The Guardian published a document prepared by a rightwing group that offers messaging advice to states about how to undercut teacher strikes.
Peter Greene reviewed the “messaging guide” here. He writes: “The ‘messaging guide’ is only three pages long, but it includes specific ideas about how to fight back against these crazy teachers and their desire to be paid a decent wage and also work in decent facilities.”
The Guardian writes:
“The “messaging guide” is the brainchild of the State Policy Network (SPN), an alliance of 66 rightwing “ideas factories” that span every state in the nation. SPN uses its $80m war chest – funded by billionaire super-donors such as the Koch brothers and the Walton Family Foundation that flows from the Walmart fortune – to coordinate conservative strategy across the country.
“Another financial backer of SPN is the billionaire DeVos family of the Amway empire. Betsy DeVos is the current education secretary in the Trump administration.
LSPN’s previous campaigns have included a plan to “defund and defang” public sector unions. Now it is turning its firepower on the striking teachers.”
It doesn’t suggest an attack on collective bargaining because all the affected states are already “right to work.”
It doesn’t suggest attacking unions because not only are these states “right to work,” but the leadership of the strikes is grassroots.
It does say that state leaders should emphasize that children were being hurt, especially poor children. (So touching to hear this from rightwingers who fight the minimum wage and the expansion of Medicaid, which hurts the families of poor kids as well as the poor kids, ).
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“State Policy Network (SPN) is the only group in the country dedicated solely to improving the practical effectiveness of independent, nonprofit, market-oriented, state-focused think tanks.”
It’s a national think tank that exists to advise state think tanks.
Imagine if all these wealthy people got together, pooled their money and invested in actual new businesses instead of lobbying and political marketing.
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In fact, State Policy Network, https://click.everyaction.com/k/1039787/5855010/1319667880?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMi8xLzYwNzY4IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjkxMGIxMzdjLTM4M2YtZTgxMS04MGMzLTAwMTU1ZGE3OGJiZCIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAic3VlbGVlMTA5MDFAbWFjLmNvbSINCn0%3D&hmac=ZBowhUhySGLlumMU9qlVc1yBxsIR52_YS6fgmk72aj0=&CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
a right-wing think tank partially funded by Betsy DeVos and the Koch brothers, has released message guidance with instruction on how to methodically discredit teachers’ unions. This is just another way the conservatives, funded and supported by the Secretary of Education, are hurting teachers and public schools across America.
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The leaders of the New Feudal Order in the United States and their wind-up toys in office (e.g., the governor of Kentucky) will continue to push their toy until it breaks. This always happens near the end of an empire.
Since 1975, productivity in the US has increased 82 percent. In other words, the average worker today creates almost twice the value as did the average worker in 1975. However, real wages over that period have increased by only 2 percent. ALMOST ALL OF THAT INCREASED VALUE HAS GONE TO THE OWNERSHIP CLASS. This is why workers are angry, even if they don’t recognize it. This is why they voted for Obama (for change) and for Trump (for change). But they have seen more of the same and increasing extirpation of their real wages, benefits (especially healthcare benefits), pensions, grievance rights, and credit and consumer protections,
Today, only 11 percent of American workers are unionized, and most of those are government employees. The extreme right has created the conditions for a resurgence of the sort of worker unrest that roiled the country in the first part of the twentieth century.
But like the fat-cat owners of the vast latifundia in Rome in the second century CE that had replaced the small family farms on the backs of which the country grew to greatness, our oligarchs, the lords of our New Feudal Order, are clueless about the amount of real struggle and desperation among the poor and ex-middle-class in our country. Again, they will continue to push their toy until it breaks, and when it does, they shall turn to official violence, as others like them have done so many times in the past.
From Politifact:
“Sanders said the Walton family ‘owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of the American people.’
The latest comparable figures, from 2013, support his claim. We rate it True.”
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Teachers are used to making low salaries. Many are even anti-Union. So what is their problem?
Could it be two decades of being treated like the problem?
Could it be never being listened to when the solution is on the table?
Maybe it is being a part of a job that has been rated as the most stressful off and on for two decades?
Maybe it is a part of the experience of being evaluated by people who do not know teaching and whose only desire is that the teacher be judged ineffective.
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I love The Guardian.
That being said, I think most of us who read this blog already know some or most of this (ALEC, Walton & Koch bros. watchers that we are).
Looking at the bright side though, Koch puppet Ryan leaving, & desertion by many others. The important thing, now, is to make sure that the Blue Wave NOT include DINOs. (Remember that whole Jon Ossoff mess in GA–the DNC supporting/throwing $$$$ at someone who didn’t even live in the district {I guess they thought his youth & nice appearance might get him elected}–really?!)
PLEASE, people, work as hard as you can to elect true progressive Dems, esp. people endorsed by NPE. AND–a special mention of Tim Canova in FL. He’s the real-est deal there is. No matter where you live in the U.S., PLEASE contribute & help to support him
(esp. if you live in FL). He is running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, & we all know what she’s been about.
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I agree with you!!
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FYI–Google Tim Canova for Congress 2018 to donate & to get more info. about Tim.
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One of the talking points is “red tape and bureaucracy” in which it states “. . . administrators and non-teaching staff vastly outnumber the teachers. . . ”
Really?
Let’s see in my rural poverty district high school there are about 75 teachers including counselors. There is a total of 4 custodians, 1 maintenance person, 4 secretaries, 1 nurse, 6 food service employees and 4 administrators. There are 5 schools plus a small alternative high school in the district. If we give each school its share of district office staff-25 total, including roving maintenance staff-4 total and bus drivers-25 total and outside grass cutting services of 6 total (all estimates are on the high end) it would come out to 25 + 4 + 24 + 6 = 59 divided by 5 = about 12 each per school.
Hmmm. . . 12 + 4 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 6 + 4 = 32 non teaching staff for the school. Someone please tell me how that 32 vastly outnumber the 75 teachers.
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District and state department personnel too, Senior Swacker!
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I included district personnel in my calculation. And my guess that if one included the state personnel as averaged for each school it might add one more administrator at most, more likely less than .10 bureaucrat per school-too lazy to do that calculation right now.
My request still stands. 🙂
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Don’t expect these teacher haters to know how schools work
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I think you’re right, Duane. In my large urban district, I’ve worked closely with administration in different leadership capacities and the number of attendees at their mandatory citywide meetings in no way compares to the vast numbers who attend required citywide meetings and PDs for teachers.
Those of us who’ve been around the block a time or two have noticed the pattern is that when new local and state leadership come in, they often start swinging the ax and the first personnel cuts tend to be administrative positions. Even if you count (mostly part time staff) like lunch ladies and crossing guards, as well as the legal department, the department of procurement, HR etc. as “administration”, I can’t imagine it ever ballooning to the point where the number of administrative personnel exceeds faculty.
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Realized that I forgot the tech folks so add one to that 32 to get 33.
So my request stands corrected: Someone please tell me how that 33 vastly outnumber the 75 teachers.
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Duane–unfortunately, the adminimals (great term from you!) outnumber teaching & support staff.in most every school district. In ILL-Annoy (as probably other places) we have many extremely small (like, 1 school) districts (which need to be consolidated). One such “district” consists of a K-8 school, having 450 kids, a principal, AND a superintendent! (Guess how much the supt. makes?!) And, yet, the PTA had to raise money to build a new playground! Wait, what?! Also in ILL-Annoy, special ed. animinimals have been actively–& that’s ACTIVELY, in capitals (yes, shouting!)–working to dismantle special ed.: pushing R.T.I. & inclusion, telling parents their kids don’t need services, &, basically, telling the teachers to put up & shut up.
And, right, when cuts are being made, who’s first out the door? The much-needed paraprofessionals &, next, social workers & teachers.
And, BTW, the adminimals ALWAYS stay. Esp. the sped people, even though they’ve (in)effectively whittled down the sp.ed. population..
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