Fight for unions shown on the History Channel contrasts with busting of teachers' unions [View All]

under this administration's education policy with Arne Duncan at the head of the Department of Education.

They were strong and powerful fights, it was moving to watch Marisa Tomei and others speaking out as the voices of those workers decades ago.

Nearly all of those unions have been gradually stripped down of the power they once had. I remember the air traffic controllers' union being busted by Reagan. No one in my area particularly cared...if Reagan did it it was a good thing. Besides people in Florida don't like unions anyway.

Now under Arne Duncan's drive to form charter schools using public school money...schools and districts are actually being rewarded for defying the teachers' unions and breaking contracts with them


LA teachers, parents, and students rallied against the school district's summer decision to open hundreds of public schools to charter bids--a move spurred on by President Obama's "Race to the Top" fund. Teachers from LA, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., met before the school year began to shape an alternative to the plan. Photo: UTLA



I don't see much defense at Democratic forums. or among Democrats, of teachers' unions.

It is easy to feel pride in those who fought after the Great Depression to get decent wages and working conditions.

It is not very easy to fight now, to stand up now, to speak up now...when it is a Democratic administration leading the way to bust teachers' unions.

There is a lot of money and power and media behind the message of the corporate charter schools.

I was thinking while watching The People Speak on the History Channel about what courage it took for those workers who had the corporations and the law against them.

I see only a few bloggers speaking up about the dismantling of public education.

I wonder who will make a documentary about how easily it happened.