The ECC Board of Trustees has dropped plan to outsource the custodians. Instead, they passed a new plan to seek an outside company which will provide SUPERVISION for the custodians. They assured the audience that they will keep the present custodians as direct employees of the college, and that the custodians will keep their present benefits. But they plan to pay for the new supervisory management contract out of savings which will come from new efficiencies.
They expected this announcement to be greeted with gratitude, and to some degree it was. But to many of us it appears that they new arrangement will mean that the custodians will have to work faster and harder and that their hours will be cut.
I will be meeting with the head of the teachers union, some staff members and students and others to discuss how we can keep on top of this situation.
Clearly the board and the president felt the heat of the anger that they had stirred up over the past several weeks, and clearly they dropped the outsourcing plan as a result of that heat.
Mary
Free Film Showing — Greedy Lying Bastards!
Please join us for a FREE showing of:
Greedy Lying Bastards!
Directed by Craig Rosenbraugh.
http://www.greedylyingbastards.com/
Friday, June 27th at 6:30 PM
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren
783 W. Highland Avenue
Elgin, IL 60123
Sponsored by Elgin Green Groups
Fox Valley Citizens for Peace & Justice
& Occupy Elgin
Free popcorn!
Film Synopsis
Melting sea ice, glacier loss and rising sea levels. Severe droughts and wildfires. Increasingly severe tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding. Record heat waves. Climate change is no longer a prediction for the future, but a startling reality of today. Yet, as evidence of our changing climate mounts and the scientific consensus proves human causation, there continues to be little political action to thwart the warming of our planet. “Greedy Lying Bastards” investigates the reason behind stalled efforts to tackle climate change despite consensus in the scientific community that it is not only a reality but also a growing problem placing us on the brink of disaster. The film details the people and organizations casting doubt on climate science and claims that greenhouse gases are not affected by human behavior. From the Koch Brothers to ExxonMobil, to oil industry front groups, to prominent politicians and Justices, this provocative exposé unravels the layers of deceit threatening democracy and the ability for future generations to survive on planet earth.
No Fast Track for TPP
The Trans Pacific Partnership is a proposed new trade treaty which opponents call NAFTA on Steroids. NIJwJ believes that it will eliminate many thousands of jobs for US workers, create new obstacles to environmental protection, climate protection, food safety , and workers’ rights. It will also increase the cost of prescription drugs, and impose new, extremely restrictive rules on the exchange of information and “content” on the internet.
The Trans Pacific Partnership is a threat to democracy because it gives multinational corporations the right to sue nation states, including the US, which pass laws which interfere with a corporation’s “expected future profits.” So, if the US passes the Employee Free Choice Act, or a Carbon Tax, or even a “Buy American” law, the United States could be sued for doing that. The case would be tried before a three person panel, made up of corporate lawyers, who could impose substantial fines (to be paid out of taxpayer money) or possibly the law could be overturned. These tribunals would be held in secret and there would be no appeal.
You never know where Fox Valley Citizens will show up!
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/feb/19/walmart-looking-supporting-minimum-wage-increase
http://teamster.org/news/2014/01/even-companies-need-know-more-about-fast-track-tpp
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1987/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1272188
We Support this MENA Statement on Syria
The MENA Solidarity Network-US promotes awareness of, and support for, the ongoing wave of mass revolutionary struggles in the Middle East and North Africa–popularly known as the Arab Revolutions.
We were founded by groups and individuals from the left and workers’ movements who recognized the need to oppose Western imperialist threats to attack Syria while also continuing to defend Syria’s popular revolution against the Assad dictatorship and its allies. We thus oppose all forms of imperialist intervention in the region while supporting popular struggles against all who would deny democratic rights or enforce economic exploitation.
We are committed to the principle of international solidarity from below, which supports the struggles of the oppressed against their oppressors in all of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Bahrain, and other countries. We cannot, as people of conscience, ignore the call for “Freedom, Dignity, and Social Justice” coming from revolutionaries throughout the region.
We believe that these mass movements share deep socioeconomic roots and are the beginning of a revolutionary process that will continue to unfold in the coming years. We stand in solidarity with the people of the Middle East and North Africa as they go through this process and create their own history and oppose any intervention from our own government.
We defend the rights of all people to practice, or not practice, any religious faith of their choosing. Based in the United States, we see a particular responsibility to defend Muslims from Islamophobic vilification and discrimination.
We highlight and applaud the role of women in the revolutions, and support their full rights and equal participation in society and in the revolutionary process.
And we pay particular attention to the struggles of workers and poor people, defending their rights and drawing attention to their struggles.
We call upon all groups and people who agree with us to sign onto our statement and join our network to oppose US intervention and help build solidarity with our brothers and sisters struggling for freedom and justice in the Middle East and North Africa.