WI / Wear Red on Tuesdays

Dear Iowa Peace and Justice Friends, below is a letter from NEA President Dennis and a list of WI Peace and Justice members.  It would be great to show your support by sending a card or a phone or email message to our colleagues.  They need our support.  Life is not good for them and my personal opinion is that the media is not presenting a fair picture.  Roberta Rosheim was in Madison on Saturday and said it was a calm but powerful gathering for bargaining rights.  CA is sending a plane load on Wed - Fri, Davenport had a presence this weekend, some of us eastern Iowans plan to go there on Friday.

How about promoting the wearing of red...easy to do!!!  every Tuesday!  Wear Red for Public Ed!

Below is a message from the communications team on the ground in Madison that we are sharing for your reference:

--This protest is about public sector employees retaining a voice in their profession and Wisconsin's future. The proposed legislation strips away worker rights and destroys the collaborative partnerships that have been established between labor and management in Wisconsin. It's not about pay and benefits, pensions and health care.

--What is happening right now in Wisconsin is historic. Tens of thousands of citizens - unprecedented numbers - are gathering and speaking out to show their support for the state's public servants. They want to voice support for the third grade teacher who stays late to help a student with math - for the nurses who work every day to care for patients - for the firefighters who keep us safe -- and for the snow plow drivers who plow streets through the night so their neighbors can get to work in the morning. These public workers are on the front-lines everyday to support us - and they should have a say in their profession.

--The people of Wisconsin are asking the Governor and legislature to hear them out - and work with them to find bipartisan solutions that will address Wisconsin's challenges. Silencing the voices of public sector employees by busting up their unions is not a going to help Wisconsin move forward - and it will only divide the people of this state.
_________

Because we know everyone is looking for a way to lend their voice to our collective fights,  here are three things you can do right now: 

o Have members sign the petition on Education Votes website: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/nationalpetition/ 

o Ask members to "Wear Red for Ed" to support public education beginning Tuesday, February 22nd , and every Tuesday this spring

o Email information about local or state solidarity actions to campaignhub@nea.org 

 

I encourage you to share this message with other Association leaders and members.
Again, this is a national fight for working people. We're leaders in this fight. Let's get this note out widely, take action together, support each other. We're going to win this fight.

In solidarity,
Dennis (NEA president)