It’s not that we’ve spent many wonderful summers on the other side of the Lake. Although we have.
It’s not that the crazy Koch brothers front man, Kyle Olson of the Michigan-based Education Action Group has threatened to make me his “project.”
I do spend a lot of space here talking about Michigan for two reasons.
One is that it has become ground zero for the assault on public employees and teacher unions in the country.
And second is that it is not getting the national attention that Wisconsin and Ohio have received.
Mother Jones lays it out.
The list of initiatives reads like a grand plan to dismantle public education as we know it: Slash education spending. Outsource public teachers. Curb collective-bargaining rights.Kneecap teachers’ unions. Open the floodgates to charter and “cyber” schools.
Welcome to education reform in the state of Michigan, where a Republican-dominated Legislature and a GOP governor are pushing one of the broadest anti-union, pro-privatization agendas in the country.
Fred Klonsky 
Mother Jones can try and make this a “Republican” thing – the fact is, plenty of Democrats are slashing education spending, outsourcing teaching, curbing collective bargaining rights, kneecapping unions and opening the floodgates to charter and cyber schools.
Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel and Andrew Cuomo come to mind.
It is true that Dems walk a tight rope on this, as they still need unions on election day for support, so they sugarcoat these moves, as opposed to the Repubs who do not.
But the reality is, whether it’s Dems or Repubs, the union-bashing, teacher-scapegoating policies are very, very similar.
In Michigan it is a Republican thing.
In Illinois, where Democrats control the two chambers and the governor’s office, the attack on schools, teacher union rights and pensions has seen different tactics, including the cooperation of state union leaders themselves.
It’s the trees they’re really after, Fred. I’m sure they want to clear-cut the North Woods to make toilet paper.
um, yeah, because the union has done so much to improve the education of our children…
Remember, T.P., it’s never too late.
Hey, T.P., I don’t know how your IEA local is, but mine (my former school district,that is) was GREAT. In fact, if I’d had my druthers, I’d have just joined the local & NOT paid dues to the state & national. It was BECAUSE of our local that we were able to stop our SpEd Director from implementing TOTAL inclusion (of Special Ed. kids)–meaning NO Special Ed. AT ALL, & disruption of learning FOR EVERYONE. We had to file a grievance involving a contract violation in order to stop this, & we had to go all the way to the Board of Ed. One or a few of us couldn’t have accomplished this alone; truly, in this case, in union there is strength.
And–I can’t emphasize this enough–it was the UNION WORKING FOR THE GOOD OF THE STUDENTS.
I’m sure more than a few of you out there have great locals, too, & that your locals have helped to improve student conditions in your own district.