Video: Wisconsin, NEW Live Stream inside the capitol

Previous live stream was shut down. New live stream below.

VIDEO: Watch Live Stream Of Madison, WI Rally

Streaming live video by Ustream

Video: Madison, Wisconsin - A Beautiful Sight, 120,000 Strong

This video comes by way of Protect Wisconsin Families on Facebook.

They say: 'Video of the crowd today in Madison. 120,000 strong! Post your experiences below and thanks again for supporting Wisconsin's middle class!'

This is of the Madison rally on Saturday, February 26, 2011.

WATCH AND LISTEN:

Video: Compilation of Indiana State House Rallies This week

Courtesy of David Williams.  Well done, brother.  Well done and thank you.

We stand with Wisconsin workers, fighting for their rights.

URGENT - WE NEED YOU MONDAY, 2/21: Indianapolis State House Rally

This event is rounding Facebook.  Your participation is needed along with your ability to spread the word.  Thank you for your help and support.

If you are a Facebook user, you can RSVP by clicking here.

URGENT - WE NEED YOU MONDAY, 2/21

We received word at 5:00 p.m. today that Right to Work will be called for a vote in the Labor Committee on Monday, 2/21 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 156a (basement). We NEED everyone who can make it to show up at the Statehouse on Monday, 2/21 at 8:00 a.m.

Keep in mind that you will have to go through security, so please do not bring anything that would slow down the process of everyone being able to get through security. However, we do want you to wear your hardhats and if you want to bring signs make sure they are not mounted on sticks or poles.

If you have any questions, call Patti at 317-636-0806.

Thanks for your support.

Dale Johnsen, President
Mark McCleskey, Secretary-Treasurer
Pete Rimsans, Executive Director

In addition to this rally, there is one on Wednesday in Valparaiso. If you live in the Northwest Indiana area, please try to attend in place of or in addition to the Indy rally as this one is on Wednesday. Again, thank you for whatever you are able to do, and please spread the word.

Time	Wednesday, February 23 · 3:45pm - 6:30pm
Location	Valparaiso Courthouse Square
By	Support Indiana Teachers
	For those in the great, frosty North, join your friends and colleagues in Valpo to Rally for Hoosier education!!!

If you are not familiar with what is going on, below is some background information, and you can also review it on Facebook by clicking here. We need your help, we need your presence, we need your voice.

The Ruination of Indiana Public Education

Indiana public education is at risk. Legislature will be voted on in Indianapolis next Monday (2/14) that will severely damage public school systems across the state. The following are the worst senate and house bills that will be voted on:


Senate Bill 575/House Bill 1337

Repeals the right to have union member teachers on curriculum committees.

* High achieving schools are the result of collaboration between teachers and the administration for a common goal – successful students. Take away this collaboration and the schools will suffer.
* The teachers are the most knowledgeable about what's best for their students. It makes absolutely no sense to disregard their opinions.
* Letting politicians tell teachers how to teach makes as much sense as letting your dentist tell your cardiologist how to perform bypass surgery.



Repeals collective bargaining for teacher unions (the teacher union's ability to negotiate contracts) and prohibits the inclusion of discussable items in teacher contracts.

* Items in teacher contracts (such as hoursy and working conditions) will no longer be discussable. This is a severe restriction of teacher rights and will cause the teaching profession to suffer immensely. Who wants to go into a profession where they have no rights?



Repeals the state statute which bases teacher salaries on qualifications and experience.

* In almost any job you go into, salary increases with experience. This is only logical.
* If this bill passes, teachers will be paid the same regardless of their experience. Who wants to go into a profession where they'll be earning the same amount of money after twenty years as they did when they first started?



Senate Bill 1

Sets up a system of merit-based pay for teachers.


While this is commonplace in the business world, education is not a business. In business, performance is measured by output levels. But how do you measure teacher performance? By student grades? That's impossible and unfair. It's ridiculous to decrease a teacher's salary simply because his/her students are not as intelligent as another teacher's or simply because they don't want to work or even because they teach a harder course. This system will encourage teachers to 'dumb down' their courses as much as possible in order to ensure high student grades and thus the stability of their salary. And how is the performance of art and music teachers to be measured? Or special education teachers?



Such a system will prove ruinous to the high calibre education our schools offer. This bill MUST NOT PASS.



Senate Bill 446

Requires school corporations to permit charter schools to rent unused, closed, or unoccupied public school areas for $1 per year.


This makes NO economic sense and is a huge waste of taxpayer money. Schools that may be able to rent out their unused buildings for $750,000 per year would be forced to instead rent them to charter schools for $1 per year. This is ridiculous. Public schools are already having financial difficulties. There's no reason to further limit their funds in this way.



House Bill 1002

Permits public school transportation funds to be distributed to charter schools unless the public school provides transportation for charter schools.



Schools have limited transportation funds as it is. This simply takes what funds public schools have and redirects them to charter schools. In essence, that's taxpayer money being taken away from public education and given to charter schools.

____________


These bills pose a serious threat to public education (especially SB 575 and HB 1337). If you are of voting age, please look up your state senator and representative (here: http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup) and call/email them to tell them to vote AGAINST these bills. If you are not of voting age, please ensure your parents call/email them. It only takes five minutes. The phone numbers are listed on the site. The email addresses are s (for senator)/h (for house representative)[district number]@in.gov. For example, senator Charbonneau's email address is s5@in.gov because he's the state senator for district 005. Similarly, Representative Soliday's email is h4@in.gov because he's the house representative for district 004.



Spread this information to everyone you know. We must do everything we can to stop these bills from being passed. But we have to act fast; voting begins in Indianapolis on Monday (2/14).



We can and WILL make a difference.