San Diego Meets the New Boss

[Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>]

San Diego EA celebrated the exit of the tin pot tyrant Alan Bersin, who 
SDEA did nothing about worth noting, and the arrival of the new 
superintendent,  Carl Cohn. SDEA has continued to celebrate Cohn through 
the year and a recent phone contact with SDEA revealed that their nearly 
unconditional support for the boss, Cohn, continues.

He wants to "partner" with the union. "Partners in Production," was the 
slogan of the GM Saturn project, and it was the slogan adopted by NEA's 
President Bob Chase to represent what he called, "New Unionism." GM just 
said, "So long, partners" to about 50,000 ex-partners as they were driven 
out of their jobs, with the full cooperation of the UAW, and execs continue 
to draw fine GM pay. There is nothing new about sycophantic behavior before 
a boss. New unionism is as old as the first cowardly slave.

But, SDEA sees Cohn as a partner.

So, here is the new boss in his own words. 
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2006/06/27/opinion/01cohn.txt

Cohn wants grade retention in k8,

He appointed new k8 underbosses, some from Edison, New  Schools Ventures 
Fund, and he promises "accountability." Here is the NSVF
http://www.newschools.org/strategy/index.htm and here is Newton Learning 
http://www.newtonlearning.net/accountability.htm (I assume everyone knows 
the Edison scam)

Cohn wants Monday-Friday "truancy sweeps," to place truants, who often have 
good reason not to want to be in school, in regimented centers where he 
thinks that force will teach kids to like school---if not to like to learn.

Meet the new boss, the nice cop, with the same club behind his back. Same 
as the old boss. And note that one of the new boss' closest pals is the 
union school workers are funding.

Below is the preamble from the Industrial Workers of the World, written 
about 100 years ago. I find it refreshing to read from time to time, 
instructive as well.


I.W.W. Preamble
open quote
The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. There can 
be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of working 
people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good 
things of life.

Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the 
world organize as a class, take possession of the earth and the machinery 
of production, and abolish the wage system.

We find that the centering of the management of industries into fewer and 
fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with the ever-growing 
power of the employing class. The trade unions foster a state of affairs 
which allows one set of workers to be pitted against another set of workers 
in the same Industry, thereby helping to defeat one another in wage wars. 
Moreover, the trade unions aid the employing class to mislead the workers 
into belief that the working class have interests in common with their 
employers.

These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working class 
upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its members in 
any one industry, or in all industries, if necessary, cease work whenever a 
strike or lockout is on in any department thereof, thus making an injury to 
one an injury to all.

Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wages for a fair day's 
work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, 
"Abolition of the wage system."

It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. 
The army of production must be organized, not only for the every-day 
struggle with the capitalists, but also to carry on production when 
capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are 
forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.
Close Quote

Now, where do teachers fit in this, if at all? Shall teachers just continue 
to be missionaries for capitalism?

best r