October 7th Day of Action and October 23-24th Mobilizing Conference In Defense of Public Education and Public Services

Call
October 7th Day of Action and October 23-24th Mobilizing Conference In
Defense of Public Education and Public Services

The historic actions, protests and strikes of last Fall and Spring
showed our state and the nation that students, teachers, staff, and
our communities are determined to fight against the cuts, layoffs, fee
hikes, and the shrinking access to public education and services.
However, our fight is far from over. On October 7th, supporters of
public education plan to unite and demand accessible, affordable and
quality education for all.

Public higher-education is an engine of economic growth that benefits
all communities at large, but students of color across the nation are
being tracked into non-academic programs while ethnic and multi-
cultural classes are being cut. As public universities raise tuitions
to the level of private institutions, students of all ethnicities are
being denied access to higher-education on the basis of income— an
economic barrier that disproportionately affects people of color.

The knowledge and innovation coming from graduates of state-supported
universities create far more wealth in the state than the education’s
cost.  Better educated citizens are shown to be more productive, pay
higher taxes, create a stronger economy, and provide more jobs. Thus,
it is important to seek out more revenue sources to support education
and public institutions, rather than focusing on decreasing funding.

The politicians and administrators say there is no money for education
and social services. But if there is money for tax cuts and prisons,
why is there no money for public education? Schools are now suffering
from inadequate staffing and pay-cuts. However, California’s budget
cuts are not only restricted to the education system.  Our health
services, public infrastructure, transportation and library systems
will also continue to deteriorate. These issues are all intertwined.
How do we stop the degeneration of California?

We, the people, have the democratic power to beat back these attacks
and ensure that our public institutions effectively serve the public.
But to do so, members of all regions and sectors — adult-ed,
students, workers, teachers, activists, unions, and community
organizations — must unite and take action on October 7th, and
contribute our voices and thoughts to the October 23-24 conference at
San Francisco State University to defend public education.

The purpose of the October 23-24 conference is to democratically
propose demands, devise an action plan, and create a structure capable
of defending public education and public services for the benefit of
all.

We invite all supporters of education across the nation to attend and
participate in the October 7th day of action and the October 23-24th
conference.

For more information, visit http://defendcapubliceducation.wordpress.com

Facebook event page for Oct 7th and Picture!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116900495018191&index=1  (link on website has been changed to reflect this)

From Facebook:

We will be holding a state-wide/international day of action for public education. Tell everyone you know!

October 7 Day of Action

October 7 Statewide Day of Action

MORE THAN 100 activists from across California gathered in Los Angeles April 24 to debate next steps for the fight against the devastating cutbacks facing public education.

The main achievements of the conference were to set a date and location for the next statewide mass action–October 7–and for the next anti-cuts conference, which will happen October 16 at San Francisco State University. The other key outcome was the first steps toward the formation of an ad hoc volunteer coordinating committee to plan for the fall conference.

These decisions were a crucial step toward deepening and broadening the movement. For example, the fall conference will be the key venue for uniting activists from all sectors of public education, and especially from those schools and campuses which saw action on March 4, but which have yet to plug into the broader movement.

This will be crucial for extending the scope and increasing the strength of our movement, as well as for helping us strategize and prepare for what is certain to be a tough year ahead. Similarly, the fall mass action will be crucial to re-igniting the movement following the summer months.

Organizing for the next Statewide Public Education Mobilization Conference at SFSU on OCT 16th

Organizing for the next Statewide Public Education Mobilization Conference

@ San Francisco State University on October 16th

MORE THAN 100 activists from across California gathered in Los Angeles April 24 to debate next steps for the fight against the devastating cutbacks facing public education.

The main achievements of the conference were to set a date and location for the next statewide mass action–October 7–and for the next anti-cuts conference, which will happen October 16 at San Francisco State University. The other key outcome was the first steps toward the formation of an ad hoc volunteer coordinating committee to plan for the fall conference.

These decisions were a crucial step toward deepening and broadening the movement. For example, the fall conference will be the key venue for uniting activists from all sectors of public education, and especially from those schools and campuses which saw action on March 4, but which have yet to plug into the broader movement.

This will be crucial for extending the scope and increasing the strength of our movement, as well as for helping us strategize and prepare for what is certain to be a tough year ahead. Similarly, the fall mass action will be crucial to re-igniting the movement following the summer months.

Proposal: Form a conference organizing listserve immediately!

Please join the google group today.

* Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/fallconferencesfsu

—————-

Proposal:  Dial in to a conference call to begin planning for the fall conference!

Conference call Friday May 15th @ 6:30pm — dial in number (218)844-8230 — access code: 501562#

Hopefully this call can help establish a state-wide division of labor for planning and promoting the fall conference.

————————

Proposal:  Show up for a Bay Area organizing meeting to begin planning for the Fall Conference!

Organizing meeting Saturday May 22nd, Noon, @ 522 Valencia in San Francisco.

Hopefully this call can establish a local division of labor for planning and promoting the fall conference.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=522+valencia+san+francisco&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=522+Valencia+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94110&gl=us&ei=0F_fS9n0EZKksgP28tCEBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQ8gEwAA

Thank you all for doing what you can to fight back.  Please call or write with questions/concerns about organizing the fall conference @ SFSU.

In solidarity,

Alex Schmaus – San Francisco State University

alexschmaus@gmail.com

Northern California Conference to Defend Public Education

After March4th: What’s Next:
Northern California Conference to Defend Public Education
On March 4, 3,000 high school, community college and university students- many arriving from walkouts and strikes – came together in Oakland to demand an end to budget cuts, tuition hikes, layoffs, and privatization in public education.

1) Sum-up of March 4th actions
2) Planning for new actions:
a) To support April 22 Oakland Education Association* Strike
b) To defend suspended UCB and SFSU students
c) To defend Oscar Grant
3) Preparing and building for April 10th California Statewide Conference Against Privatization and For Public Education
4) Breakout groups – High School, College, Labor

For more information and details contact East Bay March 4 Organizing Committee at:
eastbay_march_4th_strike_group@yahoo.com

Address to Laney College (www.laney.peralta.edu) :
900 Fallon Street
Oakland, CA 94607-4808
(510) 834-5740

More information can be found at http://defendcapubliceducation.wordpress.com/

*The Oakland Education Association represents 2800 teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists, librarians, speech pathologists, social workers and substitute teachers in K-12, Early Childhood and Adult Education.

March 27th, 2010 Southern California Regional

March 27th, 2010 Southern California Regional – How to Get to Pasadena City College

More information at http://nocuts4pcc.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-27th-2010-southern-california.html

Southern California March 4th

Committee Regional Meeting

March 27th, 2010

1:00pm-6:00pm

at

PASADENA CITY COLLEGE

HARBESON HALL

1570 E. Colorado Blvd.

Pasadena, CA 91106

Welcome friends, colleagues, comrades, compañeras & compañeros!

The students, workers, and faculty at Pasadena City College (PCC) are both honored and excited that our campus has been selected to host the March 4th Committee’s Southern California Regional Meeting.

Directions to PCC:

Provided below is a map of all the major highways that lead to PCC. The closest freeway to PCC is Interstate 210, which is less than two blocks away.

Typically, visitors from the East or West find it easiest to simply make their way to the 210 Freeway.

Visitors from the South, however, can either take:

Interstate 15 to Interstate 210, OR

Interstate 5 to Interstate 605 to Interstate 210.

For routes, please use Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps

Parking:

Parking at any of the student and visitor designated lots is $2.00 per day. The parking pass is valid for any open space and mus be clearly visible on the vehicle’s dashboard.

The closest parking lot to the event location (HH in the map below) is at the corner of Colorado Blvd. and Hill Ave. and is actually only $1.00 per day. However, because spaces are designated number, your ticket will not be valid for another space.

For vistors arriving by Public Transportation:

There is an MTA GOLD LINE statation conveniently just a few blocks away on ALLEN AVE.

MTA Gold Line System Map

For a complete map of MTA Railway lines, click here

MTA Bus lines that have stops at PCC include:

Timetable:

180/181, 780, 177, and the 264/267.

For a complete list of all bus lines, please visit MTA Online

Below, for your convenience is a map of the PCC campus. Event location (HH) colored in RED.

We hope this information makes it easier for you to get to our campus.

If you have any questions relating to Pasadena City College or the city of Pasadena please email to tesiae@gmail.com.

If you have any questions regarding the March 4th Committee please email to Lamarch4@gmail.com.

Thank you, and we hope to see you there on March 27th, 2010!

April 10th Mobilizing Conference Against Privatization and For Public Education

In the spirit of the October 24th Mobilizing Conference to Defend Public Education, we would like to invite ya’ll to the next Mobilizing Conference on April 10th that is set to hosted at Fresno. This April 10th conferences is a Mobilizing Conference Against Privatization and For Public Education. Like with the March 4th Strike and Day of Action that was decided at the October 24th Mobilizing Conference, we hope that a momentous and coordinated fightback comes out of the April 10th Mobilizing Conference. We all invite ya’ll to join us on what will be an important step in devising our post-March 4th actions to fightback the privatization of public education and other social services. Below you can find a proposed structure of the conference. More details  of the conference will be forthcoming soon!

Proposed structure of the conference

1) Demands

2) Action(s)

3) Breakouts

4) Reconvene

5) Open

A) A proposal on the political character of the conference

1. This conference will be organized and runned democratically following the principle one person = one vote. Decisions will be made by majority vote.

2. This conference will be independent from the Democrats & Republicans, the labor bureaucracies and the student government leaderships.This independence means we will maximize our outreach to the base of the unions, and will invite everybody. The independence we talk about is class independence and by that we agreed on 2 basic things:

a. The Conference is not called and organized by a specific union or student body but by and through the coordination of all the independent bases, coalitions and committees that have been organizing this movement (city strike committees, school assemblies, school coalitions etc)

b. There will be not special privileges accorded to “official” representatives of any group. Everybody will have equal access to public speaking and every person will have one vote.

3. This conference is not a general conference about everything or anything, but it is the Mobilizing conference of a riising movement that is confronting the privatization of public services and that stands for the defense of public education. The political character of the conference should reflect the political character of our movement and be clear in the call:  Second Mobilizing Conference Against Privatization and For Public Education

B) The proposal for the organization of the conference

1. We commit to organize the conference and mobilize for it through the spaces of struggle that have been created in our schools, universities and workplaces: city strike committees, general assemblies, coalition meetings etc

2. We propose a wide and general structure for the conference to be discussed and decided collectively in all the spaces above:

a) Discussion and vote on demands in plenary session

b) Discussion and vote on a united plan of action in plenary session

c) Break out into groups by sector to discuss how to implement practically the plan of action

c) Report backs in plenary session (open to other suff)

B) The proposal for the organization of the conference
1. We commit to organize the conference and mobilize for it through the spaces of struggle that have been created in our schools, universities and workplaces: city strike committees, general assemblies, coalition meetings etc
2. We propose a wide and general structure for the conference to be discussed and decided collectively in all the spaces above:a) Discussion and vote on demands in plenary sessionb) Discussion and vote on a united plan of action in plenary sessionc) Break out into groups by sector to discuss how to implement practically the plan of actionc) Report backs in plenary session (open to other stuff)

1. We commit to organize the conference and mobilize for it through the spaces of struggle that have been created in our schools, universities and workplaces: city strike committees, general assemblies, coalition meetings etc2. We propose a wide and general structure for the conference to be discussed and decided collectively in all the spaces above:a) Discussion and vote on demands in plenary sessionb) Discussion and vote on a united plan of action in plenary sessionc) Break out into groups by sector to discuss how to implement practically the plan of actionc) Report backs in plenary session (open to other suff)

After March 4th… What Comes Next?

AfterMarch4th

MARCH 4

March 4^th is right around the corner and the local, national and international anticipation for this historic day is growing by the minute. Students, teachers, staff, parents and workers from all over California, the nation and the world have been organizing and building for the Strike and Day of Action. Below is a tentative list of events that will be happening on March 4^th in California.

If you have any information to add to the list below, have information on events from places outside of California or have any questions about March 4th, please email march4strikeanddayofaction@gmail.com or visit PublicEducationNotWar.co.cc and tell us what is being planned in your school, workplace, community for March 4^th Strike and Day of Action.

In Solidarity,

Follow-up committee of the October 24th Conference

List of March 4^th Strike and Day of Action Events

Regional Events

View Larger Map

Los Angeles Regional Rally

• 3 pm Rally @ Pershing Square (5th & Hill) in downtown L.A.

• 4 pm March from Pershing Square to the Governor’s office

• 5 pm Rally @ Governor’s office (300 Spring St.)

East Bay/Oakland Regional Rally

• 12 pm-4 pm Rally @ Frank Ogawa Plaza (in front of Oakland City Hall, 14^th & Broadway)

• March to the Ogawa Plaza Rally from:

-UC Berkeley: 12 pm Rally @ Bancroft & Telegraph, followed by March

-Laney College: 11 am Rally, followed by March

-Fruitvale BART: Assemble @ 11 am, March @ 11:30 am

• Travel to San Francisco Regional Rally (See regional listing below)

San Francisco Regional Rally

• 1:30 Rally @ San Francisco Civic Center

• 5 pm Rally @ San Francisco Civic Center

-San Francisco preK-12 educators & families

• 3 pm SF preK-12 educators & families and City College of San Francisco – Mission Campus march from 24th St. & Mission to Civic Center

• 3:30 pm SF preK-12 educators & families from northeast area schools meet at Van Ness & Broadway

• 3:45 pm March from Van Ness & Broadway to the State Building at Van Ness and McAllister

• 4:00 pm Rally with UESF at the State Building (505 Van Ness), march to Civic Center

-San Francisco Latino Students & Community

• 3 pm SF Latino Student & Community Rally @ 24th St. & Mission, then March to 16th St. for Rally, followed by March form 16th St. & Mission to Civic Center

Sacramento/State Capitol Rally

• 11 am-1 pm Rally @ State Capitol (North Steps of Capitol)

San Diego Regional Rally

• 3 pm Rally @ Balboa Park, followed by March to governor’s office

• 4 pm Rally @ Governor’s office (downtown)

San Fernando Valley Regional Rally

• 3:45 pm gathering @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad

• 4:15 pm March

• 5 pm Hands around CSUN

• 5:30 pm Rally @ CSU Northridge Sierra Quad

Stockton Regional March

• 4:30 pm-6:00 pm Funeral Procession North on Pershing Ave., from Harding Way to San Joaquin Delta Community College campus

National Call

National Call for March 4 Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education

California has recently seen a massive movement erupt in defense of public education — but layoffs, fee hikes, cuts, and the re-segregation of public education are attacks taking place throughout the country. A nationwide resistance movement is needed.

We call on all students, workers, teachers, parents, and their organizations and communities across the country to massively mobilize for a Strike and Day of Action in Defense of Public Education on March 4, 2010. Education cuts are attacks against all of us, particularly in working-class communities and communities of color.

The politicians and administrators say there is no money for education and social services. They say that “there is no alternative” to the cuts. But if there’s money for wars, bank bailouts, and prisons, why is there no money for public education?

We can beat back the cuts if we unite students, workers, and teachers across all sectors of public education — Pre K-12, adult education, community colleges, and state-funded universities. We appeal to the leaders of the trade union movement to support and organize strikes and/or mass actions on March 4. The weight of workers and students united in strikes and mobilizations would shift the balance of forces entirely against the current agenda of cuts and make victory possible.

Building a powerful movement to defend public education will, in turn, advance the struggle in defense of all public-sector workers and services and will be an inspiration to all those fighting against the wars, for immigrants rights, in defense of jobs, for single-payer health care, and other progressive causes.

Why March 4? On October 24, 2009 more than 800 students, workers, and teachers converged at UC Berkeley at the Mobilizing Conference to Save Public Education. This massive meeting brought together representatives from over 100 different schools, unions, and organizations from all across California and from all sectors of public education. After hours of open collective discussion, the participants voted democratically, as their main decision, to call for a Strike and Day of Action on March 4, 2010. All schools, unions and organizations are free to choose their specific demands and tactics — such as strikes, rallies, walkouts, occupations, sit-ins, teach-ins, etc. — as well as the duration of such actions.

Let’s make March 4 an historic turning point in the struggle against the cuts, layoffs, fee hikes, and the re-segregation of public education.

- The California Coordinating Committee

(To endorse this call and to receive more information contact march4strikeanddayofaction@gmail.com )