KNOW WHEN TO CELEBRATE IN EDUCATION!!! Post Campaign Yes on 30 Promise and NO on 32 Reflection, Thank you speech

Speech to Field Observation Class For
Educational Leadership MA program
Mills College, Oakland, CA.

2/19/13

This is a Thank you speech.

So many times we have heard numerous speeches about education in which by the end of it, we are left feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or the opposite inspired or called to action.

Depending on who is talking to you this path is either spiraling downward out of control or upward and onward in the name of democracy.  And since we are on this path together, this terrain we are calling Education Leadership, I want to point out the importance of knowing when it is time to celebrate.

So what am I thanking you for?  Its quite simple, I am literally taking this moment to thank some of you individually and collectively for your support around last semester's Campaign.

First thank you for the time you gave me when I was able to talk to you individually and our classroom on Proposition 30.

This past election was one of the most important elections in California history and education.

WE PASSED THE MOST PROGRESSIVE TAX MEASURE THE NATION HAS EVER SEEN!
AS I SPEAK, IN THIS TAX SEASON, WE ARE TAXING THE RICH!

How many times in your lifetime have heard the cliche tax the rich or tax rich, stop the cuts?  How many of you have walked the picket line, gone to rallies, or worried about your own job because of the cuts to education.  I believe as a collective we were completely and totally sick of it and so we did it.

I want thank those of you in this room who, maybe took a little bit more time than usual to participate in the political process: drive to where your voting booth is in a different county, hang a poster, have a conversation, call a family member.... participate in your democracy.

Because of educators like you in the Bay Area we passed this thing.  I specifically say Bay Area because on the night of the election when I went to bed and most of the Northern California count was in and Prop. 30 was losing.  So I decided to go to bed that night.  When I woke myself up at 5 a.m. the next morning I realized we barely won by appox. 700,000 votes and 2 of 3 counties had over 70% of the population saying yes, tax the rich were San Francisco, and Alameda which had approximately 600,000 of those votes!  Lastly I want to thank all of you in the room who pay Union dues whether you want to or not because without those dues I would not be giving this little thank you speech.

Which brings me to another follow up item and note for celebration.  We defeated Prop. 32.  If 32  would have passed we could easily see our labor  fate in states such as Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas or even Michigan which became the 24th "right to work" state on Dec. 11th.  In the campaign and now I want to emphasize we wouldn't even have had Prop. 30 on the ballot had it not been for CFT lobbying Governor Brown to compromise his original middle class tax initiative. If Prop. 32 went into effect deals or moments like that would be made illegal.

So in conclusion I want to say we need to know when to celebrate in education.  This path can be filled with such moments of overwhelming darkness and at times no sign of hope for this living breathing bureaucratic institution known as education and how do we know when we have made strides. Well we are living and breathing too... So let's take some deep breathes of relief  as I say thank you, congratulations, and power to the people!

CFT Delegates! This weekend our UESF ballot came.....

This weekend our UESF ballot came.

I would be honored to have your UESF vote as alternate to the CFT convention.
Below are the candidates I voted for if you need suggestions .
Matt Bello,Darcy Chan Blackburn, Lita Blanc, Tom edmInster ,Jessica Hobbs, Adrian Johnston, Dennis Kelly, Susan Kitchell ,Elaine Meriweather ,Linda plack ,Betty Robinson Harris, Carolyn Samoa ,Susan Solomon, Sunny Dawn ,Cathy Sullivan, Casey Passemore, Ken Tray

Participate, vote, make your voice heard in our union!

"An honor to be endorsed by PLC yet will continue to harmonize with EDU, T4SJ, and CTA as in the Campaign of 2012," as stated on my ballot as to Why I am a candidate.