Bungling Billionaires Exposed: 11 a.m. — Tuesday, August 21 Where: St. Francis Yacht Club 99 Yacht Rd., San Francisco

‘Save Our State from the Bungling Billionaires’

Nurses, Teachers, Scour Yacht Club Tuesday to Expose Secret Wealthy Donors to Anti-Prop. 30 Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO-California nurses, teachers, and responsible business individuals will pay a visit to the posh St. Francis Yacht Club on the aptly named Yacht Road in San Francisco Tuesday in what promises to be a colorful event to shine a spotlight on the secretive wealthy donors who are bankrolling the campaign to defeat Proposition 30.

The Tuesday action will include a yacht, SOS life rings, and actors playing the role of the  four mega-rich venture capitalists who recently formed a committee deceptively named “Californians for Reforms and Jobs Not Taxes Campaign” to defeat Proposition 30 on the November ballot.

Committee members include Floyd Kvamme, GOP donor and part of a committee fined by the Federal Elections Committee after the 2004 election; David Marquardt and Mark Stevens, venture capitalist donors to Mitt Romney and George W. Bush; and John Cox, fringe candidate for president in 2008, whose PAC has taken money from Phillip Morris.

What:         Bungling Billionaires Exposed:

When:                    11 a.m. — Tuesday, August 21

Where:                  St. Francis Yacht Club

                           99 Yacht Rd., San Francisco

“These amateur multimillionaires are playing with our state's future like they play with their yachts and other toys,” said Malinda Markowitz, RN, and a co-president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United. “Why are they funneling hordes of cash against a campaign to protect our schools, our healthcare safety net, and other vital California services simply to avoid paying a little more of their fair share?”

"For me, an extra 2 percent or 3 percent in taxes is not going to make a bit of difference in the way that I live,” said Frank Jernigan, a retired Google software engineer and member of the Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength. “But by bringing billions of dollars in new revenues to California for public schools and safety, Prop. 30 will make a tremendous difference in the lives of many."

Today on Your Call: What can we do to support teachers? (radio show)

Today on Your Call: What can we do to support teachers?

By Malihe Razazan
www.kalw.org/post/today-your-call-what-can-we-do-support-teachers

8/20/12 Morning Show!

Able to get a quick sound byte in!  Interesting PTA called right after and Radio Host didn't even know there are 2 measures competing against each other.

Prop 30, The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act

 California Federation of Teachers, AFT/AFL-CIO

Talking Points / Prop 30, The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act

Core messages

• Everyone needs to pay their fair share to fund California’s future, including the wealthy

• This measure will raise $9 billion in the first year and $6 billion/year for public education and local public safety

• It is a progressive tax measure, with 90% of the revenues coming from people who make at least $250,000/year

• It will prevent trigger cuts from further devastating our schools, higher education, and vital services

Who it taxes:  Personal income in excess of $250,000/year

Prop 30 will impose a 1 to 3% additional tax on personal income in excess of $250,000, $300,000, and $500,000 per year, and joint filers at $500,000, $600,000, and one million dollars. The income tax portion of Prop 30 will only tax people who make more than a quarter million dollars per year.  The sales tax portion of the measure is a modest ¼ cent increase, or one cent on a $4 hamburger.  9 of 10 dollars generated will be from the wealthy.

Why we need Prop 30:  to restore education, public services

$20 billion in public education funding reductions over the past three years have resulted in

·       layoffs and furloughs of thousands of school employees, and social service and public safety workers

·       the school year has been shortened in many districts, and class sizes have increased by as much as 35%

·       college and university students have lost classes, and student costs have skyrocketed along with time needed to graduate; student debt now exceeds all credit card debt.

·       Cuts to public safety, health and human services, taken from the sick, the elderly, disabled and the hungry.

·       Without passage of this measure, “trigger cuts” would eliminate additional billions of dollars in programs and jobs.

Prop 30 will rehire laid off teachers to reduce K-12 class sizes and restore lost college courses, and restore cuts to local public safety agencies. 

A progressive tax proposal

With Prop 30 no one but the wealthy would pay more in income taxes.  The top one percent of income earners has doubled its share of total state income over the past twenty years, while income for the rest of us has stagnated or gone backwards.  The top one percent currently takes in nearly one quarter of total state income; twenty years ago it was just one eighth.  At the same time, the top tax brackets (state and federal) today are lower than they used to be.  Between 1991 and 1996 the highest tax bracket in California was 11% of income; today it is 10.3%.  When Congress extended the Bush federal tax cuts for the rich in 2010, the top 1% in California received a windfall totaling nine to fourteen billion dollars per year.  This is nearly equal to the entire state budget deficit.

California is the richest state in the richest country on earth.  California is not “broke.”  Rather, the problems are that the tax system is broken, and the state’s money is increasingly in the wrong pockets.  Most of us are already paying our fair share of taxes.  It’s time everyone did, including the wealthy. As former Google software engineer Frank Jernigan said, “For me, an extra 2% or 3% in taxes is not going to make a bit of difference in the way that I live.  But by bringing billions of dollars in new revenues to California for public schools and safety, Prop 30 will make a tremendous difference in the lives of many.” This measure will increase the progressivity of the state income tax code by extending the 10.3% bracket down to $250,000, and adding brackets at $300,000 (11.3%), $500,000 (12.3%), and joint filers at $1 million (13.3%).

Opinion research shows Prop 30 is the most likely tax measure to pass

Numerous public opinion polls show that the electorate understands the growing economic inequality in California and the country, and believes that 99% of us are already paying our fair share of taxes, while the 1% richest does not, but should.  Polling numbers for Prop 30 are strong.  Emphasizing the strongly progressive nature of the income tax portion Act, while acknowledging the smaller regressive sales tax component, helps people to positively assess the impact of the Act.  Prop 30 is the best policy to restore public services and reduce economic inequality, and the idea that the public likes the most. 

San Francisco, California: Will you Stand Up for Public Schools? (www.uesf.org)

Will you Stand Up for Public Schools?

Prop 30, the Protect Schools and Local Public Safety Act, will protect us from further drastic cuts in school funding (up to 16.5 furlough days in the SFUSD over the next 2 years!).

Prop 32, the Special Exemptions Act, will effectively silence our voices by preventing UESF and all other unions from collecting the voluntary dues-dollars it takes to support initiatives like Prop 30. In San Francisco, we also have the opportunity to elect a new School Board that respects our professional rights and is committed to fully supporting the work that we do.

·      Prop 30, the Protect Schools and Local Public Safety Act, a MUST for public schools!

·      Prop 32, The Special Exemptions Act is NOT what it seems!

·      Elect Haney, Popek, Rodriguez, and Walton – The UESF-endorsed slate for School Board!

Get involved, learn more, and share what you know with coworkers, friends and families.  We must PASS the Protect Schools and Local Public Safety Act (Prop. 30), STOP the Special Exemptions Act (Prop. 32), and ELECT a new school board that respects the work we do and is accountable to our students.

Join your colleagues today! Pass the Protect Schools and Local Public Safety Act, Stop the Special Exemptions Act and Elect a New School Board!
Name:
Voting Address: (No PO Boxes)
Cell #:
Worksite Location:
Non-School Email:
o   I will vote YES on Prop 30, the Protect Schools and Local Public Safety Act o   I will vote NO on Prop 32, to stop the Special Exemptions Act! o   Yes, I am willing to talk with my UESF colleagues, local community group, neighbors, family and friends about these initiatives! o   Tell me more about the new School Board team of candidates and why we must defeat the incumbents. o   Please sign me up for text message alerts! (Standard text rates apply - text the word STOP to unsubscribe)
£ Yes, I am on Facebook!             £  Yes, I am on Twitter!

PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY

A Gay Victim to Prop. 32

The silence of CTA will be damage to the Gay Rights Movement.  From CTA website.

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GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL TRANSGENDER ISSUES

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender teachers, education support professionals and students face unique challenges in school and in society. Thanks to CTA and other education and human rights organizations, they are also making strides in the quest towards safer working and learning environments.

Public School Parent for S.F. School Board Beverly Popek Website

www.beverlypopek.com

No On Prop. 32! Video (what has happened to this country and the attack on Teachers?)

No On Prop. 32! Video (what has happened to this country and the attack on Teachers) click on this link

WEDNESDAY NOV 9, 2011 9:14 AM

Ohio Voters Repeal Anti-Union Law. Will Wis. Gov. Walker Be Next?

BY ROGER BYBEE

Members of Ohio Association of Public School Local 1010 employees celebrate the repeal of Ohio's new anti-collective bargaining law on November 8, 2011.   (Photo by Tessa Berg, courtesy AFSCME.org)

Repeal approved by wide margin; Walker recall effort begins next week

“This vote is a lightning bolt of hope across Ohio and Wisconsin and everywhere right-wing governors are trying to take away the rights of workers,” Wisconsin AFL Secretary-Treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale declared last night at a victory party in Columbus, Ohio, celebrating the 61-39 percent vote in favor of repealing Gov. John Kasich’s anti-union law.

The law, passed earlier this year by a GOP-dominated legislature and known as SB5, would have effectively eliminated the right to union representation for public workers in Ohio.

Kasich’s law, now null and void, was similar to the one that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his Republican allies rammed through the Wisconsin State Legislature earlier this year with little regard for democratic niceties. But Ohio's bill went even further than Walker’s, taking away the union rights of police officers and firefighters.

The inclusion of the police and firefighters strengthened repeal supporters' efforts, as TV ads showed firefighters how the law would prevent them from negotiating over adequate staffing, training and equipment to serve the public.

Bloomingdale stressed that the repeal of SB5 was a momentous victory for labor in Ohio and across the nation. “The mood is very good, people are really enthused, seeing this as a pivot point,” she said in a phone interview.” It’s a hairpin turn for labor, symbolizing a revival of American labor.

The Ohio effort drew 17,000 volunteers actively working for labor's cause.

THE MEANING FOR WISCONSIN

The Ohio victory has a special meaning for Wisconsin unionists like Bloomingdale, who spent the last four days in Ohio along with State President Phil Neuenfeldt working door-to-door to urge repeal of SB5. “This tells Walker that he made a huge mistake when he attacks workers, because the middle class will fight back. We can’t do a referendum in Wisconsin, but we can recall Scott Walker.“

Beginning on November 15, the AFL-CIO and coalition partners will begin seeking 540,000 signatures necessary to mandate a recall election for Walker.

The Ohio result is another indicator of the minority support for laws like Walker’s law aimed at crippling public-sector unionism in Wisconsin.

Last night's result was almost identical to national polling  by the New York Times/CBS News, whichconcluded, "Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent." A Wisconsin poll by Public Policy Polling  showed a 65% level of opposition to Walker’s bill. Two of the Republican state senators who voted for the bill were defeated in recall elections last summer.

"This showed the power of the people," said State Rep. Betty Sutton on The Ed [Schultz) Show on MSNBC. “The 1% control a lot of wealth and power and influence, but this shows they only control 1% of the vote,” she joyfully exclaimed.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, who was in Ohio actively campaigning for the repeal of the anti-union bill, hailed the union movement’s triumph during an interview with Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC Show. The stakes were high for all workers were high in Ohio, but especially for African Americans, as about 20 percent of blacks are employed by the public sector.

Jealous warned that last night’s victory would be impossible a year from now because of a restrictive new Ohio voter ID law would be in effect, and that requirement “amounts to nothing more than a modern poll tax,” a ploy used in the South to prevent poor blacks from voting. Those without a government-issued photo IDs, which in most cases means a driver’s license, would be blocked from voting. Among those who would be affected are larger numbers of African-America, Latinos, the poor, the elderly, and college students, all primarily Democratic constituencies. (See here, here, and here for more on new voter ID laws.)

In Wisconsin, a highly restrictive new voter ID rule will be in effect for the likely recall effort. Common Cause of Wisconsin State Director Jay Heck described it as “the most restrictive, blatantly partisan and ill-conceived voter identification legislation in the nation.” The League of Women Voters has filed a lawsuit against the new voter ID law.

In her door-to-door conversations, Bloomingdale came across many small-town, conservative people who see labor rights as essential to America

"A lot of people said things like, ‘I believe that worker rights are a fundamental, that they shouldn’t be taken away." Many said that they were Republican voters, but they said 'He’s [Gov.  Kasich] going too far when he takes away a worker’s right to be in a union." It’s un-American. It’s not the way to balance the budget."

One guy was a retired police office, and he said, "Union rights are part of the red, white, and blue."

BROAD COALITION

Bloomingdale was heartened by the coalition that converged to repeal SB5, including the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, independent unions like the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers and the emerging Occupy movement.

“It’s a real intersection for the Occupy movement and labor movement to fight for a fair economy and level the playing field for working people. In order to have a real fighting chance, we need a strong labor movement. If you want to have a fair wage, you need a strong labor movement whether you are in a union or not.”

“It’s nice to win a big one,“ remarked Staughton Lynd, the legendary Ohio-based activist, author and labor attorney. “A of people have gone a long time without a victory,” noting the many defeats labor has suffered over the past three decades.” For example, nearby Youngstown has lost thousands of high-paying jobs in steel mills shut down by US Steel and other firms.

(Lynd was deeply involved in a creative and militant—but ultimately unsuccessful— campaign to shift ownership of Youngstown steel mills, which US Steel was intent on closing, into the hands of workers and the community, as discussed in his book The Fight Against Shutdowns.)

“But this election was a solid result, a resounding defeat for Kasich,” he told In These Times. “I would certainly hope it will draw out union members to vote in 2012."

Lynd is convinced that both labor and the Occupy movement need to establish broader bases at the local level so that they can educate and mobilize ever-broader sections of the population against the power of the 1%. He chuckled as he mused about the way that the 1% vs. 99% framing of the Occupy movement causes people to re-think their place in society. “It’s interesting—it puts white correctional officers and black prisoners on the same side,” in reference to the privately-run “super-max” prison where Lynd has served as an attorney to fight for better conditions.

The combination of the repeal victory and the influence of the Occupy movement on popular awareness may add momentum to labor’s efforts to re-shape the nation’s economic and create a genuinely democratic political system, he said.

WILL OHIO WOUND WALKER?

It remains to be seen how much the Ohio repeal vote will deepen Walker’s wounds. While Walker hasearned disapproval ratings of 54 percent—slightly higher Kasich’s 53 percent, the governor has managed to keep Republican-identified voters unified behind him, unlike Kasich.

Public Policy Polling showed recently Walker with a 90 percent approval rating among Republicans, compared to just 63 percent for Kasich. However, looming over Walker is an ongoing FBI investigation of his 2010 gubernatorial campaign; several formal aides have accepted immunity from prosecution.

Walker may also lose support on the basis of increasingly extreme measures adopted by Republicans in the legislature, including the elimination of training requirements for people who carry concealed weapons with a permit and allowing permit-holders to carry concealed weapons within the State Capitol.

The petition-gathering for the recall will start next Tuesday, with an event near Gov. Walker’s home in a Milwaukee suburb.

Who the F*#! is behind Prop. 32?

#1 Thomas Siebal: Contributed the most to Prop. 32 ($500,000)

Look at part of his wonderful bio from Wikipedia,

"....

2008 Republican presidential campaign

In the 2008 United States presidential election campaign, Siebel provided backing to the Republican ticket. It was Siebel who introduced Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to the crowd at a California fund-raising brunch with the quote "Sarah Palin carries the flag of outrage ... for each of us who cries out, 'We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore.'" He remained an active organizer up until the elections.^[45] Siebel organized a Republican fundraising Gala in honor of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, where the asking price for a snapshot with her and a seat at the head table was $50,000.^[46][47] A $2,500 donation was to come with a John McCain lapel pin.^[48][49] Local activists called for protest of the event.^[50] However, the event was rescheduled, then canceled altogether.^[51]

Even with bargaining Teachers Barely Make over 40,000 in salary a year

http://www.uesf.org/wp-content/uploads/TA-financials-overview.pdf