Good Morning.

 

Welcome Council Members to our first meeting of the 2005-06 year. I see a lot of familiar faces our there. It's good to have all of you back. But I also see a lot of new faces, because despite what you hear the Governor say on TV, that means we are reaching out and involving more and more people in CTA every day.

 

And as some of you have heard me say for the past two years, getting all members involved and building strong locals is the key to building a strong CTA.

 

So, it's great to be here this weekend with all of you, and while it's not going to be a typical meeting, we're going to get our work done and have some fun at the same time.

You know what I'm going to talk about – because there's really only one thing to talk about this weekend or until November 8 for that matter – and that's our Governor, this special election and what's at stake for each and every one of us in this room.

You know that it is true –

1. You talked to people on the airplane coming down here.
2. You talk to people in restaurants.
3. Parents after school.

 

All of you talk everywhere you go.  You talk about...

What's at stake for our 335,000 colleagues across California, who elected you to represent them at this meeting today. What's at stake for the more than six million children in our K-12 schools. What's at stake for the 3.1 million students in our community colleges and universities. And what's at stake for all Californians.

The future of public education, the teaching profession and our rights as a union to organize and be heard are all on the line. We can not…and will not…let them win!

 

You've probably been hearing and reading a lot of…what shall I call it…..Well, you fill in the word …about CTA from the Governor, his hired mouthpieces and my favorite workers' rights organization – The National Right to Work Committee and Legal Defense Foundation.

 

National Right to Work was founded 60 years ago by some of the largest corporations in the country with one goal and that was to destroy labor unions and weaken workers' rights. They continue that work today.

 

But we won't let them do it in California.

 

It's what this election is really all about and it's why they are pouring millions of dollars into this fight to try and silence our voices and scare teachers into believing that our association is corrupt and going bankrupt.

 

Many of you probably received a letter from Dick Riordon or one of those glossy brochures from the Yes on 75 campaign…or maybe you got one of those illegal emails from pro-voucher billionaires Frank Baxter and Robin Arkley.

I know you did because you sent emails, called and told me about them.

 

The email that was sent to you in your classroom using the school district's email system, which we all know is not allowed and a clear violation of the law.

 

The billionaires don't care if they broke the law.  They figure they will just pay the fine – we know – we don't like to be interrupted at school – the PA system – etc.

 

I don't have to tell you…but don't believe any of it. I want you to know that CTA is not bankrupt, and as always, we are diligently managing the association and following every legal requirement.

What these emails, letters and mailings never tell you, is that a federal judge rejected the charges against us by National Right to Work and tossed their petition out of court.

 

But misrepresenting the facts, name calling and acting a like the playground bully has been the Governor's starring role since January.

 

In the State of the State Address, he said we didn't care about children, and called us "special interests" that the state must "battle" against.

 

He said that a teacher's employment must be tied to performance – not just showing up.

 

He proposed a budget that broke the promise he made to parents, teachers and the entire education community…and to this day has still made no attempt to repay the $2 billion he borrowed from public education.

 

He turned his back on Proposition 98, a law he once said would only change "over my dead body" and sponsored, Proposition 76, an initiative that destroys the minimum school funding guarantee, makes sure he never has to repay the money he owes schools and gives him broad new powers to cut schools in the middle of the school year – without consulting the legislature or anyone. (See, I've got my talking points down.)

He further insulted teachers by sponsoring Proposition 74, which lengthens the probationary period to five years and allows districts to fire teachers without even a hearing.

 

Members not buying – rally in Temecula – new teachers.

 

And then of course there is Proposition 75, which despite repeated denials, was written at the request of the Governor's advisors and is at the heart of this special election. You'll remember that the Governor and his big business, special interest buddies announced their game plan back in May.

 

They were going to create a "phenomenon of anger" against teachers, nurses, firefighters and all public employees. They are acting out their script.

 

That's what the Governor's ads are all about. That's what these well-funded and orchestrated attacks against CTA are all about. They want to pass this initiative so they can take us out of the picture for good and there's no one left who can fight their agenda of school vouchers, cutting funding for health care reform, destroying our pension system and privatizing Social Security.

 

It's why their attacks are so vicious and personal. They've called me names, sent nasty letters, posted outrageous statements on websites and even came up with seven important questions for reporters to ask Barbara Kerr. All seven of them boil down to this.

 

What is CTA's primary function - to provide services to teachers or to spend millions of dollars playing politics?

 

Well, we have spent a lot of money in this campaign. We've done it at the request and with the permission of our members and I'm not going to apologize one bit. Because when any politician, conservative think tank or big business special interest group attacks public education, the teaching profession, our professional rights and the entire foundation of what we believe in, I will fight… David, Dean, Carolyn, the CTA Board of Directors, the NEA Board, our chapter leaders, all of you, our members and our staff are going to fight back with every fiber of our being.

 

They want us to stay out of politics. But like the saying goes, we'll stay out of politics when they stay out of our classrooms.

 

We'll stay out when they stop proposing worthless merit pay plans that tie a teacher's pay to a student's score on a standardized test.

 

We'll stay out when they stop trying to deny teachers basic due process rights to a hearing before being fired.

 

We'll stay out when they stop cutting school funding by more than $25,000 per classroom.

 

We'll stay out when California's per-pupil funding isn't more than $1,000 below the national average.

 

We'll stay out when California doesn't have the largest class sizes in the nation.

 

We'll stay out when our poor students - many of our students of color –have the have the resources they need to succeed.

We'll stay out when we actually have enough nurses, counselors and librarians to provide services to our students.

 

We'll stay out when art, music, band and vocational education are classes that are available to every student in every school.

 

We'll stay out when we don't have to get permission to use more than 50 sheets of paper a week on the school photocopier.

 

We'll stay out when they let teachers have some say classroom decisions.

 

We'll stay out when they actually provide students with the textbooks and materials they need to succeed.

 

We'll stay out when the Governor doesn't veto $20 million to provide textbooks to English language learners to help them meet the state standards.

 

We'll stay out when teachers earn a salary competitive to other professions that require the same level of education and training.

 

We'll stay out when all students and teachers can go to class in safe, clean schools.

 

We'll stay out when educational support professional jobs are not contracted out to big businesses.

 

We'll stay out when classrooms have enough computers to actually bring kids into the 21st century.

 

We'll stay out when there are places for all students, who are eligible, to attend community college and state universities.

 

We'll stay out when they stop trying to tell us how to run our internal business.

We'll stay out when they stop trying to impose one set of rule for workers and another set for big corporate contributors, who already out spend workers 24 to 1.

 

We'll stay out when they treat teachers like the highly trained professionals we are.

Until then…you bet we're going to play in politics…and we're going to play to win.

 

We must do everything we can to defeat these initiatives. They are bad ideas that hurt our schools and take this state in the wrong direction.

 

I know many of you have already been working hard out there. You've been doing it since January. And I can't tell you how proud I am of all the work you've done.

It's always a privilege to serve as your President, but this campaign has really brought it home for me. I'm honored every time I see hundreds and thousands of teachers speaking out against Prop's 74, 75 and 76. In Fresno, Stockton, Bakersfield, Riverside, Orange County, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Redding and many more. When I see you holding local news conferences in your communities, attending forums or visiting schools to talk to colleagues.

 

When I see you protesting the Governor's big fundraisers…which have raised him more than $10 million in the last month.

 

We do know who the true special interests are in this election.

 

It's people like Stockton developer Alex Spanos, who wrote the governor two checks for $500,000 each in one day.

It's companies like Chevron who contributed $250,000 to the Governor's campaign after the Governor vetoed a bill that would have required the state to monitor the effects of toxic chemicals.

 

It's billionaires like Arkly and Baxter who are paying for those deceptive mailers and emails from the Yes on 75 Campaign.

 

We've got to send the Governor and all his special corporate pals a clear, loud and resounding message on Election Day, so they learn their lesson and never try it again. 

 

That's why what we are going to do at this council meeting and what you are doing in your local chapters is so important. I know we may not all like it, but we've got to be phone banking and walking precincts and making sure that people who support public education and teachers get out and vote on November 8.

 

Turnout is going to be critical in this election.

 

Part of the Governor's strategy in calling a special election, was believing that only his supporters would come out and vote. He's expecting us to stay home. But if we do…he wins.

 

So, for our students, our schools and the future of our profession, don't let him win. Get out and work for the vote on November 8th and show them just what happens when you try silence our voices.