Puerto Rican teachers on strike

[Dominicana_1965]

San Juan, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) More than 35,000 public school teachers will go on strike in Puerto Rico on Thursday, after failing to reach a labor agreement.


Rafael Feliciano, president of the Federation of Puerto Rican Teachers, said they would remain at the negotiating table while staging the strike to protest against the Ministry of Education's intransigent attitude.
More than 500,000 elementary and high school students in the public education system will not receive classes during the strike.


Feliciano pointed out that they decided to go on strike on Wednesday afternoon, after failed negotiations and a mass demonstration by 25,000 teachers in front of the government venue at La Fortaleza, in Old San Juan.
The teachers' leaders said he is supported by the students' parents and most teachers, who also backed the announcement he made in front of Puerto Rico's Department of Labor.


The strikers demand a maximum of 25 students per classroom, instead of 50 at present.


Labor Secretary Roman Velasco accused the teachers' federation of creating an atmosphere of pressure during the two-day talks.

http://plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={2F33EF7E-7D41-4A99-B4B1-5EF041B64131})&language=EN

[BIG BROTHER]

ah poor teachers, they have what its in my opinion one of the most important jobs there can be in society, but they don't get the compensation they deserve.

[RebeldePorLaPAZ]

Here are some picture from the strike...
http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/31484.php
http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/31590.php

Here's some photos of the conditions at one school...
http://pr.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/31579.php

Media coverage of police repression.
http://www.youtube.com/v/kbTCchc6esU&rel=1
http://www.youtube.com/v/jtBukz_H9Ok&rel=1

[Dominicana_1965]

Those are some cool pictures.

Thanks comrade.

[F9]

really good action and strike looks good also!learning is something that noone should take it from you(neither yourself)!

Fuserg9:star:

[Sankofa]

¡Solidaridad!

Those school pictures are rough. I've seen some schools in the United States under similar conditions.

Oh, and fifty students to one teacher? :scared:

God damn, I remember my teachers in high school complaining about over 25 kids to a class room also, but the highest I've ever seen to a room was 35.

[Raúl Duke]

I used to see those conditions every day on TV when I was in Puerto Rico. (precisely because of those conditions many people opted for any kind of private school.)

Last I heard, that the leader of the teachers union is a "socialist" who was elected in, I think, an "openly socialist" platform.

I wonder if Revleft posted anything on the 2006 May "Government Partial Shutdown" protests about the sales tax (i.e. The people wanted the rich and the corporations to be taxed; all bourgeoisie parties except the independence one ignored these calls.), since it was much bigger and involved many unions, etc.