The financial collapse of the US and international economy requires new strategies and tactics to defend public workers and all working people. The newly formed United Public Workers For Action www.upwa.info believes that the first step for a fight back is to bring together all public workers in California in order to develop a plan to defend public services and education and take direct action to bring together the collective power of the 1.5 million public workers in California.
We believe that there needs to be ballot initiatives to eliminate the 2/3’s requirement for a budget, the elimination of the commercial property exemption under Prop 13 and a statewide ballot initiative to ban privatization of public services. The collapse of housing prices raises a fundamental question of how public services and education will be funded since a large percentage of the funding of these areas comes from property taxes, which have declines likely to be 30% to 40%.
We are working to support proposals to deal with these issues and there will be a public speak-out of public workers on April 17th at the Alameda Labor Temple in Oakland and plans to build a public workers, students and immigrants march/rally on May 1 in Sacramento.
The failure of the Democratic controlled legislature to solve this problem is another example of the dangers of relying on these politicians to “solve” the problem. While there are no positive ballot initiatives on the ballot on May 19, 2009 there are reactionary measures that will cap funding for public services while letting the billionaires and millionaires off the hook.
For more info: call East Bay - (510) 672-2623, SF - (415) 867-0628
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Public workers and public services face the greatest attack since the 1930's. From education to healthcare to local and state services the people of California are under assault. Unions including AFT 2121, AFSCME District Council 57, San Francisco Labor Council, AFT 1473 and UTLA in Los Angeles have called for an emergency meeting of all public workers unions in California to outline what affect these attacks are having on public workers and services and discuss a plan of action to defend our members and services. We need to bring together all public workers and their locals in California at this conference to get on the same page. Isolated actions and protests that are not tied together statewide will be ineffective in dealing with this growing catastrophe we all face.
We will also be discussing a statewide of action by all of the 1.5 million public workers in California along with all students from K-12 CSU, UC and community colleges on May 1, 2009. We need to act as one with our collective power if we are to confront the union busting agenda of the corporations and their representatives in the State government.
To find out more information about this conference contact
United Public Workers For Action (UPWA):
Pablo Rodriquez at pabrodriquez@yahoo.com or
Rodger Scott at xgtel@prodigy.net
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121, at (415) 585-2121
The crash in housing prices and a state structure that shields the rich and major corporations from paying their share of taxes is now creating an unbearable situation for the defense of public workers. We need to remove the 2/3's requirement to get a budget, eliminate the commercial property exemption under proposition 13 and impose a capital tax on the millionaires and billionaires in California. At the same time trillions of dollars are being spent on wars and a military empire around the world. This is not only unacceptable but also financially foolhardy in the face of the great economic collapse in our life times.
More info - Student Senate for California Community Colleges
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4/17/09 EB UPWA forum