negative effect on the community.
"I have two students who are attending [Niles West]," Collins said. "I am proud of them. Not only do I support them, I am proud that they are willing--like so many of the other students here--to make a statement, to feel strongly about something.
"They could have just said, 'This doesn't affect them.' But it does and it will," she noted.
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"During America’s Great Recession, Illinois’ budget situation has gone from shaky to unsustainable. But the state’s fiscal woes began long before this downturn. Illinois’ budget gap for fiscal 2010 was one of the three biggest in the country: $13.2 billion. But Illinois has run deficits every year since the last recession in 2001. “The difficulty is there is not a tax increase big enough to allow the state to keep spending at the level it has,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Chicago-based Civic Federation, a business oriented group that studies state and local government. Quinn put forward ideas this year to tamp down spending but got a chilly reception from legislators, Msall said." Source: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewcenteronthestatesorg/Illinois.pdf?n=9455 Regardless of your opinion regarding teachers' salaries, the fact is that Illinois is bankrupt. When you're bankrupt, every expenditure has to be on the table, including teachers' salaries. One question is: who is responsible for bankrupting the State? Who holds political power in the legislature? It's time for real "Hope and Change" in Illinois. Illinois has the reputation of being one of the most corrupt states in the nation. The people of this state deserve better. "Throw the bums out."
"It cost at least $2.23 million to bring Wisconsin State Patrol officers to the state Capitol to provide security during weeks of protest, bringing the total security bill to nearly $5.5 million." "When combined with an estimated $7.5 million to repair damage done to the marble by the union mob as they attached banners, signs and posters to the historic capitol building, the figure reaches an astounding $13 million." Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/union_mob_actions_costs_wiscon.html The First Amendment does give citizens the right to express their opinions on issues, but the Constitution does not say that citizens have the right to stick taxpayers with the bill while exercising that right. After being lectured about civil discourse in the wake of shooting of a congresswoman in January, we were treated to 3 weeks of unruly behavior by the people who teach our children and complain about unruly students in classrooms. The teachers in Madison set a fine example for their students. You can't help but wonder if teachers would complain if students in their classrooms acted like their teachers acted in Madison. The total cost of this post and my other posts to taxpayers: $0
It is my opinion that the teachers' union and the SEIU have mis-underestimated the mood of the American people-those in the private sector. The teachers' union and SEIU members, and folks like Dr. Schwartz, don't "get it" because they have been "bailed out" of the recession for the most part-at least up till now. The "stimulus plan" passed in February 2009 had nothing to do with stimulating the economy. It was a "slush fund" handed-out to teachers' unions and SEIU members to keep them employed. There were no major infrastructure improvements as promised, just a lot of road signs telling us how great the administration was for making "curb and gutter" improvements. The "stimulus" slush fund is all gone now and the teachers and SEIU members are going to have to join the recession-couple of years late, but, hey, welcome to the recession-better late then never. Those "extreme" tea-party members only want fiscal sanity to return to our government. Since when did fiscal responsibility become an "extreme" position? Dr. Schwartz thinks that cuts in spending and fiscal responsibility are an "extreme" position. I'm too much of a gentleman to say what we really think of Dr. Schwartz's commentary.
The full House approved the measure on a 53-44 vote. A vote in the GOP-controlled Senate, which narrowly approved an earlier version of the legislation, could soon follow." "The measure affects safety workers, teachers, nurses and a host of other government personnel." Source: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/30/ohio-house-oks-collective-bargaining-limits/
"The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: "Members of Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24, have begun circulating letters to businesses in southeast Wisconsin, asking then to support workers’ rights by putting up a sign in their windows. If businesses fail to comply, the letter says, “Failure to do so will leave us no choice but (to) do a public boycott of your business. And sorry, neutral means ‘no’ to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members." "Apparently the WSEU feels that those who work and pay the taxes which in turn pay the public sector union members have no right to support any position which is not approved by the union." Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/put_up_our_sign_or_else_wiscon.html Are taxpayers permitted to boycott government and government workers? Who represents taxpayers in Wisconsin? This is what America has come to in the 21st century.
It seems reasonable to assume that, if government employees are willing to threaten private sector businesses with a public boycott, government employees would also be willing to threaten private sector business with government investigations, government compliance inspections etc. in an attempt to destroy any business who happens to disagree with them. How is what is happening in southeast Wisconsin any different from the events which led to the American Revolution? The government employees in Wisconsin seem to be acting like King George's ministers-trampling down any private sector business who happens to disagree or offers any resistance to the Crown. I thought the American colonies won their independence from such a tyrannical government over 200 years ago, but perhaps I was misinformed by my history teachers 45 years ago. King George's government appears to be alive and well and living in southeast Wisconsin. Shame.
I have grown weary and tired of this, so this may be one of my last posts on this thread. I can't end without commenting on your last very bizarre statement to say the least. You are decrying public employees boycotting businesses and contend it could lead them to ignore government inspections and investigations. You sound like a ravingly mad tea party nutjob. Boycotting private places of business is totally legal and within a great storied tradition of America. Leading up to the American Revolution, the colonials boycotted tea, sugar, etc. The great Civil Rights movement of the fifties and sixties included boycotts of private businesses. Boycotting private business = defying government orders-----completely insane. Enough. Finished. I advise you not to continue to talk (or shall I say write to yourself--there are doctors for this sort of thing) I wish you the best, now find something more productive to do. Seymour
My purpose is to inform readers of what is actually going on in both Illinois and Wisconsin. As a teacher myself, I plan on continuing educating the public regarding the issues being discussed. There may be students at Niles High School who are interested in finding out the truth as to what is really going on and how they are being misinformed by their teachers. I really don't expect students to respond. Your description of Mr. Peterson's post is what would be expected from an elitist. I am sure that many Americans who work in the private sector would agree with Mr. Peterson's sentiments. I certainly do. I'm also sure that many of the folks who attended Jan Schakowsky's town meeting at Niles West High School on August 31, 2009 would agree with Mr. Peterson. As always, advice from a liberal is appreciated-take the advice and do the exact opposite. Your posts were very amusing (sort of like listening to Senator Schumer) and I will miss them. Sage or court jester? The readers get to call that one.
Posting on Patch costs the tax-payers nothing. Not posting on Patch will cost the taxpayers dearly.
"If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government." "Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?" "But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn't pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores." Source: Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576219073867182108.html
"With state governments facing huge budget deficits, one out of every five teachers could lose their job in some cities. Not only will this leave many unhappy kids, but also because of the outdated policy – last in, first out – many great teachers will be dismissed from the classroom." "Across America, teachers will be fired from their job based only on how long they have been working – regardless of their performance or their students' achievement. Imagine trying to explain that to a child." "In Florida, we have been campaigning to save great teachers and we won! Through the efforts of thousands of StudentsFirst members in Florida, we helped pass the Students Success Act, which will require teacher layoffs to be based on performance." "Let's build on the momentum from our success in Florida. Watch our video and then share it with all your friends: http://studentsfirst.org/watch-saveteachers "
"Investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee have discovered that a little-known provision in the national health care law has allowed the federal government to pay nearly $2 billion to unions, state public employee systems, and big corporations to subsidize health coverage costs for early retirees. At the current rate of payment, the $5 billion appropriated for the program could be exhausted well before it is set to expire." "The idea was to subsidize unions, states, and companies that had made commitments to provide health insurance for workers who retired early -- between the ages of 55 and 64, before they were eligible for Medicare. According to a new report prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services, "People in the early retiree age group...often face difficulties obtaining insurance in the individual market because of age or chronic conditions that make coverage unaffordable or inaccessible." As a result, fewer and fewer organizations have been offering coverage to early retirees; the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program was designed to subsidize such coverage until the creation of Obamacare's health-care exchanges." Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/hidden_bailout_of_unions_and_b.html People who retire early have it so difficult that we need to subsidize their early retirement. Making tax-payers feel like idiots. . .
The United States now ranks near the bottom of the list of advanced economies for its high school dropout rate — 23.3 percent of American students do not receive a high school diploma. Of the roughly 4 million students who enter high school each year, about 1 million will drop out before graduation. That’s 7,000 every school day. The problem is even greater in large cities. Nearly half of all students in the nation’s 50 largest school districts drop out before graduation, CBS News reported. In fact, just 25 of America’s 11,000 school districts with high schools accounted for one out of every five dropouts in one recent year, according to the Washington Post. The U.S. rate compares poorly to the dropout rate in most of the countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the group of 34 advanced nations with economies most comparable to the U.S. For example, in the U.K. the rate is 8.9 percent; in South Korea, 7 percent; in Japan, 5.3 percent; Ireland, 4 percent; Germany, 2.8 percent, according to OECD figures reported by the Wall Street Journal. " Source: http://mail.aol.com/33490-111/aol-1/en-us/mail/DisplayMessage.aspx?ws_popup=true Good job public school teachers!!!! I was wrong! With statistics like this, there is no doubt that those 6 figure salaries are well deserved. I know, it's somebody elses fault-it's always somebody elses fault.
"The day’s talking point for the well-organized protesters was the “selfish greed” of the Republicans and by extension ourselves. Half of the “unionistas” I encountered asked me why we were so selfish that we wanted to take money away from them, but none among them could explain why we were selfish for volunteering to help our fellow citizens and future generations to avoid fiscal ruin while they were protesting for their own self- interest. Failing to win the battle of logic the public school teachers in the motley crew of protesters fell back on the “we are so overworked and underpaid” rhetoric that is a staple of their profession and always good for a hearty laugh." Public school teachers, "so overworked and underpaid"-6 figure salaries for 8 months of work and retirement benefits that even make Prince Charles envious. "Overworked and underpaid"-now there's a winning slogan. How stupid do public school teachers really think we are?
Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/special_thanks_to_kenoshas_pub.html
"They don't get much bigger. On April 5 - this Tuesday - Wisconsinites will go to the polls to determine the balance of the State Supreme Court and, ultimately, the fate of the Wisconsin taxpayer. Currently, the court breaks 4-3, conservative/liberal, but with the election of Joanne Kloppenburg, the challenger to incumbent Dave Prosser, this will change." "And it isn't because they "care about children." It's because they hate "choice." As the Wall Street Journal observes: In 2001, Utah made the collection of union payments to political funds optional, and nearly 95% of public school teachers opted not to pay. In 2005, Indiana GOP Governor Mitch Daniels limited collective-bargaining rights for public employees, and today only 5% of state employees pay union dues." "Ouch. When government workers begin to see fatter checks, it's game over. " Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/prosser_vs_kloppenburg_wiscons.html
"Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is laying down the law to two unions whose cooperation he needs to turn Chicago around: teachers he wants to work a longer school day and laborers he wants to simply show up at work in greater numbers." "During the campaign, Emanuel declared his support for curtailing teachers’ right to strike. He also made it clear that, if teachers won’t agree to work longer hours for extra pay, he’ll ask the Illinois General Assembly to mandate it." Sounds like Mayor Daley (D) and Mayor-Elect Emanuel (D) are on the same page as Governor Walker (R). That's D/D agreeing with R. http://www.suntimes.com/business/4663932-418/emanuel-warns-unions-longer-days-for-teachers-and-less-off-days-for-laborers.html Those poor "overworked and underpaid" teachers. Maybe we can set up a "teacher relief fund" for them , or send in the National Guard to help them teach their classes. Shame.
"Last week, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi heard arguments over several days, concluding on Friday, concerning possible violations of the Open Meetings Law by Republican lawmakers who voted on a budgetary repair bill limiting collective bargaining for public education employees." Marquette University law professor Rick Esenberg writes, "In Goodland v. Zimmerman, 243 Wis. 459, 10 N.W.2d 180 (1943), the Supreme Court held that judges may not enjoin the publication of a law on the basis that it is or might be unconstitutional. A bill, in the Court's view, is not enacted until it is published such that publication is part of the legislative process with which courts may not interfere. Unless the Court wants to abandon that precedent, I think that it clearly requires that the restraining order be vacated and the case be remanded with instructions to dismiss." http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/judge_sumis_war_on_wisconsin_r.htm
"In the 25 years that my wife was a teacher, she saw the union that she joined change from a professional association to help teachers provide the best education for children to just another industrial union that was concerned with political power and getting Democratic politicians elected. Helping teachers to provide the best education for the taxpayer's money was not a priority. Rather than rewarding good teachers through merit pay, the union promoted pay based on seniority. Benefits were encouraged over wages, because benefits were not taxable and pension obligations did not have to be accounted for in school district budgets. However, it is exactly these unsustainable healthcare and pension costs that are creating financial crisis in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and numerous other states."
Too bad Kaine and the school board can't doing something with the buget except RAISE OUR TAXES! They are like the arrogant Marie Antoinette who exclaimed: "Let them eat cake!" I say to the principal and his Kaine-enites....LET THEM DRINK TEA!
Raffanti, Evelyn $116,251 Ramseyer, Elizabeth $114,595 Ramseyer, Stephen $107,759 Ranft, Susan $105,286 Rapp, Mary $114,298 Vivone, Chris $113,390 Wack, Paul $106,257 Waldron, Shaun $105,944 Walvoord, Eileen $128,140 Watanabe, Michael $126,472 Weatherington, Jody $57,351 Weatherington, Matthew $100,128 Weiberg, Bonnie $108,793 Whitefield, Denise $105,370 Whitefield, Elliot $102,217 Wick, Karin $117,891
So, for a teacher making $100,000.00 a year with about 185 working days that comes out to $540.00 for each day worked. If they get 5 paid sick days on top of that to accumulate that's another $2700.00 Or is the salary $97,300.00 if they work every day with the sick pay deferred and still listed as salary?
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/04/11/union-pay-chart-of-the-day/