the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jun 23, 2003
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is proposing that its employees give up 2 ½ days of vacation or, in the case of teachers, classroom preparation days. The proposed furlough would mean a one% pay cut for the 80,000 workers of the district, which is the second-largest in the country. In addition, the LAUSD is planning to cut about 106 million dollars from the schools’ discretionary spending, which is used for supplies, field trips, staff training and building maintenance.
With this new round of attack comes the usual excuse, and the usual threat: there is no money, and, if the workers don’t accept these cuts, there will be layoffs.
But the LAUSD has already been cutting jobs, classes and services under the pretext of reduced funding from the state. What’s the guarantee that these new cuts will stop future layoffs or further cuts?
Absolutely none. To the contrary–if workers give in, that will only encourage the district to come back for more, to take away more pay, benefits, jobs and services. That’s exactly what’s been going on in every industry.
At LAUSD and elsewhere, the one way we can save jobs is by saying "NO" and showing the bosses that we mean it. Defend our jobs by refusing every attack–on wages, benefits or jobs.