San Benito

As teachers and students protest at the State Capitol this week, a Green Party school board member from Hollister, Ca. said today the state of California "has undermined public education through underfunding schools" and warned the long term costs because of that will be "even more costly." He said the answer to the budget crisis is for the "rich to pay their fair share."

Beginning with the show-down in Wisconsin, various states have begun to follow the lead of Governor Scott Walker to deprive unions of their power to collective bargaining. This assault on unions has led to some surprising responses, including massive protests and confrontation between public sector workers and the states. In one sense it had the effect of causing working people to question their position in society and has made it clear that workers are a "class" of people, regardless of whether they work in private industry or in the public sector in government jobs, including teachers.