Students prepare for rallies against cuts
By Alex Emslie
The Guardsman
A confederation of grass roots organizers, students groups and union representatives will hold a series of actions in the coming weeks to combat cuts to state education and public services funding — a crisis activists blame on the California legislature’s crippled budgeting system.
Teach-in/town hall
A “teach-in/town hall” will be held today, Feb. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ocean campus in the Diego Rivera theater to “educate students about the ongoing education and budget crisis in California,” according to the American Federation of Teachers Local 2121 Web site.
“The real message is that no matter what you participate in, it’s important that you inform yourselves and spread the word,” AFT 2121 President Gus Goldstein said.
Unified day of action
The statewide coalition of activists calling for California budget reform are holding a day of action on March 4.
The day of action was decided on Oct. 24, 2009 during a statewide conference that also spawned the City College General Assembly.
“A group of 800 students, teachers and grass roots activists at campuses all over California came together on Oct. 24 and decided that we need to create a grass roots movement to make demands for education,” General Assembly representative Brian Cruz said. “To quote Frederick Douglas, ‘power concedes nothing without a demand.’”
The City College General Assembly is calling for demonstrators to meet at the Ocean campus Amphitheater at noon. The rally will be followed by a “direct action,” according to a flier distributed on campus.
The San Francisco Labor Council will join the United Educators of San Francisco, the California Faculty Association, San Francisco Unified School District and AFT 2121 for an action at the Civic Center later in the day. The rally will officially start at 5 p.m., Goldstein said, but participants are encouraged to show up as early as 4 p.m. to organize.
She said the March 4 action is meant to send a message to Sacramento about the need for basic public services which people have come to expect, such as health care for children and the elderly, help for the homeless and training for those seeking jobs.
“Everyone needs these things, and it effects everybody when those services are not being provided,” Goldstein said. “We’re all customers of each other and employers of each other, and we have economic relationships with each other.”
“The March for California’s Future”
The California Federation of Teachers will begin “The March for California’s Future” in Bakersfield on March 5. The march is planned to consist of a core group representing unions and their allies.
Larger events will be held along the way — such as rallies, marches and teach-ins — designed to promote public education, fair tax and budget policies and a “government and economy that works for all Californians,” according to the CFT Web site.
“We are hamstrung,” Goldstein said. “We can’t get anything done in Sacramento.”
She added that Republicans who have pledged never to raise taxes no matter what have taken California’s budget hostage. Several unions are working to get initiatives on the 2010 ballot that would change the state’s two-thirds majority required to raise taxes or pass a budget.
“The March in March”
The annual “March in March” will focus specifically on state cuts to education. Organizers are hoping for as many as 10,000 people to attend the march on California’s capital scheduled for March 22.
Last year, 42 buses carried over 2,000 San Francisco students to Sacramento to demand education funding. AFT 2121 expects an even larger turnout this year.
Greg Zeman contributed to this article.