school daze

Teachers March on Wall Street to Protest Bloomberg Cuts

On Thursday, thousands of teachers, social workers, and activists took to the streets in order to protest against Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s planned education budget cuts. In attendance: Reverend Al Sharpton, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, and various members of the City Council, who sought to also call out Wall Street for its part in creating the need for budget cuts. “Wall Street recovered, hedge funds got stimulated, and now they want to lay off teachers and close day care centers,” said Sharpton during the event. “We’re going where they sent the money.” If Bloomberg’s cuts are passed, the city stands to lose more than 4,000 teachers. Organizers believe cuts could be avoided if the city reinstates the “Millionaire Tax,” ends subsidies for large companies, and renegotiates city contracts with big banks. Said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, “I never expected to come home to see New York act like Wisconsin,” she told the crowd. “There are lots of places across the country where there are real budget crises. New York is not one of them.”

March On Wall Street: Thousands Of Teachers, Advocates Rally Against Bloomberg Cuts [HuffPo]

Teachers March on Wall Street to Protest Bloomberg Cuts