DNC disses teachers
Democrats' week in Charlotte began with the screening of an anti-teachers union movie and never got much friendlier
At last week’s GOP convention, Chris Christie served up some juicy red meat: “They believe in teacher’s unions. We believe in teachers.” Of course, if Republicans “believe in” teachers, they have a strange way of showing it: slashing their jobs while trampling their bargaining rights. But as for Democrats’ supposed faith in teachers’ unions, this week showed once again that the party could more fairly be described as agnostic at best.
The week’s first slight to teachers’ unions came Monday, before the convention had even kicked off. Convention Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa spoke at a special screening of the upcoming Hollywood film “Won’t Back Down” for DNC delegates. He was joined by fellow Democratic mayors Cory Booker and Kevin Johnson, top union antagonist Michelle Rhee, and the director of Parent Revolution, a group pushing for “parent trigger.” The film is a sympathetic fictional portrayal of “trigger,” a policy which creates a mechanism for replacing union public schools with non-union charters, based on signatures from parents. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten recently wrote that the film has “egregiously misleading scenes” which depict a union preventing teachers from working past 3 PM and protecting a teacher who punishes kids by putting them in the closet.
As I’ve previously reported, “parent trigger” has widespread support from Democratic mayors, none more vocal or prominent than Los Angeles’ Villaraigosa. While the screening was not listed as an official convention event, the Huffington Post’s Jon Ward reported that the Obama Administration was asked for permission to hold the event in Charlotte, and deferred the decision to the DNC’s political director, “who raised no objections.”
more . . . http://www.salon.com/2012/09/07/dnc_disses_teachers/
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I retired from the city of LA after 30 yrs, (not in education) and I can vouch for the fact that he is a phony slime ball. You could always bet that if there was going to be a camera around, he would show up to get his mug in front of it. A disgusting self-promoter if there ever was one. I can't imagine he would ever do anything to actually benefit the city or it's residents in anyway unless he was going to get something out of it. I pray that he'll never have a chance at the governorship of CA or any other governmental position. 
