Good Morning.

After listening to the Governor for the past five months, I expected to look out today and see all of you with horns coming out of your heads, sporting pointy tails and breathing fire. Well…maybe we have been breathing fire lately, but so far the Governor is the one getting singed.

 

According to the Governor, you aren't classroom teachers, nurses, counselors, librarians, college professors or ESP…you are evil people who want to destroy this state. You don't care about public schools or helping students learn. And you certainly should have absolutely no say in public policy issues that impact your classroom or in electing state and local officials.

 

The Governor's agenda is solidifying. On Monday, we expect him to announce that he is going to waste $80 million taxpayer dollars – that's your money and mine – on a special election that nobody wants, that won't help improve our schools one bit and will actually cut school funding even more.

 

An additional irony about this special election is that none of the initiatives, even if they were approved, would go into effect any sooner than if we were voting next year in June. So, we are spending $80 million to stroke one person's ego.

 

$80 million -- that's money that could reduce class sizes in about 6,000 classrooms, buy more than four million up-to-date textbooks or hire more than 2,300 teachers. It could pay tuition costs for 10,000 UC students or more than 12,000 Cal-State students. It could provide health care to more than 45,000 uninsured Californians.

 

We have a lot of serious issues to talk about today and a lot of important actions to take at this Council, but first I want to tell all of you: You are AMAZING.

 

You, our local chapter presidents, our members and our CTA staff have given new meaning to what I said in January: "Don't Agonize. Organize!"

 

How many of you attended one of the two rallies on May 25th – either here in Los Angeles or at the State Capitol in Sacramento? Weren't those incredible?

 

At least 30,000 people between the two locations, all telling the Governor exactly what we think of his so-called reform agenda and his special election.

I can't tell you how rewarding it was for me personally to be hosting the rally in Sacramento…to look out on the Capitol lawn and see over 15,000 people…and know that at least half of them were CTA members.

 

To know that some of you got on buses at 9 or 10 in the morning, while others of you worked all day in your classrooms and then came and joined us in the afternoon heat.

 

To know that we were there, standing side-by-side, with firefighters, nurses, school support professionals, correctional officers, state workers, students and parents – all of the Governor's favorite "special interests" – united in a broad and unbeatable coalition called the Alliance for a Better California.

 

I know CTA Vice President David Sanchez had the same feeling here in Los Angeles, where the members of UTLA and from all over Southern California, including San Diego, Chula Vista, Calexico, Orange County and my friends in the desert who even rode the train to LA, poured into Pershing Square.

 

As your president, you've awarded me many opportunities and privileges; I was never so proud to represent the 335,000 members of CTA as I was that day.  It is an event that I will cherish and remember forever.

 

I'll remember the very clever signs – some with slogans I probably shouldn't even repeat.  I'll remember the letters written to the Governor handed to me by some parents from San Leandro.

 

Vickie Woolworth, parent of sixth- and eighth-graders at Bancroft Middle School wrote:  Dear Governor. I am writing to support the teachers who have made a difference in my children's lives and in our community. Teacher Heather Sheridan has not only inspired my daughter in science, but also supported a student club. If you think teachers just sit around in the lounge at lunch, you are sadly mistaken.

 

From Lisa Carboni, who writes: Please support our teachers. The extra time and effort they put in is incredible.

 

One of my favorites from Bob Kennly: Dear Arnold. We're not your dumbbells. Quit selling out to big business. Quit using Oprah for propaganda purposes. Why don't you just QUIT?

 

Or even more simply said. From sixth-grader Shana Odom: Our teachers are great. We need more books for the students.

 

That's what the rallies were all about. Everyone, coming together to tell the Governor…you're not fighting the special interests, you're fighting us. And we're not going to take it.

Almost every newspaper in the state carried that story, with photos, on the front page. We know of more than 350 TV and radio news stories that ran in every media market in California, and thanks to CNN and the national networks it was even beamed across the country.

 

 

But you know the rally isn't the only organizing that's happened since we last met. I cannot talk about all events and forgive me if I don't mention yours, but I must say a few words about Day of the Teacher.

 

This year's theme was "California Teachers: Where Excellence Begins." There were hundreds of events across the state. However, in Region 1 – led by Alcosta, Golden Gate, Santa Clara, Central Coast and Redwood Service Center councils – it was wall-to-wall educators.

 

I met teachers and started doing media interviews at 8:00 in the morning in San Jose and didn't quit until 8:00 that night. There were 2,000 teachers at a San Jose mall. There was a 40 mile picket by hundreds of teachers that started in Daly City, ran through South San Francisco, Millbrae, San Mateo, Redwood City, and Palo Alto, before ending in Sunnyvale. There were pickets and rallies in Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Napa, Salinas, Lakeport, Monterey and many more towns. One television station ran a map of the Bay Area to show all the rallies. It was covered with dots.

 

Meanwhile, in Fresno that day, more than 5,000 people greeted the Governor and his supporters at a big-ticket, fundraiser. The Governor and the guests had to drive through almost a mile of protestors.

 

It was a beautiful Day of the Teacher.

 

In addition, there have been local Education Coalition and Alliance rallies in San Bernardino, Riverside, Palm Springs and Burbank and Lancaster just to name a few.

And in Orange County, the local labor coalition had planned a picket of Ameritech in Santa Ana, because the company had given $100,000 to the Governor and his campaign to silence the voices of California teachers and public employees. Ameriquest got so upset about just the idea of hundreds of protestors outside their doors, that they called and promised to never give any more money to the Governor's agenda, said they would not give any money to the Small Business Alliance as long as that group supported "Paycheck Deception," and just a couple of days ago issued a news release becoming the first major corporation in the state to denounce the initiative and support workers' rights to spend their dues how they see fit.

 

We are truly building strong local chapters that in turn are building a strong CTA.

 

Our organizing is having an impact with our members, and it's having a huge impact with voters.

 

In the latest poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, the Governor's job approval ratings remained at a dismal 40%.

 

Nearly 50% disapprove of the job he is doing in office.

 

Only 37% of voters approve of his handling of the state budget and only 29% approve of his efforts on education. That's 20 points lower than former Governor Gray Davis.

 

And according to this PPIC survey 62% of voters say we don't need a special election. We should wait until next year. The poll also shows that voters support spending more money on education and are even willing to raise taxes on upper income tax brackets.

 

Led by this Council and your CTA Board of Directors, Carolyn and staff, we came up with a campaign plan in January. It talked about educating and mobilizing members, building local and statewide coalitions, reaching out to all ethnic communities, running TV and radio ads to get our message to the broader public and organizing, organizing, organizing. We stuck to that plan, and we are making progress.

 

But the fight is far from over. In fact, it's really just beginning.

 

And that means we cannot let up. We cannot take a break this summer. We cannot leave our classrooms and all these issues behind. We are going to have to find creative ways to keep members involved, to keep our momentum and to reach out to new community partners.

 

 

As I said, on Monday, we expect the Governor to call the special election to put his anti-reforms on the ballot.

 

These are:

 

1. Changing the way legislative boundaries are drawn.

 

2. Destroying our due process rights to allow teachers to be fired for any reason without a hearing for up to five years, instead of two.

 

3. Gutting Proposition 98, which guarantees minimum funding to our schools and community colleges. His "Live Within Our Means Initiative" would permanently reduce the education-funding base by $4 billion a year. And it would give the Governor dictator-like powers to cut public schools without consulting anyone.

 

4. The last initiative would silence the voices of teachers and public employee unions in the political process by restricting how we spend our dues money.

 

Three of these are aimed directly at us.

 

The man broke his promises to teachers, schools and kids. And now he wants to make sure we can't tell anyone about it.

 

Let me be clear, this "paycheck deception" initiative is what this election is really all about.

 

I don't know if you read the LA Times article this week, where the Governor's chief advisor detailed their campaign plan to their big donors. Don Sipple outlined a strategy to create a "phenomenon of anger" among voters toward public employee unions.

 

There isn't a ground swell of support for the Governor's agenda, so they have to manufacture a state of fear and anger among the voters as a way to get change.

 

Sipple described the process as "peeling an onion." He said they will spend $30 to $50 million for a multi-step plan to persuade voters that teachers, firefighters, nurses and all public employees are motivated by greed, instead of doing the best job for the state.

 

Sipple's direct quote was: "When you get to the point of these people…and they are out to roll you every day, that creates a kind of phenomenon of anger. But it takes a long time to get there. As the campaign goes on, we have to articulate that."

 

You hear the same type of thing from Schwarzenegger campaign chairman and California Business Roundtable President Bill Hauck who said, quote, "the tenure measure is important to make sure that teachers are really going to be able to live up to the standards we need them to live up to." He went on to add…again I quote…"Ideally, we would have no tenure or collective bargaining."

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan is simple. He wants to take us out for good. He knows we have influence and power in Sacramento. He knows people listen to teachers. And like any bully on the playground, he will do and say anything to get his way.

 

Unfortunately, this bully, through his big corporate friends, has access to unlimited amounts of cash.

 

CTA has been leading the fight against the Governor's misguided reforms. It is our organizing, research and advertising campaign that took the glitz of the Governor's Hollywood star, exposed his broken promises and showed him for the true politician he is.

 

We just started a new commercial this week.

 

Liane Cismowski of the Mt. Diablo Education Association may soon be the most recognized teacher in the state.

 

Our radio and television ads are taking our message to voters. Our work with the Alliance for a Better California is unifying all public employees and spreading that message even further.

 

Your CTA Officers and Board of Directors are willing to do what needs to be done, but this all costs money. And it is why I ask you to support the proposed temporary dues assessment.

 

Teachers have never been given anything. We had to fight for decent pay and working conditions. We had to fight for good pensions and professional rights. We had to fight to get smaller class sizes in our lower grades. We had to fight to get minimum funding protections. We cannot let this Governor roll back that progress.

 

Many of you have seen disastrous cuts to school programs, received layoff notices, gone without real salary increases or seen cuts to your health care benefits. Think, how much worse it will be if we are not prepared to do everything we can to defeat the Governor's destructive initiatives.

 

I don't care what the Governor says or even about what names he wants to call us…we ARE the voice for providing a quality public education to all kids. We are the voice for our students. We can't break OUR promise to them.

 

In closing and in celebration of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month….

 

I know you have all probably seen the Rainbow Pride Flag, but do you know its message? Each color has a different meaning.

 

Red stands for life. Orange equals healing. Yellow signifies the sun. Green stands for nature. Royal Blue denotes harmony. And Violet represents spirit.

 

Six colors to embody the civil rights and freedoms that we all believe in.

 

Let's celebrate and fight for our rights:

 

Our right to organize.

 

Our right to stand up for our students, our schools and our profession.

 

And our right to be heard!

 

Thank you for all that you do every day! Together, we are making a difference.