Tell us what you saw; tell us how you feel.
Rally
Union Rally Reminder–This Saturday
From Mike Ruggeri (sent with a request to post on the Lounge) and “stuck” to the top until Saturday:
Very Important Notice!
To all Local 1600 members & Retirees!
Please forward this to everyone you know!As you may have been informed, the AFL-CIO and the CFL have called for a mass rally at the Daley Center, Chicago, for Saturday April 9th at 1:00 p.m. The official / final notification was delayed due to permit consent.
Local 1600 will join in this important effort in full force.
This is a invitation to meet at the Union Office, 208 West Kinzie, Chicago, Illinois, 60654 starting at 11:30 a.m. We will then march as a Union to the rally which is four blocks from the Union office.
Coffee and rolls will be provided. Rally t-shirts will be distributed to the first 200 Local 1600 members. We will march under our Local 1600 banner. This is the time for us to show our strength and unity.
Make no mistake about it, there are legislators in Springfield who would love to “Go Wisconsin” on all of us. Threats abound which jeopardize our pensions, collective bargaining, tenure, academic freedom, as well as the simple freedom for Unions to exist at all. These threats, sadly, are being voiced by Democrats as well as Republicans.
Wisconsin happened, in part, because good Union people believed these things could never happen. The events there are a wake-up call for us all. Let’s be part of this historic day and prove by our presence and voices that we will not tolerate any attack of the profession we love and have dedicated our lives to serving.
If you have any questions, call Perry Buckley, Randy Barnette, or Bill Naegele at the Union office: 312-755-9400.
Forward this email to as many people as you can!
EVERYONE is welcome!!!!=
Union Rally
From Mike Ruggeri (sent with a request to post on the Lounge):
Very Important Notice!
To all Local 1600 members & Retirees!
Please forward this to everyone you know!As you may have been informed, the AFL-CIO and the CFL have called for a mass rally at the Daley Center, Chicago, for Saturday April 9th at 1:00 p.m. The official / final notification was delayed due to permit consent.
Local 1600 will join in this important effort in full force.
This is a invitation to meet at the Union Office, 208 West Kinzie, Chicago, Illinois, 60654 starting at 11:30 a.m. We will then march as a Union to the rally which is four blocks from the Union office.
Coffee and rolls will be provided. Rally t-shirts will be distributed to the first 200 Local 1600 members. We will march under our Local 1600 banner. This is the time for us to show our strength and unity.
Make no mistake about it, there are legislators in Springfield who would love to “Go Wisconsin” on all of us. Threats abound which jeopardize our pensions, collective bargaining, tenure, academic freedom, as well as the simple freedom for Unions to exist at all. These threats, sadly, are being voiced by Democrats as well as Republicans.
Wisconsin happened, in part, because good Union people believed these things could never happen. The events there are a wake-up call for us all. Let’s be part of this historic day and prove by our presence and voices that we will not tolerate any attack of the profession we love and have dedicated our lives to serving.
If you have any questions, call Perry Buckley, Randy Barnette, or Bill Naegele at the Union office: 312-755-9400.
Forward this email to as many people as you can!
EVERYONE is welcome!!!!=
How Was the Rally?
Post your stories and/or links to your Tumblr (or whatever) for photos.
And if you didn’t go, consider reading this fascinating piece from Forbes Magazine called, “The Wisconsin Lie Exposed” (or this one which is the inspiration for the Forbes article) and support the Wisconsin teachers by spreading the word about the Wisconsin teachers and their pensions:
Many of us are familiar with the concept of deferred compensation from reading about the latest multi-million dollar deal with some professional athlete. As a means of allowing their ball club to have enough money to operate, lowering their own tax obligations and for other benefits, ball players often defer payment of money they are to be paid to a later date. In the meantime, that money is invested for the ball player’s benefit and then paid over at the time and in the manner agreed to in the contract between the parties.
Does anyone believe that, in the case of the ball player, the deferred money belongs to the club owner rather than the ball player? Is the owner simply providing this money to the athlete as some sort of gift? Of course not. The money is salary to be paid to the ball player, deferred for receipt at a later date.
A review of the state’s collective bargaining agreements – many of which are available for review at the Wisconsin Office of State Employees web site – bears out that it is no different for state employees. The numbers are just lower.
In other words:
They are not, in fact, asking state employees to make a larger contribution to their pension and benefits programs as that would not be possible- the employees are already paying 100% of the contributions.
What they are actually asking is that the employees take a pay cut.
Read the rest, and then spend a few minutes lamenting the state of modern journalism (or should it be lauding the non-mainstream media?) by watching a prescient clip about modern journalism from a movie that should have won a boat load of Oscars (7 nominations, zero wins) called Broadcast News. The important part starts at about 1:35.
Support Wisconsin Teachers Rally Announcement
Noted in the comments by “Me,” and also forwarded from retirees Mike Ruggeri (and Jackie Kirley) and posted at their request:
Rally to Save the American Dream
(The rally will be held in all 50 states. In Chicago, the rally will be tomorrow, Saturday, at 12:00 PM at the State of Illinois Building.)
In Wisconsin and around our country, the American Dream is under fierce attack. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to corporations and the very rich and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response, and vital human services.
On Saturday, February 26, at noon local time, we are organizing rallies in front of every statehouse and in every major city to stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin. We demand an end to the attacks on worker’s rights and public services across the country. We demand investment, to create decent jobs for the millions of people who desperately want to work. And we demand that the rich and powerful pay their fair share.
We are all Wisconsin. We are all Americans.
This Saturday, we will stand together to Save the American Dream. Be sure to wear Wisconsin Badger colors (red and white) to show your solidarity. Sign up today to join in!
The Harold Lounge 