The fight to defend public education

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10 SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 2014 HARTFORD, Conn.—April was full of revolutionary activity for Socialist Ac­ tion comrades in this city. As the current crisis of capitalism deepens, party mem­ bers in Connecticut are playing an active role in many different arenas of class struggle.

The corporate takeover of education is sweeping through cities and towns across the U.S. like a plague or zombie apocalypse. Soon students will be stalk­ ing the streets looking for brains, as an increasingly privatized school system will devalue their education.

“The Fight for Public Education” ad­ dressed this issue during a session of Connecticut Socialist Action’s monthly forum series, held on April 19 at the Hartford Public Library. In all, some 40 teachers, students, parents, unionists, and community activists turned out to hear a dynamic panel discussion. Panel­ ists included Hartford Rising members, AFT teachers, and a member of Socialist Action, who not only explained the full meaning of a privatized school system but also how to organize and fight for quality public education.

For years, Hartford public schools have been struggling without access to ad­ equate resources and funding. Corporate privatizers have seized on the weakened public schools to put forward the idea that if public schools are failing then the answer is to place them under private management funded by public money.

The corporate players have used par­ ents on “turnaround committees” to advocate for privatization. Dan Durant, an AFT organizer and NAACP member, said, “The opposition has invested a lot of money in organizing the community ... they’re giving money to community organizations that once had progressive reputations, and they [the community groups] are switching over.”

Shonta’ Browdy, executive director of Parents Uniting Resources to Pro­ mote Outstanding Student Education (P.U.R.P.O.S.E.) and a member of Hart­ ford Rising, spoke about her own trans­ formation from participating in these “turnaround committees” to organizing against the corporate takeover of the Clark school in the North End neighbor­ hood of Hartford.

Retired New York City teacher Laura Sturt, author of “Devonte’s Inferno: Ten Years in the Public School Gulag,” and Ebony Murphy, a former teacher at Hart­ ford charter school Capitol Prep, spoke about their experiences as teachers in public and private institutions. Ebony explained how Dr. Steve Perry’s Capitol Prep is a flawed model that has many around the country fooled into believing he is the savior of education. Perry’s de­ sire to franchise his school model, with a high teacher turnover rate, emphasized his real intention, to make money.

Diane Ravitch, a leading national public education advocate, said, “In his [Jona­ than Pelto a well-known Connecticut ed­ ucation blogger] latest blog, Pelto shows that Perry’s school has lower test scores for African American students than the much-maligned public schools of Hart­ ford. Yet Perry now seeks to open more schools.”

When Perry lost his bid to take over another public elementary school in Hartford, he resorted to violent imagery to intimidate his opponents. He said via Twitter, “The only way to lose a fight is to stop fighting. All this did was piss me off. It’s so on. Strap up [get a gun], there will be head injuries.”

The only way to roll back money-hun­ gry privatizers like Dr. Steve Perry is to mobilize the community to fight for pub­ lic education. This was the message of Socialist Action member Tokuji Okamoto and others during the discussion period.

To date, no decisive victories have been won in favor of public education. How­ ever, the Chicago teachers’ strike and Hartford’s Clark Rising, the group that formed during the struggle to keep Clark elementary public, show that real power to make change resides not in the corpo­ rate elite or politicians but in the hands of parents, teachers, and students.

Hartford Rising Out of the experiences of the Clark Rising movement, Hartford Rising was born. Looking to take on multiple is­ sues, leaders in the community decided to write a “bill of rights” that reflected the needs of Hartford residents. A ma­ jority of the community is Black and La­ tino and have been hit especially hard by years of social and economic oppression. Over 2000 doors were knocked and over 400 surveys were administered to get a thorough understanding of what folks throughout Hartford felt would improve their lives.

For a city that is consistently ranked second or first on the top 10 poorest cit­ ies in the U.S. list, it is no surprise that working people demanded jobs with a livable wage, pension and benefits, qual­ ity healthcare, affordable housing, and a clean and safe city. Hartford’s contradic­ tion is clear when one considers that the most profitable insurance companies in the country are surrounded by wealthy suburbs while many of those living in the city are subjected to an all-out assault on their quality of life.

Plugged in to Hartford Rising is a grow­ ing movement of low wage fast food workers organizing in Hartford to win minimum wage increases and union representation. This movement has its finger on the pulse of a much larger na­ tional “$15 and a union” movement that has gained prestige thanks in large part to the election of the socialist city coun­ cilor in Seattle, Kshama Sawant. n

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... Revolt in Ukraine ership of the Communist League quickly flew in its national May 25. Although the workers knew it was a partial victory secretary, James P. Cannon, from New York to assist the at best, it established the union as a recognized bargaining Minneapolis branch in leading the strike through the en­ unit and gave them a solid base to work from when nego­ suing negotiations. The militancy and success of the strike tiating further advances in the future. The workers victori­ over 1500 police and deputies, and hundreds of strikers had caught national attention, and had given legitimacy to ously returned to their jobs the next day, knowing they had and other union members, ready for hand-to-hand combat. won a hard-fought victory and gained the respect of work­ The ensuing battle, known as the Battle of Deputies Run, When negotiations began, Local 574 did not demand would become legendary. Within an hour of the start, the closed shop contracts, only recognition of the union. When Although more than 7000 workers now belonged to Lo­ strikers had managed to drive off all the deputies and police the bosses refused to discuss even that, their bankruptcy cal 574, by June the new contract was already falling apart. force, and were controlling all traffic in the area. During the was exposed to all the workers. Olson, acting as mediator, Employers began discriminating against union workers, course of the battle, many people were seriously wounded was once again caught in the middle, but unable to force with over 700 disputes soon filed. Despite efforts by Lo­ on both sides, and two special deputies were killed—one a the hand of either side. Eventually, a settlement was negoti­ cal 574 to negotiate wage increases, the employers always Hated, which included a recognition of the union signed by After the battle, Governor Olson met with the Central 166 employers in the general trucking industry, all strik­ Soon, it became clear that Olson’s word was not to be Labor Union and representatives from Local 574 and the ers restored to their original jobs, no discrimination against trusted, as the employers insisted that their interpretation Citizens Alliance to negotiate a truce for the next 24 hours. union workers, the establishment of a seniority system, and of the contract did not cover inside workers—an opinion When the bosses tried to move trucks to break the truce, the the recognition of the right of Local 574 to negotiate further that was supported by the Labor Board and that excluded union threatened to go back on strike. In response, Olson threatened to call out the National Guard. Although a new Significantly, the agreement also included both drivers Despite their recent success, the union was once again un­ truce was negotiated, the play of powers had ended in a and inside workers as part of the union. Although the lan­ der attack, and began to prepare for another strike, the final guage was vague, Olson assured the union it was the best Recognizing the importance of the strike, the central lead­ they could get, and they voted to accept the agreement on SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 2014 11 (continued from page 1: “Revolt spreads in eastern Ukraine”)

In April, some units defected to the so-called “rebels,” handing over armored trucks and weapons in the process.

Since then, it appears evident that Kiev has sent in more reliable troops, which include hardened fascists. Yet protesters continue to occupy the cores of about a dozen cities, despite mount­ ing casualties.

Fighting spread to Odessa on May 2, when Right Sector thugs attacked a number of anti-government protesters who had sought refuge inside the build­ ing of the local trade-union council. The fascists threw Molotov cocktails into the building, setting it on fire. At least 46 people (and perhaps many more) were reported to have died in the conflagra­ tion or in armed clashes in the vicinity. Eight people died from falls after they had hung onto upper-story windowsills in desperate attempts to escape the flames. Gruesome photos taken inside the building show a pregnant woman who was apparently strangled to death, and a man shot twice in the head.

A pro-government newspaper, Ukrain­ ska Pravda, indicated that the mob out­ side the building did nothing to help the victims. “As the building burned, the Ukrainian activists continued to scream mottos about Putin and sing the Ukrai­ nian national anthem.”

“The aim is to completely clear Odessa [of anti-government protesters],” a man identifying himself as a member of the Right Sector later crowed to the press. “They are all paid Russian separatists.” This atrocity followed other attacks by the Right Sector during the last couple of months. These included armed raids on Communist Party offices in Rovno and Sumo on April 15, in which a re­ gional CP official was wounded, and the killing of two protesters when Right Sector members opened fire on an antifascist demonstration in Kharkov on March 14. After being apprehended for the killings, the Right Sector assassins argued that they should be free from prosecution since they were enrolled as members of the Kiev government’s Na­ tional Guard.

In response to the Odessa attack, on May 4, about 2000 men and women attacked a police station in the city— smashing doors and windows and yelling, “fascists!” They demanded the release of anti-government activists who had been jailed inside; many of the prisoners had been arrested as they left the trade-union building, dazed and covered with blood. Police yielded to the protesters and released 67 prison­ ers held inside their jail. But the Inte­ rior Ministry in Kiev said that 42 other anti-government protesters in jail were being transferred to another region to prevent their being liberated.

The Odessa fire has become a cause for rallying the population in other sec­ ... Teamster rebellion (continued from page 12: “Teamster rebellion! May 1934: ‘Battle of Deputies Run’”) prominent businessman. stalemate, with Olson caught in the middle. tions of the country. On May 3 and 4, men and women occupied and looted several government buildings in Donetsk, as hundreds gathered in support, chanting, “Odessa will not be forgiven!” “No to fascism!”

According to AP reporter Matt Robinson, who was in Donetsk on May 3, “a couple of hundred people smashed up the city’s state security building as evening fell, then walked down the street and ransacked the business headquarters of the re­ gion’s Kiev-backed governor, steel baron Serhiy Taruta. They carried out chairs, crates of vodka, and icons. Middle-aged women cheered young men in balaclavas, the new power in this city of one million people built on steel and coal.

““This was for yesterday [in Odes­ sa]! They’re monsters, worse than monsters,” said Tatiana Kamniva, who had joined the protest with her daughter. ‘This is just the beginning,’ she said.”

On May 4, as people occupied the Lenin district council building, “masked men in military fatigues and armed with automatic rifles made some attempt to marshal the crowd. … The building be­ longed to the people and shouldn’t be burned, a man said through a loud hail­ er. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll go west and take Kiev,’ he said, trying to placate them.”

The AP reporter noted that “there were similar scenes at the weekend in coastal Mariupol, south of Donetsk, where protesters torched a downtown branch of Privatbank, owned by an oli­ garch who backs the pro-European po­ litical forces in Kiev.”

“‘In our town, the people are in power,’ said a 55-year-old former sailor who gave his name as Mikhail, surveying the damage. His wife, Irina, said the arson was probably the work of more provo­ cateurs trying to discredit the uprising. Nevertheless, Mikhail said, ‘They did right to burn it.’”

The Kiev government and the Obama administration maintain that the unrest in eastern Ukraine has been fomented, directed, and supplied by Russia. They allege, moreover, that Russian military operatives, although masked and in dis­ guise, have taken a major part in the ac­ tions. Without hesitation, the U.S. media has relayed the same scenario, simplis­ tically reducing the unrest in eastern Ukraine to something on the order of “Russian separatists against the Ukrai­ nian people.”

To back their claims, the Kiev authori­ ties released photographs of armed men in Ukraine together with photos of the same individuals that were pur­ portedly taken in earlier Russian army operations in Chechnya and elsewhere. Soon afterward, however, some U.S. news sources, including The New York Times, found themselves forced to ad­ the still small American Trotskyist movement. contracts with the employers. mit that the blurred photos were not entirely convincing. For example, one of the photos that The Times had featured, allegedly showing several Ukrainian rebel fighters in Russia, was actually shot in the Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, according to Maxim Dondyuk, the pho­ tographer who took the picture and posted it on his Instagram account.

It is not implausible, of course, that the Russian government has given some aid to the uprising. But interviews conducted on the barricades by West­ ern reporters strongly suggest that the protests and building occupations have been carried out primarily by civilians, and that their weapons have been ob­ tained locally.

The New York Times (May 4, 2014), which spoke to men defending the bar­ ricades in Slovyansk, noted that they appeared to have local support. “To the guys in Kiev, we are separatists and ter­ rorists,” one man commented. “But to the people here, we are defenders and protectors.” The fighters were reported to have said that their heavy weapons “had either been taken from seized po­ lice buildings and a column of captured Ukrainian armored vehicles, or bought from corrupt Ukrainian soldiers.”

Unfortunately, the goals of the pro­ testers are unclear; no political pro­ gram has been put forward to map out a steady and principled course for the future.

Leaders of the self-styled “Donetsk People’s Republic” are organizing a re­ gional referendum to take place on May 11—although Putin expressed the wish that the vote be delayed. The referen­ dum simply asks, “Do you support the Donetsk People’s Republic?” But what then? Moderate proponents of the ref­ erendum have told Western reporters that they view it simply as a form of pressure on the Kiev regime to grant ers nationwide.

avoided the issue.

(Above) Woman defending Slovansk against army attack.

more regional control. Many others express sentiment for secession from Ukraine and joining Russia. Both roads, however, would prove to be dead ends for working people.

Neither the government of Vladimir Putin, which represents the interests of Russian capitalism, nor the ruling group in Kiev, which slavishly follows the dictates of Western imperialism, is capable of providing any lasting solu­ tion for working people in Ukraine. The only way to abolish poverty and unem­ ployment, and to overcome discrimina­ tion and fascist attacks, is for working people to surmount the artificial barri­ ers between nationalities, cultures, and language groups, and to join together in an independent mass movement with the goal of bringing the major means of production and the state itself under the control of the working class.

This will require the formation of a mass-based revolutionary socialist par­ ty throughout Ukraine—one that is in active solidarity with similar parties in Russia and throughout the world.

In the meantime, however, the dan­ ger still remains of a catastrophic war breaking out in Ukraine. It is not ruled out that the U.S. will decide to intervene militarily, which could result in major capitalist powers facing off in a military confrontation for the first time since World War II.

This is the time for antiwar activists in the U.S. and internationally to pour into the streets, demanding “No U.S./NATO intervention in Ukraine!” The United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is calling for protests and teach-ins to take place from May 8 to May 26 around this demand. For more information, see www.unacpeace.org. n thousands of workers who had joined the union.

chapter in the battle to make Minneapolis a union town.

(to be continued)

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SOCIALIST ACTION