Yesterday I sent the note below to all school board candidates. I received only one response, which equivocally asked why EFCA was relevant to the School Board. In fact, with all the grumbling about how labor is in the driver's seat in Anchorage, not even the candidates endorsed by the Anchorage Central Labor Council, Starr Marsett and Jeannie Mackie, would get onboard with such a simple proposition.
The nonsense being published about EFCA (the Employee Free Choice Act) is important to local government and especially the School Board for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the recent turmoil over the recertification of First Student workers as Teamsters and the necessity that public officials fully understand labor law, history and economics. What will happen in Anchorage when substitute teachers move to unionize as they did in California? What is the future of student busing in Anchorage?
But additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it is critical that we set an example for our children by rejecting disinformation campaigns. Many are just now discovering that corporations that received TARP funds have used them to campaign against EFCA and similar legislation and the air waves are filled with misinformation that spills into our local political arenas. If we want our children to see why they need to learn how to spot a red herring, then perhaps its time we show them. If we want our children to understand how to make a cogent and rational argument, then I for one think we should try setting an example.
The Invitation:
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While there has been spirited debate about campaign sign placement, I am wondering if my request may perhaps obtain broader support.
- promoting as a critical objective of our schools the ability to argue from facts;
- rejecting the claims that EFCA eliminates the secret ballot from the NLRA;
- committing to setting an example by being willing to back up campaign promises or positions with 'the facts'. "
We are seeing more and more people making claims about public policy issues without any mastery of the facts. One such claim appeared in the Daily News today; that EFCA (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.560:) would do away with the NLRA's secret ballot.
- Since this is not true and the ability to argue rationally from facts is addressed in our State and District educational standards, I ask all Board candidates to join with me in publicly:
