Updated:

Hunger strike for healthcare for substitute teachers

By
902
0

Latest

Alex Brower (2nd from right) is on a hunger strike to call attention to the hundreds of fulltime substitute teachers in Milwaukee who do not have health insurance and need it.
PHOTO/JOE BRUSKY, MTEA

 
Editor’s note: Alex Brower, Substitute Teacher President, Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA) is interviewed below by the People’s Tribune on day 12 of a hunger strike. Teachers and others are showing their support by doing one-day strikes.
People’s Tribune: Alex, tell our readers why you are on a hunger strike.
Alex Brower: Right now substitute teachers are the only groups that don’t receive healthcare from the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) but who work full time. So what this hunger strike is doing is bringing attention to the fact that we have hundreds of fulltime teachers who are not insured and who need to be.
This fight really started with our effort to stop privatization. The District tried to privatize the substitute teacher pool to a temp agency called Goodwill TalentBridge. We defeated the privatization attempt; all those temps were hired by the District. One reason they turned to the temp agency is that there is a shortage of substitute teachers in MPS. So the substitute teachers are trying to improve the quality of education so we can bring teachers back.
Milwaukee has been a testing ground for over 20 years for failed right-wing policies. We were the first city to implement the voucher program in the 1990s. The supposed competition has not made education better, in fact it has made education worse because these fly-by-night groups can set up a charter school or a voucher school, and get funding for every student who walks through the door. We have a little bit more than half of school-age children attending public school in Milwaukee. The other half are either in voucher schools or publicly chartered but privately run charter schools.
When the school district budget came out April 27 and there was no healthcare for subs, we decided to ratchet up our tactics. With the support of my union brothers and sisters, I decided to go on a hunger strike on May 3. I’m continuing this hunger strike until this budget is amended to include healthcare for every sub who works fulltime in this District. The next official date for review of the budget is May 24. I want to see an actual vote on the school board that will alter the budget that’s being proposed.
I hope I’m inspiring people to take action and make a change in their own communities and know that they have the power to do this.
Please visit www.peoplestribune.org for the full text of this interview.

+ Articles by this author

The People’s Tribune opens its pages to voices of the movement for change. Our articles are written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Articles entitled “From the Editors” reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement for change. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff. The People’s Tribune is a 501C4 organization.

Featured

Luz Melissa Cortes Nieto, Tribuno del Pueblo -

We are Jane Doe

What happens when the institution responsible for investigating harm is the same institution worried about its reputation, donors, fraternity relationships, and legal liability? Silence protects power. Accountability means confronting it.
La Jornalera, La Talacha -

Nancy Leaves Before Dawn

This story brings insight into the lives of the millions of women and men who leave before dawn to keep entire cities running by cleaning, building, cooking, caring. But suddenly some want them seen them as criminals.
PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE -

Government Charges Man ICE Shot In Back With Assault

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the Venezuelan immigrant shot in the back by an ICE agent in Austin September 20, has now been charged by the government with assaulting a federal officer.
Mike Ludwig , TRUTHOUT -

People Keep Dying in ICE Custody. 13 Dems Back a Bill to Abolish the Agency

Legislation has been introduced called the Melt ICE Act which would dismantle ICE by ending the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to surveil and jail immigrants and redirect its funding to navigate a spiraling affordability crisis.
Bob Lee, People's Tribune -

Resistance is Challenging Grip of AIPAC on Congress

The pro-Israel AIPAC lobby is one of the most powerful lobbies in the country, but its influence over our elections and Congress is increasingly being challenged by candidates and voters.

More from the People's Tribune