WV Teachers In Statewide Strike
West Virginia teachers continue strike for fourth day. WaPo: "A teacher strike in West Virginia stretched on Monday, with classes canceled across the state for a third day and demonstrators continuing to flock to the capital city. The work stoppage has had a sweeping impact in West Virginia, which has more than 277,000 public school students. All of the state’s 55 counties closed schools Monday, said Kristin Anderson, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Education... The strike was expected to continue Tuesday in all 55 counties, said Kym Randolph, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Education Association, a leading teachers union. 'Tomorrow is same as today,' Randolph said Monday afternoon. 'They are out again tomorrow. Some will be at the Capitol. Some will be on picket lines.'"
SCOTUS Gives DREAMers A Temporary Reprieve
What the SCOTUS ruling means for DACA and almost 700,000 undocumented immigrants. USA Today: "With two brief sentences, the Supreme Court on Monday dramatically changed the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the fate of nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants who are part of it. The uncertainty hovering over the program had left DACA enrollees terrified over their future and left Congress so conflicted that DACA negotiations contributed to a three-day government shutdown last month. By refusing to hear a California case, the high court ensured that DACA will survive at least through the fall, giving DACA enrollees a temporary reprieve from deportation and Congress more time to craft a permanent solution for them."
IN Bars DREAMers From Professions
No professional licenses for DACA recipients. Indy Star: "Young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children but granted legal work status, often called Dreamers, are being shut out of scores of professions in Indiana under a new practice implemented by the administration of Gov. Eric Holcomb. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency recently added new questions about citizenship status to all of its license applications, allowing it to screen out DACA recipients who the agency says are not qualified to hold professional licenses under a 2011 Indiana immigration law. The new practice effectively locks out Indiana's roughly 9,000 DACA recipients from more than 70 professional licenses in Indiana, ranging from cosmetology to nursing to architecture. Nearly one in seven Indiana workers are licensed by the agency."
ICE Threatens Sanctuary Cities
ICE agents detain undocumented immigrants in several cities CBS: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained several immigrants who were facing deportation orders Sunday, including a Napa man who came to the United States as a youngster... Armando Nunez Salgado was arrested by ICE agents at his family’s Napa home Sunday morning. He was one of at least 11 taken into custody in Northern California Sunday. His mother-in-law said Salgado worked for the family’s construction company. She told KPIX 5 that he came to America when he was a four-year-old child. He is now in his 30s. ICE agents also detained people with deportation orders in El Sobrante, Pinole and Atwater (Merced County), according to Maricela Gutierrez, executive director of the San Jose-based Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network, or SIREN. Immigrants rights advocates say there were five arrests in Merced County. There were two arrests each in Contra Costa and Sacramento counties and one each in Monterey and Napa counties. While the widespread raids rumored to span from Chico to Sacramento to Salinas failed to materialize Sunday, Schaaf warned they could come anytime in the next three days. Immigrant rights groups remained on high alert."
SCOTUS Opens Union-Busting Case
SCOTUS Hears fiery arguments in case that could gut public sector unions. NPR: "A sharply divided court could be poised to overturn a 40-year-old Supreme Court decision that would further undermine an already shrinking union movement. Attorneys for Mark Janus, a child support specialist for the state of Illinois, argue that people like Janus, who choose not to join a union, shouldn't be compelled to pay partial union fees. The union argues that he should because he benefits from collective bargaining negotiations. The Supreme Court agreed in 1977, but that could change with the new conservative tilt of the court. When a decision is reached, expected in June, all eyes will be on Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was uncharacteristically quiet in Monday's proceedings. He asked no questions and is likely to be the deciding vote, given that the other justices split 4 to 4 in a similar case in 2016. That case was decided just after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and the balance didn't seem to change Monday. 'You're basically arguing, do away with unions,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued at one point in questioning the attorney for the National Right to Work Legal Foundation, William Messenger."
Billionaires Back Dismantling Of Unions
Who's behind the Janus Lawsuit. American Prospect: "A small group of foundations with ties to the most powerful corporate lobbies have financed litigation attacking public-sector unions. These organizations operate with little public scrutiny, enabling wealthy interests to exert unprecedented private influence over matters of public policy, advancing an agenda that weakens the bargaining power of working people and shifts an ever-greater share of economic gains to corporate players and the wealthy elite. Collective bargaining helps to create a fairer economy, ensuring that gains are shared broadly across the populace. Nearly half of the workers covered by a collective-bargaining agreement are public-sector workers. The plaintiffs in Janus are challenging public-sector unions’ ability to collect fair share fees, which cover the costs the union incurs representing all workers covered by a collective-bargaining agreement—whether or not a worker chooses to join the union. If the wealthy interest groups behind Janus have their way, unions representing public-sector workers could be prohibited from collecting these fees, forcing them to operate with fewer resources. The erosion of collective bargaining is at the core of America’s wage stagnation and rising inequality."
More from OurFuture.org:
How Democrats Can Offer Real Solutions to America’s Problems. Robert Borosage: "Democrats can’t build an enduring majority for real change without clarity on an agenda far different and bolder than the neoliberalism of the past years. Now 70 leaders of the resistance — supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie, Sanders — have released a Pledge to Fight for America’s Future that outlines an economic agenda and vows to build the movement needed to make it a reality. The economy is rigged, and this plan is how we can fix it."
