What Are You Doing Monday?

You made it to April. It's been tumultuous but the new Gallup poll that came out yesterday shows that most Americans are not enthralled with what the sociopathic breed of new Republican governors-- Snyder (MI), LePage (ME), Scott (FL), Walker (WI), Christie (NJ), Corbett (PA) and Kasich (OH)-- have been trying to do to undercut ordinary working families in their states. Less than 40% of Americans-- and only 33% of women-- support their bloodthirsty jihads against unions. and Monday there will be a national day of action to support the basic rights we all have to come together and bargain collectively with the high and mighty would could crush us all individually. Hundreds of thousands of working people are coming together on April 4 to honor the anniversary of Dr. King’s death in Memphis, where he was assassinated while supporting striking sanitation workers, and to commemorate his lifelong commitment to civil and labor rights. So far there are close to 900 events currently listed on the We Are One website.

People are energized after seeing what ideologues-- not just the crazies on the extreme right in Washington like Paul Broun, Michele Bachmann and Steve King-- in their own states are trying to do. The We Are One activities Monday offer a huge range of events-- over 150 teach-ins, hundreds of worksite mobilizations, community forums, vigils, visibility in towns-- whatever people wanted to do to best show their solidarity. There are events in all 50 states, and folks in Paris, Mongolia, and Afghanistan have reached out to add their events as well! People are galvanized-- something that's reflected in the success the Wisconsin grassroots is having in the arduous task of gathering recall signatures for Walker's Republican senators-- while the Koch-funded/Mormon backed GOP efforts have flopped. Yesterday Wisconsin reached the requisite number of signatures for the first of their targets Dan Kapanke of La Crosse.

Recall organizer Pat Scheller said volunteers have gathered more than the 15,588 signatures needed and that they plan to take them to Madison after a noon rally today at La Crosse City Hall.

It is expected to be the first completed of 19 active recall efforts registered between Feb. 24 and March 2 against 16 senators.

Kapanke did not return messages Thursday, but has said the recall is “part of the process.”

Wisconsin has been in the headlines. And governors as bad as Walker in Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Arizona, etc have kept those states in the national headlines as well. But as off the rails New Hampshire went last November-- elected two right-wing congressmen and a corporate shill for a senator AND huge GOP majorities in the state legislature, a moderate governor, John Lynch (D) has been able to tamp down the worst mischief these nihilists have been up to. Remember, New Hampshire legislators were quick off the mark to try to take the national spotlight of right-wing insanity away from Kasich, Brewer, Walker, et al.

There are currently 19 Republicans and only 5 Democrats in the state Senate while the Republicans hold a 298-104 advantage over the Democrats in the lower house. And Republicans have moved quickly to put New Hampshire back on a right-wing, pre-2006 course. They are working towards overturning marriage equality, reinstating the death penalty, cutting back on women's choice, and putting up barriers to union organizing. [T]he Boston Globe reported that the state legislature is moving towards taking away students' right to vote.

Yesterday our old pal in Concord, Colin Van Ostern, published an OpEd in several of the state's leading newspapers decrying the damage the teabag-crazed Republicans are doing to business in New Hampshire.

Wake up, New Hampshire business leaders. Our state's technology-- and manufacturing-- based economy was strong enough to weather the national recession. But can it really withstand the foolhardiness of the New Hampshire Legislature?

After Gov. John Lynch proposed a downright conservative budget that would have made yesterday's Republicans let out a victory cheer, today's new partisans couldn't help themselves. Community technical colleges that fuel our state's labor force? Millions more in cuts. Lynch's proposal to boost the successful research and development tax credit? Gone.

As if to prove their zeal is unrelated to any genuine interest in balanced budgets, the House at the very same time is boosting spending on its own political staff by $1.4 million and repealing $16 million in cigarette tax revenue. Is this really the best way to strengthen our state's economy? Cut technical education and R&D so that we can fund more political staffers and make a pack of cigarettes a dime cheaper?

In the state budget debate thus far, outside light has rightly been shined on the dangerous cuts to our social safety net, and much heat has been generated by the undemocratic efforts to strip public workers of collective bargaining rights. But away from the light and heat of those debates, the Legislature's decision-making reveals a naive disregard for our state's economic climate - which should be their top priority.

Earlier this month, the state Business and Industry Association and New Hampshire High Technology Council released an investigation by the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies into our state's critical economic sector: smart manufacturing and high-tech companies. The 47-page report analyzes the competitive advantages, challenges and opportunities facing the SMHT industries, which contribute one in every five payroll dollars in the state.

The business report concludes with four policy recommendations, including three that are specifically ignored - or worse, undermined-- by the New Hampshire House budget. To preserve our economic advantage, lawmakers should be "[1] encouraging workforce development and education, [2] investing in infrastructure, and [3] implementing tax policies that promote manufacturing and high tech growth."

In fact, the report's conclusions specifically cite the success of research and development tax credits and point to the need for robust technical education to maintain a well-educated workforce that will fuel continued economic growth. In other words, New Hampshire's employers are asking state lawmakers point-blank not to make the state economy a casualty of their anti-government zeal.

These are not partisan recommendations. If anything, the business community is a traditionally Republican-leaning force in politics. But today's New Hampshire Legislature is systematically ignoring their good advice. Even when no government spending is involved, the Legislature is on an anti-government crusade-- such as their work to lower the minimum dropout age.

When the state increased the minimum dropout age from 16 to 18 a few years ago, the high school dropout rate plunged. The number of students leaving high school early was roughly cut in half. It didn't cost tax dollars-- it was just smart policy. And now, given the choice between more students graduating from high school or happy Free Staters who simply oppose any government regulations at all, the Legislature is choosing the Free Staters.

Like Walter Peterson and Jeanne Shaheen before him, John Lynch knows that a governor's job is to put competency first and ideology second. That's why he is so popular (and, by the way, it is why he should not rule out running for re-election in 2012). But under Speaker Bill O'Brien, the House of Representatives has adopted the opposite of the Lynch method: It is putting ideology over competency. If the state Senate can't summon up the courage to stand up to the House, it risks losing the future for our state.

And back to Monday, here are just a few of the hundreds of public activities taking place involving AFT members and leaders:

April 4- Rally in Philadelphia at Temple University to protest budget cuts proposed by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett. AFT President Randi Weingarten will speak at the event.

April 4- March and rally in downtown San Francisco. AFT Secretary-Treasurer Antonia Cortese will speak at the rally.

April 6–8- AFT Washington and a large coalition of civil rights groups, immigrant rights groups, labor unions, student groups and faith-based groups will convene three days of action on the Capitol grounds in Olympia, Wash.

April 9- New York State United Teachers will lead a rally to support workers’ rights in Times Square in New York City. AFT President Randi Weingarten will speak at the event.

April 9- Thousands of union members and progressive allies are expected for an all-Illinois rally in downtown Chicago.

The American Federation of Teachers, and most Americans, are pissed off that the wealthy and their pawns in politics and the media are bashing and blaming teachers and other public employees for state and even federal budget problems they did not cause, They're pointing out that the unhinged Republican governors, using their budget crises, are trying to eliminate the voice of educators, nurses, firefighters and other public employees in their workplaces and to recklessly cut education funding and other public services. A particularly egregious example is the move by Rick Scott to slash payments for group homes and other rehabilitation organizations for people with disabilities in the Medicaid waiver program.

AFT affiliates are sponsoring or participating in hundreds of “We are One” events nationwide next week to fight for economic dignity and fairness, so that those who have the least get the most help, and to ensure that the services we deliver are the best they can be. More than 38,000 people also took the pledge on the AFT’s website to make a difference and stand together with the union and its allies by participating in activities to support fairness, economic and educational opportunity, justice, democracy and workers’ voice.

“This is a time for our nation to turn to public employees, instead of turning against them. But we can’t do it all. To govern is to choose-- and some governors across the country are making damaging choices,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “These political ideologues have launched an all-out assault on the men and women who teach our children, care for our sick, and keep our neighborhoods clean and safe.”

“This is not just a moment in time but a movement by citizens of all stripes who are standing up and fighting for democracy, fairness, and policies that put the needs of everyday people ahead of politics and profits,” Weingarten said.