Six anti-labor bills are winding their way through the Arizona Legislature– four target unions, making collective bargaining illegal and outlawing union dues deductions from paychecks; one would strip civil service protections from 29,000 state employees, allowing the governor to fire civil servants and hire her pals; and the last is a ballot initiative which would lower the minimum wage for tip workers (because $4.65/hour is such an extravagant salary) and lower the minimum wage for people 20 years old and under.

The union bills were dubbed “worse than Wisconsin”, but then the governor and legislature add the other two bills on top. When those guys decide to decimate the middle class, they don’t mess around.

What’s a person to do? Call and/or e-mail your legislators… NOW. Here’s the Senate membership list. Here’s the House membership list.  In addition to calling your own legislators, I also urge anyone who lives in the new CD2 (Gabby Giffords’ reformulated district) to call Senator Frank Antenori, since he wants to be our new Congressman. (Shudder.)

In addition to calling, union leaders are organizing a day of action on March 1 at the capitol and have an online petition, but the anti-labor laws will affect all of us. We– the 99%– are in this together. Pick up that phone.

For background on the anti-union and anti-civil service bills, check out this story:
Arizona’s New Labor Bills Called ‘Worse Than Wisconsin’

For more coverage of the union forum (video above) and the anti-minimum wage bill, check out this story:
Arizona Workers Mobilize As Legislators Debate Anti-Labor Laws

Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley

Labor union members and Jobs with Justice labor supporters will be demonstrating downtown today against the anti-union legislation currently sailing through the Arizona Legislature.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC, a corporatist group that writes business friendly legislation for Republican legislatures like ours) and the right-wing Goldwater Institute schooled Governor Jan Brewer and her minions in the Arizona Legislature in union-busting last fall in Phoenix. The fruits of their “labor” are a series of anti-worker bills currently being fast-tracked in the Arizona Legislature. These proposed laws mirror those in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. They were passed in Wisconsin and Indiana by their Legislatures, but Ohio voters weighed in and squashed the legislation there. (Remember Wisconsin? The backlash caused weeks of nationwide protest and a recall election for several state lawmakers and Governor Scott Walker.)

The result of coaching by ALEC, the Goldwater Institute, and Walker is a suite of anti-worker bills which would harm teachers, police, firefighters, and other unionized workers in Arizona. All Democratic Party legislators are opposed to this legislation.  (Watch State Senator Dave Schapira on the Ed Schultz Show, here.) Locally, Congressman Raul Grijalva and Councilwoman Regina Romero have made public statements against the anti-worker bills. In addition, local MoveOn.org activists have created an online petition, which you can sign here.

Below is information about today’s demonstration. Also, don’t forget you can call or e-mail your legislators and tell them to OPPOSE anti-worker legislation. Ohioans stopped these bad bills; Arizonans can too.

Jobs with Justice urges you to come out in solidarity with unions under attack by the
Arizona Ultra-right legislature.

Rally in Support of AZ Working Families!

STOP THE ATTACKS ON PUBLIC WORKERS!

Friday, Feb. 3rd
4:00 pm (or when you get off work)

State Building,
400 W Congress
Downtown Tucson

Join union members and their families from the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF), AFSCME 449, CWA Local 7000 and many community supporters to stand up to the attacks on union members and their families. The following harmful bills will directly harm our community:

SB1484, Paycheck deductions employee authorization

SB1485, Unions; public employees; prohibitions

SB1486, Public Employees; activities, unions; compensation

SB1487, Government employees; union dues; withholding

These terrible bills are moving fast. They have already passed out of committee and will be most likely debated in the full AZ Senate next week. We need to pull together and find solutions that work for the real issues Arizonans are facing. Join our rally to let the Arizona Legislature that attacking public workers is wrong!

To Take Action NOW by following the Arizona AFL-CIO link here.

Occupy Tucson banner (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

Since Occupy Tucson was evicted by the Tucson Police from Veinte de Agosto Park in December, Occupiers have been busy– the food drive, multiple marches, regular general assemblies, and occupying the sidewalk.

Today, Occupy Tucson announced that they will begin occupying DeAnza Park at Stone and Speedway. From their press release…

The tents are coming back. Some members of Occupy Tucson, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, will be putting up tents and sleeping in DeAnza Park after reaching a consensus at the General Assembly meeting last Monday night.

“We’ve never really gotten an opportunity to engage with the community in the way we’ve envisioned,” said Dave Croteau, one of the Occupiers who will be sleeping in the public park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. “We’ve planned teach-ins and around the clock activities this time,” said Croteau, “and we welcome the neighbors to come see what we’re about.”

“The ills of our economy will continue to challenge the poorest citizens,” said Mary DeCamp. “The Tucson Police Department can continue wasting the tax-payers’ money chasing us out of the city parks, but we will continue to petition our broken government for redress to the social and political inequalities that have spawned this global movement.”

Three of the neighborhood associations near DeAnza Park were consulted prior to the encampment. The West University Neighborhood Association Board of Directors was informed of the impending action because DeAnza is within their jurisdiction; they voiced no opposition to the proposal to occupy. Feldman and Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Associations both voted in support of the Occupy Tucson action. Neighbors immediately adjacent to DeAnza were invited by Occupy Tucson representatives in the past two days to share their concerns. “Rather than being chased out and treated as criminals, Occupiers would like to help meet the needs of the community and work to find solutions to the home foreclosure crisis” said Ethan Beasley. “Too many of our friends and neighbors have had their homes taken from them through illegal title transfers using an automated recording system called MERS. The original deeds have been bundled, sliced, diced, and resold by banks and mortgage brokers who walked away with untold riches while hard-working would-be homeowners were fleeced like sheep. We’ve got to do something about those crimes,” said Beasley.

“We’re grateful that the Tucson Police Department hasn’t reacted violently to our presence,” said Sherry Mann, “but we have to have physical space to gather, to share our concerns, and to explore alternatives that will work for all.”

As puppets of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute, Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature  are  attacking workers. Did we — the Arizona voters– ask the government to eliminate collective bargaining? NO. Did they campaign on this platform? NO. Why are they fast-tracking anti-union legislation? Because their corporate masters told them to.

We need the Occupy movement now more than ever. There are two classes of people in the US– workers and owners. All workers– union or not– should push back. We need to get corporate money out of government. We are the 99%.

Precinct voting sign (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

When Americans are unhappy in an election year, they often adopt a ‘throw-the-bums-out’ attitude toward incumbent politicians. In 2008, the Democrats seized control of all three branches of government. In 2010, Americans threw dozens of Democratic ‘bums’ out, and many Tea Party-leaning Republicans went to Congress for the first time. In 2012, Congress’ nearly complete gridlock and 9 percent approval rating hint at another throw-the-bums-out year.

But does this cycle of alternatively sweeping Democrats or Republicans out of office really accomplish anything? Are voters getting what they want from government or just crossing their fingers and venting their anger at the ballot box?

Under our current electoral system, political parties have a greater voice in government than voters, and that has contributed to “partisan sniping and gridlock,” according to Open Elections/Open Government (OE/OG), a bipartisan group of Arizonans who are working to place an open primaries initiative on the November 2012 ballot.

Disaffected voters believe elected officials are beholden not to them but to political party bosses and lobbyists, and this belief leads voters to lose faith in government, the OE/OG website claims.

Open primaries — where all candidates regardless of party affiliation are listed on one ballot — would give voters, rather than political parties, a greater voice in government, says Ted Downing, Ph.D., research professor of social development in the Arizona Research Laboratories at the University of Arizona and one of the initiative’s architects.

“Taxpayers pay for elections [party primaries] that limit their choices,” says Downing. Independents — a rapidly growing group of registered voters in Arizona — are “grossly discriminated against” under our current system, which favors the two major parties.

For the rest of this story from the Huffington Post, go here.

Lapis jewelry at the hotels near I-10 (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Ready for a serious shot of retail therapy?

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show starts today– January 28, 2012. The Gem Show is clearly one of the best reasons to live in Tucson. The Gem Show is actually several shows taking place over the course of the next few weeks. Some of the shows are wholesale and others are retail, and different shows start and stop on different days. There are so many shows spread around Tucson that the organizers will even shuttle you around. Check the official Gem Show guide (here)for links to individual shows.

Two of my favorite places to go are the African Art Village and the hotels along Interstate 10. (The Holidome show is also very good, but you need a business licence to get in.) Below are a couple of videos that I shot at the 2011 Gem Show.

More on the Gem Show…

African Art Village and More at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

End corporate personhood. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Today– January 20– is a date that has gone down in infamy. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Citizens United case.

To commemorate the Supreme Court case that struck down campaign finance reform, ruled that money is speech, and paved the way for obscene amounts of money to flood our elections, Occupy Tucson, MoveOn.org, and other groups nationwide will “Occupy the Courts”.

In Tucson, there will be protests all day in front of the federal court house. Here is basic information from the Move to Amend group that wants to amend the Constitution and fix campaign financing.

 LOCATION: Evo A. DeConcini United States Courthouse
405 West Congress Street at Granada (southwest corner)
Tucson AZ 85701

8am-5pm

Protesters are being asked to simply display relevant signs, support petitions to amend the U.S. Constitution, or register to vote early.

Planned activities include:
10:00 a.m.: press conference
12:00 noon: march though downtown Tucson
4:00 p.m.: rally with music & speakers
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: open microphone for comments and local entertainers

CONTACT: Danielle Rushford, dani7117@aol.com, Diane Dvoskin, ddvoskin@cox.net

Former Surgeon General and Tucson resident Richard Carmona, who is running for retiring Senator Jon Kyl’s seat, raised an impressive $570,000 in six weeks.

Carmona is challenging Phoenix lawyer Don Bivens for the Democratic Party nomination. The winner of the primary will face either Congressman Jeff Flake or businessman Wil Cardon.

The video above was shot by The Tucson Progressive at the January 2012 Legislative 28 meeting. With honesty and humility, Carmona spoke for less than 10 minutes and took 30 minutes worth of questions from the audience of about 60 party faithfuls.

For more background on Carmona and his Tucson presentation, check out my story on the Huffington Post.

Tucson is a community in turmoil. It has been tied in knots for more than a year over the issue of how best to educate its children in a world of shrinking resources and high poverty.

Propagandists—both pro and con—have embroiled locals in continuous debate over the merits of the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). Fanning the flames of hatred and hyperbole, supporters and detractors have distributed MAS facts and myths nationwide through blogs, newspapers, public appearances, radio broadcasts, e-mail blasts, and social media. Charges of racism and white privilege are hurled at those who ask for program evaluation data or information on course content; from the right, MAS instructors are called “bullies” and “thugs” who are indoctrinating children with Marxism and hatred.

On January 10, 2012, rather than face a $15 million fine, the TUSD Governing Board voted to not fight the state’s legal ruling against the MAS program. MAS was found to be in violation of state law banning any school curriculum that promotes resentment against a race or class of people, is designed primarily for one ethnic group, and advocates for ethnic solidarity, a law that was created by former Superintendent of Public Instruction and current state Attorney General Tom Horne specifically to bring down the MAS program.

Contrary to what you may read in other blog posts, in Save Ethnic Studies e-mail blasts or on facebook, this law did not ban Ethnic Studies and it didn’t eliminate Mexican American Studies in other school districts (like Sunnyside). The law (which I hope will be found to be unconstitutional) was finely targeted by Horne and the Arizona Legislature to take down the MAS program in TUSD.

Although MAS was created to improve dropout rates among Latino students and may, in fact, do that at least among low income students (see graphics below), the program had been serving fewer than 1 percent of the 32,000 Latinos enrolled in TUSD. Since school year 2000-01, MAS has served 8656 Latino students and 1107 students of other ethnicities, according to data provided by the TUSD Governing Board. Between fall 2000 and fall 2010, Latino enrollment in MAS ranged from 153 to 1002 per semester, with an average of 412 students taking at least one MAS class per semester. During this same time period, the percentage of Latino students enrolled in TUSD increased as white students left the inner city district. In 1996-97, 45.4 percent of TUSD students were white, and 41.8 percent were Latino. In 2010-11, the breakdown had shifted to 28.9 percent white and 56.2 percent Latino.

What has MAS in its current format done for the thousands of Latinos in TUSD who are not taking their classes?

What about the Latinos in TUSD who are not Mexican American? Are they being served?

Does TUSD need another Blue Ribbon Panel like the one that created MAS in 1999? My personal opinion is: YES. Pasting some Mexican American information and history into other classes won’t cut it. For several reasons fighting to keep the MAS status quo also doesn’t cut it:

1) The MAS reach was too small to make a significant impact on overall graduation rates (one of the original goals);

2) Non-Mexican Latinos, refugees, and other ethnic minorities are not being served by the current Ethnic Studies structure (ie, Mexican-American Studies, African American Studies, Native American Studies, and Pan-Asian Studies);

3) There is conflicting evaluation data.

4) Gender has been ignored in many MAS and TUSD academic achievement analyses. (Graduation rates and academic achievement among boys in the US has plummeted and continues to decline. This is a trend that will have serious negative consequences on the fabric on American society if left unaddressed.)

Yes, there are many, many anecdotal stories from individual students about the value of the MAS classes. Let’s build on the positive aspects of MAS– the impact on low-income students (see graphics below), the self-esteem-building, the small class sizes, and the high teacher involvement. No program is beyond improvement.

What can we as a community to do ensure a quality education for all public school students? Let’s stop the name-calling, stop the incendiary e-mail blasts, stop the hype, and come together– all of us.

On this anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, let’s make a commitment to start talking and start building a better future for all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, gender, or sexual orientation.

For some insight into MAS program evaluation and the challenges facing TUSD as it moves forward, check out the following data slides, which were prepared from data provided by TUSD.

TUSD enrollment shows that the percentage of white students in the district has declined steadily. In the 1996-97 school year, the district was 45.5% white and 41.8% Hispanic, with the remainder made up of the other races. By 2010-11, the percentage of white students in TUSD had dropped to 28.9% and the Hispanic proportion has risen to 56.2%. Overall enrollment in TUSD also declined during this time period. The percentages of Native Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans did not change significantly.

In TUSD, there is a wide income gap between white and Latino students, with 80% very high income students being white and 70% of the very low income students being Latino.

In the last 10 years, overall enrollment of Latinos and non-Latinos in MAS classes has been low, compared to overall TUSD enrollment. An average of 412 Latinos per semester have enrolled in at least one MAS class since 2000-01 school year, while an average of 53 non-Latinos per semester have enrolled in at least one MAS class. Over the 10-year period, 8656 Latino students and 1107 students of other ethnicities/races took at least one MAS class. Currently, 32,000 Latino students are enrolled in TUSD.

This slide shows MAS and non-MAS enrollment by income level. Income definitions are derived from participation in federally subsidized school lunch programs + census track data.

Do MAS classes improve graduation rates among Latino students? The graduation rate among MAS students (in red) is higher than that of non-MAS students in the low and very low income groups but not in other income groups. The total numbers of MAS graduates in each group is relatively small: 10 in the very high income group; 39 in the high income group; 117 in the medium income group; 150 in the low income group; and 57 in the very low income group. When graduation rates of all students-- regardless of income, ethnicity, or gender-- are analyzed, the MAS effect disappears.

When the data are not broken down by race/ethnicity, gender or income, students who have taken at least one MAS class appear to have a slightly higher graduation rate compared with students who never took an MAS class. As with the previous graphic, the total number of MAS students is small.

This graphic shows AIMS test scores for students who took at least one MAS class (blue bars) vs those who never took an MAS class (red/pink bars). These data have been broken down by income but not by race/ethnicity or gender.

Traditionally, war is a messy business– all that blood, sweat, and tears– not to mention danger, death, destruction, dismembered bodies, human suffering, nightmares, guilt, wasted taxpayer dollars, mounting deficit spending… you know the drill. (Pun intended.)

In recent years, the US military-industrial complex has made war less messy and less dangerous, at least for a select group of American soldiers. Drone pilots sit in secure bunkers and, armed with banks of sophisticated computer hardware, “fly” unmanned killing machines.

Drones– killing machines aimed at faceless targets– AKA fellow human beings– thousands of miles away.

No-muss, no-fuss drone warfare is no less deadly, destructive, or perverse than traditional war. It’s just easier, cleaner– just like playing the same violent video game day after day.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, and the Davis-Monthan 50 held a press conference recently touting Tucson’s magnificent good fortune to be included on a short list of three possible locations for a drone warfare base at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Oh, the joy.

In the Tucson Sentinel’s raw raw footage above and in KVOA’s edited news footage (here), Rothschild, Ron Barber from Giffords’ Office, and D-M 50 business boosters croon about job creation attached to the drone facility.

Of course, in the cheery news coverage, there is no mention of the moral implications of drone warfare or the inherent danger to any city that houses not only a major air force base but also a bomb-making factory and a drone command center. Is this old hippie, liberal Tucson? Really?

We already have a dearth of good-paying jobs in Tucson that are not connected to the military industrial complex. When Rothschild said job creation was going to be one of his top priorities, this is not what I had in mind.

Down with drones.

Give peace a chance.

Tucson Occupiers discuss nest steps on Dec. 22, 2011 after their eviction from Veinte de Agosto Park. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Although it has been nearly a week since Tucson Police evicted Occupy Tucson from their Veinte de Agosto Park encampment, Occupiers have not folded up their tents and disappeared into the night. They continue to meet, organize, protest, and solidify the movement for 99% and against corporate takeover of our country.

Tomorrow– Dec. 28– will be a busy day of action for Occupy Tucson and its supporters.

Community Food Drive

From 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., Occupiers will be accepting people and pet food donations at Veinte de Agosto (Congress and Church) or DeAnza Park (Stone and Speedway).

From the Occupy Tucson facebook page…

In support of Shaun McClusky’s upcoming “Take Care of Tucson” food drive to feed the hungry, Occupy Tucson announces a companion event to help him boost donations.

McClusky, who has called Occupy Tucson a “smelly stinky presence” and has said he hopes “TPD takes their unemployed asses to jail,” has been awarded permits by the City of Tucson to occupy Veinte de Agosto Park and De Anza Park on December 28.

McClusky is the founder of Rincon Ventures, a real estate company that acquires foreclosed homes at public auction. For the past several weeks, members of Occupy Tucson have been disrupting these auctions, held at the Pima County Courthouse. In November, Occupy activists held a competing event, auctioning off donut holes to the public. The boisterous presence of Occupy Tucson at these auctions has become an impediment to McClusky’s ability to do business.

So we are particularly pleased that Mr. McClusky is spearheading this community food drive, in that it demonstrates his solidarity with the hungry and homeless of our community, the segment of the 99 percent most severely impacted by corporate greed and corruption. Although Occupy Tucson does puzzle over the efficacy of evicting homeless people from their tents in order to make their lives better, we applaud McClusky’s good intentions and pledge to join him on December 28 to raise contributions for the four organizations he has designated as recipients: The Tucson Community Food Bank, the Humane Society, Cold Wet Noses, and the Hermitage Shelter.

Occupy Tucson invites its supporters to engage in a friendly hometown rivalry. Help us answer the question: which group of Occupiers will gather more food? Foreclosure profiteer Shaun McClusky, or the 99 percent?

Occupy Tucson urges our supporters to bring donations to Veinte de Agosto Park or De Anza Park from 7am to 4pm on December 28. Occupy Tucson activists will have a visible presence nearby to greet community members and accept donations.

Occupy the holidays!

Political Action Supporting Postal Workers

Following the food drive, Occupy Tucson, Jobs with Justice, and their supporters will gather at Veinte de Agosto Park at 4:30 p.m. for a rally to keep the Tucson Mail Processing Plant, which is threatened with closure. The rally will be from 4:30 – 5:15, followed by a march to the Leo Rich Theater, in the Tucson Convention Center complex, where there will be a 6 p.m. public hearing about the proposed closure. Closure of the Cherrybell facility will not only mean the loss of 400 good-paying jobs, it will mean dramatically reduced mail service for Tucson.

From Jobs with Justice and Tucson Area Local American Postal Workers Union…

The Postmaster General is considering eliminating Tucson’s postal sorting station at Cherrybell Stravenue.

This would mean all mail would be routed through Phoenix, even if it is going elsewhere in Tucson. It would also mean the end of overnight service from Tucson.

This proposal would cost the community approximately 400 (union) jobs, hurt local businesses that rely on the postal service, and harm seniors who receive Social Security checks and medication by mail. It would also put the kybash on those last-minute runs to Cherrybell Station to meet those midnight deadlines!

Tucson is the 33rd largest metro area in the country.

Even though the USPS has agreed to hold off until 5/15/12 for any more closures studies are continuing as well as public hearings. This is our only chance to make an impact. Even if you don’t want to go to the microphone we need to fill 511 seats.

Written comments can also be submitted (by post, not email!) to: Management,Consumer and Industry Contact, Arizona
District, P.O. Box, 21628, Phoenix, Arizona 85036-1628. [Emphasis added.]