PeterWK's Periodical

“Right to Work” provides no rights and no work #union #michigan used #procamera #cameraplus for the #redscale effect, and #LightLeaker

Shame on the MI GOP for what they did in Lame Duck #union #michigan #LIUNA

Workers rights = Human rights. Used #procamera and #photoforge2 #lomo effect. #union #michigan

Today’s greeting/shaming of the legislature as told by my iPhone. #union #michigan used #procamera and #glaze on this (at Michigan State Capitol)

Emergency Manager 'inflates' numbers

By Eric T. Campbell
The Michigan Citizen”

DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools (DPS) emergency manager and Educational Achievement Authority (EAA) board chairman Roy Roberts is “inflating” his administrative success, according to a new study. Despite promises otherwise, the EM is directing more resources to his administration than the classroom.

Roberts has consistently criticized DPS bureaucracy, saying it directs only 55 percent of its revenue to the classroom. He further promised to increase that number to 95 percent in DPS and the state-mandated reform school district, the EAA.

A new report by the Detroit Data and Democracy Project contradicts Roberts’ numbers, indicating that Roberts has used differing formulas to support his claims.

The report, entitled “Emergency Manager Roy Roberts Pledges 95% of Funds to Classrooms: Ambition or Deceit?” was authored by Dr. Thomas C. Pedroni, Wayne State associate professor of Curriculum Studies and director of the Detroit Data and Democracy Project.

“Roberts greatly inflates his success in the area of classroom dollars and achieves the 90 percent figure by calling every expense category, except administration and debt service, ‘school based costs,’” the report states.

Using the same formula utilized by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), the one that Roberts uses to disparage DPS’ recent classroom expenditures of 55 percent, Roberts is actually putting even less into DPS classrooms.

Pedroni estimates that number to be 48.3 percent.

“Roberts was using a much more generous assessment for his own performance,” Pedroni told the Michigan Citizen. “And it’s not just that his numbers are wrong … remember this is the whole basis for his existence.”

Pedroni says that, in general, charter schools use the same tactics that Roberts employed. National studies conclude that charter schools dedicate more money to administration than to classrooms compared to public schools.

Roberts appeared before City Council July 17 to give his 2012 report on the state of DPS. During his statements, he announced that the DPS budget deficit is now only $72 million.

Detroit Board of Education President Lamar Lemmons says that number is also skewed to fit the appearance that Roberts has led the district out of financial despair.

Lemmons told the Michigan Citizen that DPS is really $272 million in debt if you include the long-term payments associated with the $200 million deficit elimination bond negotiated by Roberts in November 2011.

“You can show anything if you change the formula to get the results you want,” Lemmons told the Michigan Citizen. “He’s certainly done that before.”

To read Detroit Data and Democracy Project’s report on Robert’s classroom expenditures, visit https://sites.google.com/site/detroitdataanddemocracyproject/

Contact Eric T. Campbell at ericcampbell@michigancitizen.com

Today was a good day. A ruckus was made in the Capitol rotunda fighting for women’s rights, and I was within 10 feet of Governor Snyder as he left the building. We made eye contact for a brief moment, and in that wonderful moment… I yelled “UNION BUSTER!”

There is no amount of money that would equal how good it felt to do that. And if you frown upon yelling at elected officials, at least I refrained from calling him a “cheese eating union busting rat” or a “petite fascist”.

Five Reasons Why Michigan’s Anti-Abortion Bill Is The Nation’s Worst

Oh hey look, the Michigan GOP took a break from destroying democracy, workers’ rights, and public education to find a new project: the War on Women. Hurray, right wing social engineering.

——
From Think Progress:

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Jun 13, 2012 at 5:46 pm

The Michigan House has passed HB 5711, the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion bill that combines some of the worst attacks on women’s access to abortion care into one bill. The massive 45-page, Republican-backed legislation limits when a woman could have an abortion and puts a greater, unnecessary burden on abortion providers.

Opponents have loudly protested against the measure that has been jammed through the legislature — it was introduced on May 31 and a committee approved it last week — and Democratic lawmakers spoke out against it before the House passed the bill 70-39. “This bill is not about protecting women’s health,” said state Rep. Kate Segal (D).

Here’s what you should know about these far-reaching anti-abortion bills:

1) Bans Abortions After 20 Weeks, Even For Rape And Incest Victims: A woman would not be able to have an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation based on the widely disputed idea that a fetus can feel pain after that point. The only exception would be if a woman’s life was in danger.

2) Transforms Doctors Into Detectives: The Republican-backed legislation would make it a crime for anyone to coerce a woman into having an abortion. Doctors will have to give their patients a questionnaire to inform them of the illegality of coercion and determine if the woman had been coerced or is the victim of domestic abuse before the abortion procedure.

3) Limits Access For Rural Women: Under the omnibus bill, doctors would have to be physically present to perform a medical abortion, thus preventing a doctor from administering abortion-inducing medication by consulting via telephone or internet. This would especially hurt rural women, who may have to travel hours to meet in-person with a specialist.

4) Requires Doctors To Purchase Costly Malpractice Insurance: If HB 5711 goes into effect, then doctors would be required to carry $1 million in liability insurance if they perform five or more abortions each month or have been subject to two more more civil suits in the past seven years, among other requirements. But the qualifications are so vague that almost all doctors who perform abortions could be required to carry the additional liability insurance at a potential cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

5) Regulates Clinics Out Of Existence: HB 5711 would create new regulations so that any clinic that provides six or more abortions in a month or one which advertises abortion services would have to be licensed as a “freestanding surgical outpatient facility.” That means that even if a clinic does not offer surgical abortions, it would be required to have a full surgical suite.

Now that the state House has passed the largest of the three bills, it will likely approve the two companion measures as well. Even though lawmakers rushed the bill through the House, the state Senate is not expected to vote on the measure until September. The body is composed of 26 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Annie-Rose Strasser contributed to this report.

Striking Red Cross workers' life blood on the line

May 22 2012

tags: Workers rights, health, unions, solidarity, public safety

CLEVELAND - In a unanimous vote recently the Cleveland City Council passed a resolution supporting the strike by 250 blood collection workers at Northern Ohio Red Cross. The action followed similar resolutions in Toledo and Lansing, Mich., where strikes against Red Cross are also under way.

The strike by Teamsters Local 507 in the Northern Ohio region, based in Cleveland and covering 19 counties, is now in its fourth month. The unions in all three locations charge the agency is stonewalling talks and seeking unilateral power to alter negotiated contracts, especially in health care plans.

“Our members are committed to retaining their collective bargaining rights as much as they are committed to providing caring service to donors who visit the blood drives,” Mike Parker, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 580 in Lansing, said. Parker charged that Red Cross is also stifling negotiations and is offering only six hours of talks and then not until June 19.

“By the time June 19 rolls around, our members will have been on strike 11 weeks.”

Dozens of strikers came to the Cleveland AFL-CIO meeting May 9, asking help to boycott blood drives and funds to support their fight. They said donations should be sent to Red Cross Strikers, c/o Teamsters Local 507, 5425 Warner Rd., Unit 7, Cleveland, OH 44125. Below is the statement read by one striker, a mobile unit worker, at the meeting:

“My name is Kathy Greene and I am a proud member of Teamsters local 507. I have been with the American Red Cross for 8 yrs. I was so excited to work for this great organization. Quickly the rose-colored glasses came off and the truth became clear.

“Blood drives were 50-100 miles from my home. My workday was anywhere from 10-16 hrs. Working at a site that was grandfathered in without air on a 90-degree day and trying to keep my staff and donors from passing out was part of my daily challenge. When donors went over goal and I called for help I was told that they didn’t have anyone available and I would have to deal with it. Part of my dealing with it was making sure we were getting the donors through as quickly as possible because I didn’t want customers to complain that they waited too long. The extra donors sand paperwork must be done correctly to avoid the blood being put on hold or discarded. Then I have to try to give breaks and lunches to my staff while donors look on.

“I personally have a heart condition and many times I have to look at my schedule to see if I should take my medication because I’m probably not going to be able to take a break to go to the bathroom due to extra donors. I have to make sure that my staff who have health issues or are pregnant get that break. We look out for each other not management.

“I don’t know about everyone else, but would you want someone to come at you with a big needle that has not had anything to eat or drink in hours? Not me!

“Exhaustion from a long day without a break can cause errors. If I forget to dot an I or cross a t on my paperwork can put the blood on hold. Try explaining that to management, that you were tired or were rushed due to going over goal, or late setting up the blood drive, That’s not an excuse! Red Cross could be fined by the FDA! And whose fault is that? MINE!

“We have many policies and procedures that we have to follow per the American Blood Bank Association and the FDA. We are all trained professionals. We are paramedics, EMTs, medical assistants, phlebotomists and nurses. Before we can work to our full capacity we go through months of training. Then every quarter we have to be observed by a supervisor then yearly. We constantly have some sort of training or updates.

“We are the front-line of the American Red Cross. We are the first person you see and we are the reason you come back. We love our jobs and the donors. Over these past 12 weeks we have been told: “if you don’t like your job quit!” Our response to that is we do love our jobs. That’s why we are out here fighting for them. All we want is respect and a fair wage! I would like to know that the American Red Cross sees each of us for who we really are-hard-working, dedicated people who understand the mission of the Red Cross. But do they? This is supposed to be a great humanitarian organization that strives to help others. What about their employees that can’t afford their medical bills, can’t afford to put gas in their cars so they can drive more than a hundred miles to work? What about the families who have to find a sitter to watch their kids at 4am? A fair wage, good medical and working with us on our schedules would be a reward for our blood, sweat and tears.

“In closing let me tell you about the hard working collection staff of the Red Cross. We are the ones that are up at 3 am driving in a snowstorm to set up a blood drive. We are the ones that get home after working more than 14 hours to find our kids already asleep. We are the ones that you tell your stories that getting blood saved your life or the life of a friend or family member. We are the ones that are providing a good experience to our donors so they keep coming back. We are the ones that keep the blood safe to save lives. WE ARE THE AMERICAN RED CROSS!”

Delegates responded to Greene’s speech with a standing ovation.

Photo: Teamster Nation blog 

Rachel Maddow on Michigan Emergency Manager Law and the Michigan GOP’s war on democracy.

@AFLCIO @RichardTrumka saw this last night at the @LansingLabor1 council meeting.  Meet Mr. 1%: @MittRomney #Labor2012

Hilarious flip flops.  Romney’s got one thing right though: Michigan is a great state, and our trees are in fact “just the right height.”  Great video by the AFL-CIO.  Time to shut down the 1% vulture capitalist with a little 99% power.