WSOCTV.com, March 2, 2011
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A special task force recommended closing nine more Mecklenburg County libraries if the county could not allocate more money to the library system.
The recommendations were unveiled Tuesday night.
The task force’s proposal included closing libraries at Steele Creek, Mint Hill, Mountain Island, Matthews, Davidson, Hickory Grove, Plaza Midwood, Myers Park, and Cornelius. Library officials would close the branches as funding runs out.
The task force said an additional $1.8 million would allow the library system to expand hours at the regional branches and keep all of the branches open.
According to the task force’s plan, eight branches would remain open and three others would be protected. The six regional libraries as well as the main branch and the ImaginOn library would remain open. Libraries at Scaleybark, Sugar Creek and West Boulevard would remain open and be protected from other cutbacks.
The task force also recommended expanding the hours of the regional branches even if the library system could not secure additional funding.
Nearly a year ago, library leaders polled back on a plan to close 12 libraries and instead opted to make cuts in salaries, staffing and hours.
Library officials will meet with county officials on March 21 to present the recommendations.
Showing posts with label budget cuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget cuts. Show all posts
New CMS list: 1,176 layoffs
Large high schools lost the most teachers, while elementary schools lost fewer.
By Ann Doss Helms, CharlotteObserver.com, July 2, 2009
Myers Park High took the biggest hit from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools budget cuts, losing 23 teachers and six other employees, according to a new list of 1,176 laid-off employees released Wednesday.
About three weeks ago, the district released a list of 855 teachers, psychologists, social workers and assistant principals whose contracts were not renewed. But that list, which contained no details about the jobs those people lost, had several errors and did not include laid-off workers who didn't have a teaching license.
At the Observer's request, CMS provided a list of all employees whose jobs were eliminated because of budget cuts and who were not placed in a new job as of Tuesday. It includes their job, where they were working and when CMS hired them.
The Observer also requested the race, gender and appeal status of the laid-off employees. CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said that is not classified as public information by N.C. law.
Only 66, about a half-percent of the laid-off staff, were not working in schools. That includes 11 cut from the alternative education department, 10 from human resources, eight from building services and five each from the Bright Beginnings prekindergarten and career/technical offices. The six regional administrative offices, known as learning communities, lost a total of five employees, most secretaries. Before the cuts, CMS had almost 20,000 employees.
Superintendent Peter Gorman and board members have said they wanted to protect classrooms, but the majority of CMS's staff and spending is in the schools. All told, CMS cut about 1,300 jobs for the year that started Wednesday in response to a $35 million cut in county money for 2009-10, as well as big state cuts that are expected. State legislators have not approved a budget. Gorman says that budget could force more CMS layoffs.
The new layoff list doesn't provide a full picture of all the changes playing out in schools and CMS offices. People whose jobs were eliminated but who landed other CMS posts by Tuesday are not on the list. Nor are teaching jobs that were eliminated from schools where enrollment is expected to drop in August; those teachers are often reassigned to other CMS schools, including six new ones opening in 2009-10.
Not surprisingly, large high schools dominated the layoff list. West Charlotte and Garinger high schools each lost 16 teachers and four other employees. Butler, Independence, Olympic and Providence highs each lost 15 teachers, and Independence lost seven additional employees.
J.T. Williams Middle, with about one-fourth as many students as the big high schools, lost 13 teachers.
Elementary schools, which tend to be small, lost fewer teachers, but many took a hit on teacher assistants.
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com
By Ann Doss Helms, CharlotteObserver.com, July 2, 2009
Myers Park High took the biggest hit from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools budget cuts, losing 23 teachers and six other employees, according to a new list of 1,176 laid-off employees released Wednesday.
About three weeks ago, the district released a list of 855 teachers, psychologists, social workers and assistant principals whose contracts were not renewed. But that list, which contained no details about the jobs those people lost, had several errors and did not include laid-off workers who didn't have a teaching license.
At the Observer's request, CMS provided a list of all employees whose jobs were eliminated because of budget cuts and who were not placed in a new job as of Tuesday. It includes their job, where they were working and when CMS hired them.
The Observer also requested the race, gender and appeal status of the laid-off employees. CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said that is not classified as public information by N.C. law.
Only 66, about a half-percent of the laid-off staff, were not working in schools. That includes 11 cut from the alternative education department, 10 from human resources, eight from building services and five each from the Bright Beginnings prekindergarten and career/technical offices. The six regional administrative offices, known as learning communities, lost a total of five employees, most secretaries. Before the cuts, CMS had almost 20,000 employees.
Superintendent Peter Gorman and board members have said they wanted to protect classrooms, but the majority of CMS's staff and spending is in the schools. All told, CMS cut about 1,300 jobs for the year that started Wednesday in response to a $35 million cut in county money for 2009-10, as well as big state cuts that are expected. State legislators have not approved a budget. Gorman says that budget could force more CMS layoffs.
The new layoff list doesn't provide a full picture of all the changes playing out in schools and CMS offices. People whose jobs were eliminated but who landed other CMS posts by Tuesday are not on the list. Nor are teaching jobs that were eliminated from schools where enrollment is expected to drop in August; those teachers are often reassigned to other CMS schools, including six new ones opening in 2009-10.
Not surprisingly, large high schools dominated the layoff list. West Charlotte and Garinger high schools each lost 16 teachers and four other employees. Butler, Independence, Olympic and Providence highs each lost 15 teachers, and Independence lost seven additional employees.
J.T. Williams Middle, with about one-fourth as many students as the big high schools, lost 13 teachers.
Elementary schools, which tend to be small, lost fewer teachers, but many took a hit on teacher assistants.
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com
'Devastating' funding cuts impact local Red Cross
By MARK BOONE, WCNC, June 28, 2009
click here for news video
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Reeling from the loss of nearly $500,000 in funding from the United Way, the head of the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross said the agency will be forced to scale back its aid for victims of disaster as well as several education programs.
Pamela Jefsen, the chapter’s CEO, said the United Way has been providing more than a quarter of the Red Cross’ funding.
The funding cut, announced last Wednesday, amounts to about 12% of the annual budget for the local chapter, Jefsen told NewsChannel 36.
“The cut is just devastating,” she said. “It is going to affect the most vulnerable in our community as a result because we just can’t continue with the same level of service.
Some victims of fires and other emergencies have received hotel vouchers for up to 7 days, and assistance in paying the security deposit and first month’s rent for a new home from the Red Cross.
Jefsen said the agency will no longer provide a security deposit and can only afford to place victims in hotel rooms for up to 3 days.
“If they don’t get help, they’re homeless,” she said.
About 40% of the staff at the Red Cross, based at an office on Park Road, has been laid off in the last 14 months, Jepsen said.
Donations outside of the United Way campaign are also down, leading to a reduction of another $400,000 in the chapter’s budget.
Fewer CPR and first aid training courses will be offered as a result of the staff cuts, Jefsen said.
click here for news video
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Reeling from the loss of nearly $500,000 in funding from the United Way, the head of the Greater Carolinas Chapter of the American Red Cross said the agency will be forced to scale back its aid for victims of disaster as well as several education programs.
Pamela Jefsen, the chapter’s CEO, said the United Way has been providing more than a quarter of the Red Cross’ funding.
The funding cut, announced last Wednesday, amounts to about 12% of the annual budget for the local chapter, Jefsen told NewsChannel 36.
“The cut is just devastating,” she said. “It is going to affect the most vulnerable in our community as a result because we just can’t continue with the same level of service.
Some victims of fires and other emergencies have received hotel vouchers for up to 7 days, and assistance in paying the security deposit and first month’s rent for a new home from the Red Cross.
Jefsen said the agency will no longer provide a security deposit and can only afford to place victims in hotel rooms for up to 3 days.
“If they don’t get help, they’re homeless,” she said.
About 40% of the staff at the Red Cross, based at an office on Park Road, has been laid off in the last 14 months, Jepsen said.
Donations outside of the United Way campaign are also down, leading to a reduction of another $400,000 in the chapter’s budget.
Fewer CPR and first aid training courses will be offered as a result of the staff cuts, Jefsen said.
June 15: State Of Emergency Budget Rally
North Carolina’s budget crisis is creating a state of emergency for all working families, who face devastating cuts to vital programs.
Join us for a rally that says "NO" to destructive budget cuts and "YES" to a balanced solution that is fair and progressive and includes new revenues.
When: Monday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Across from the Jones Street entrance to the Legislative Building. We’ll gather on the outdoor space between the NC Museum of History and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
What: A rally followed by a march to the N.C. General Assembly to call on our state leaders to say “No” to destructive budget cuts and “YES” to a balanced solution
Why: Times are tough right now. The economy is down, unemployment is sky high, and hundreds of thousands of families are struggling. An unprecedented budget crisis threatens our state government’s ability to provide even the most basic of services. While all working families in North Carolina will feel the impact – cuts to education, health care, public safety and other crucial programs will disproportionately impact our most disadvantaged, disenfranchised, and vulnerable citizens: minority and low-income families, the disabled, older adults, and children.
We must convince lawmakers to adopt a wise, balanced approach that makes judicious cuts and raises funds equitably.
For more information see:
www.hkactivists.com
www.togethernc.org
Join us for a rally that says "NO" to destructive budget cuts and "YES" to a balanced solution that is fair and progressive and includes new revenues.
When: Monday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Across from the Jones Street entrance to the Legislative Building. We’ll gather on the outdoor space between the NC Museum of History and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences
What: A rally followed by a march to the N.C. General Assembly to call on our state leaders to say “No” to destructive budget cuts and “YES” to a balanced solution
Why: Times are tough right now. The economy is down, unemployment is sky high, and hundreds of thousands of families are struggling. An unprecedented budget crisis threatens our state government’s ability to provide even the most basic of services. While all working families in North Carolina will feel the impact – cuts to education, health care, public safety and other crucial programs will disproportionately impact our most disadvantaged, disenfranchised, and vulnerable citizens: minority and low-income families, the disabled, older adults, and children.
We must convince lawmakers to adopt a wise, balanced approach that makes judicious cuts and raises funds equitably.
For more information see:
www.hkactivists.com
www.togethernc.org
June 9: Rally Against Teacher Layoffs in Charlotte
Tues., June 9, 2009
5:00pm
Marshall Park
3rd St & S. McDowell St
Charlotte, NC
March to School Board meeting at Government Center that starts at 6:00pm.
****************
Article on Rally For Teachers that took place the day before:
Families, faculty rally for laid-off teachers
By Ann Doss Helms, CharlotteObserver.com, June 8, 2009
About 50 students, parents and teachers protested teacher layoffs this afternoon, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools police blocked entrances to the parking lot where the rally was being held.
“What's up with that? It's public property. Why can't we park here?” said Marisa Foster, who has kids at Greenway Park Elementary, McClintock Middle and East Mecklenburg High.
A teacher issued an e-mail call last week for people upset with job cuts to gather at 5 p.m. at the uptown Education Center. That teacher did not contact CMS officials or offer public identification, saying that would be “dangerous” in the climate of fear over job cuts.
Shortly before 5, CMS law enforcement cars were parked beside both entrances to the Education Center lot, which has dozens of spaces. Officers standing in both driveways said they were not letting anyone coming to the rally to park there. They said they need to preserve spaces for Metro School's graduation at the nearby Blake Hotel.
Metro, a school for severely disabled students, has a 7 p.m. ceremony for 16 graduates.
CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said the whole parking lot was not blocked. She insisted only one entrance, closest to the Blake Hotel, was closed and that rally participants could have parked on the other side of the building.
Parents and students trickled in, parking on the streets and walking to the lot. Their messages ranged from 8-year-old Anna Keener's hand-lettered plea for a Sharon Elementary teacher – with “We Love Her” written inside a heart – to a high schooler brandishing “Hey Peter, You're Fired,” a reference to Superintendent Peter Gorman.
Participants included several Myers Park High families and about two dozen students from East Meck, led by civics/economics teacher Josh Swartzlander.
Swartzlander said he moved from Ohio three years ago to take the East Meck job. “I love my job and I feel like I'm good at it. I never thought I would leave my job because of something like this,” he said.
Swartzlander said he's being transferred to a middle school, based on low seniority. Such transfers are based on shrinking enrollment, rather than budget cuts that have led CMS to eliminate about 1,300 jobs for 2009-10.
Sophomore Jonathan Garcia, one of his students, said it's still the wrong move. “He pays attention to us, you know. He understands us,” Jonathan said, adding that students have made gains on test scores.
With no organized program, a few high school students started making speeches. Kelly McClintock, who is graduating from Providence High, compared the current situation to the Industrial Revolution, when “bosses wouldn't let people organize.”
“Something's not right,” he said. “They're letting go some of our best teachers.”
Another anti-layoff rally is planned for Tuesday, before the school board's meeting. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators is urging people to gather at 5 p.m. in Marshall Park, next to the Education Center, then march to the 6 p.m. meeting at the Government Center across the street.
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com
*******************
Also see:
NC Association Of Educators
5:00pm
Marshall Park
3rd St & S. McDowell St
Charlotte, NC
March to School Board meeting at Government Center that starts at 6:00pm.
****************
Article on Rally For Teachers that took place the day before:
Families, faculty rally for laid-off teachers
By Ann Doss Helms, CharlotteObserver.com, June 8, 2009
About 50 students, parents and teachers protested teacher layoffs this afternoon, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools police blocked entrances to the parking lot where the rally was being held.
“What's up with that? It's public property. Why can't we park here?” said Marisa Foster, who has kids at Greenway Park Elementary, McClintock Middle and East Mecklenburg High.
A teacher issued an e-mail call last week for people upset with job cuts to gather at 5 p.m. at the uptown Education Center. That teacher did not contact CMS officials or offer public identification, saying that would be “dangerous” in the climate of fear over job cuts.
Shortly before 5, CMS law enforcement cars were parked beside both entrances to the Education Center lot, which has dozens of spaces. Officers standing in both driveways said they were not letting anyone coming to the rally to park there. They said they need to preserve spaces for Metro School's graduation at the nearby Blake Hotel.
Metro, a school for severely disabled students, has a 7 p.m. ceremony for 16 graduates.
CMS spokeswoman LaTarzja Henry said the whole parking lot was not blocked. She insisted only one entrance, closest to the Blake Hotel, was closed and that rally participants could have parked on the other side of the building.
Parents and students trickled in, parking on the streets and walking to the lot. Their messages ranged from 8-year-old Anna Keener's hand-lettered plea for a Sharon Elementary teacher – with “We Love Her” written inside a heart – to a high schooler brandishing “Hey Peter, You're Fired,” a reference to Superintendent Peter Gorman.
Participants included several Myers Park High families and about two dozen students from East Meck, led by civics/economics teacher Josh Swartzlander.
Swartzlander said he moved from Ohio three years ago to take the East Meck job. “I love my job and I feel like I'm good at it. I never thought I would leave my job because of something like this,” he said.
Swartzlander said he's being transferred to a middle school, based on low seniority. Such transfers are based on shrinking enrollment, rather than budget cuts that have led CMS to eliminate about 1,300 jobs for 2009-10.
Sophomore Jonathan Garcia, one of his students, said it's still the wrong move. “He pays attention to us, you know. He understands us,” Jonathan said, adding that students have made gains on test scores.
With no organized program, a few high school students started making speeches. Kelly McClintock, who is graduating from Providence High, compared the current situation to the Industrial Revolution, when “bosses wouldn't let people organize.”
“Something's not right,” he said. “They're letting go some of our best teachers.”
Another anti-layoff rally is planned for Tuesday, before the school board's meeting. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators is urging people to gather at 5 p.m. in Marshall Park, next to the Education Center, then march to the 6 p.m. meeting at the Government Center across the street.
ahelms@charlotteobserver.com
*******************
Also see:
NC Association Of Educators
N.C. workers fight cuts in jobs, services
‘State of Emergency’ campaign launched
By Dante Strobino, Workers World, May 31, 2009
Durham, N.C. - When North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue announced that all state workers would be mandated to take 10 unpaid hours off to help balance the budget, many workers began discussing how they could collectively withhold their labor by organizing to take the same time periods off.
Then the state legislature began discussing furloughs of up to 20 days for all state workers. But that plan was soon taken off the table after seeing the mass outrage it caused.
City and local governments began looking at similar measures to cut costs on the backs of workers and the oppressed. The city of Durham announced it was laying off 35 workers and eliminating 78 jobs. The city of Charlotte announced similar cuts, including threats to privatize the entire Recycling Department.
Already mass lay-offs and plant closings mean the state now suffers from the country’s second-highest official unemployment rate at 10.8 percent. In reality it is much higher when counting total unemployment, including permanently discouraged workers and the underemployed.
On May 16, a thousand teachers from around the state, organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators, rallied against the 10-hour furloughs. Many of the teachers from rural areas had never been to a rally before, yet it seemed clear to them that cuts to teachers can only be stopped through mass action.
Jennifer Lanane, president of the Wake County Chapter of the NCAE, led the teachers in a strong chant: “Shut it down!” After the rally, the teachers jumped in their cars and went on a motorcade to the governor’s mansion.
On May 18, over 50 city of Durham workers crowded into the chambers of City Hall to listen to City Manager Tom Bonfield present his proposed budget plan. It includes a water utility hike of up to 9.5 percent, a pay raise for police and fire totaling $1.8 million, and elimination of 113 city worker jobs, saving the city $6.5 million.
According to officials, the plan allows the city to get out of the hole from lower sales taxes, state revenue sharing, charges for services and permit fees. At the same time, the city will keep $19.8 million in a reserve fund for what Bonfield called “worse economic times to come.” This amount represents 12.1 percent of the general fund! Unionists have calculated that the city could spend $6.8 million of this money, which only lowers the reserve to 8 percent, maintain a maximum bond rating and save city workers’ jobs.
George MacNeal, a member of the Durham City Workers Chapter of the Electrical Workers union Local 150, told Workers World, “It’s a rainy day now and those funds need to be released. ... If it wasn’t for us, this city wouldn’t run.” The union is launching a broad campaign to get community support against cuts in such services as trash pick-up, which, if it’s allowed to pile up on sidewalks and streets, could become a major public health hazard.
Workers fight to save jobs
UE Local 150 has launched a State of Emergency Campaign around the state to give workers the tools to fight back against budget cuts. Workers have already begun to circulate a petition that demands “No layoffs, furloughs, pay or service cuts,” and “Tax the corporations and the wealthy.”
The state budget has a deficit of up to $4.8 billion, yet the state Senate revenue plan includes additional tax breaks to big corporations like Bank of America, which already receive over $1 billion in tax breaks every year from the state. According to the plan, these tax breaks will increase by as much as $350 million per year!
Gwen Burwell, a licensed practical nurse at state-run Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh and secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Council of UE Local 150, told Workers World: “I think it is outrageous. It makes me sick that the state is lowering taxes for corporations. What about other people who have children, who have to eat, pay light bills and car bills?”
Burwell continued: “The big corporations’ taxes are cut, but what are they doing with that money? They aren’t giving it to us! We are the ones on the bottom, working hard, getting paid less as they sit on the throne getting richer and richer while our people are suffering.”
North Carolina already has low tax rates for multinational corporations whose hunger for profits and super-exploitation of workers knows no limits. Corporations cannot be lured to stay for any long period of time by lowering taxes, as the politicians claim.
As part of the State of Emergency Campaign, some workers who are members of the Carolina Auto, Aerospace and Machine Workers Union, a chapter of UE Local 150, are fighting for recall rights. They are organized in a non-majority union without a collective bargaining agreement. In March 390 of almost 1,500 workers at the Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant were laid off. Workers have been rallying and mass petitioning ever since.
The Raleigh People’s Assembly will host a forum on May 30 where teachers, state workers, city workers and youth will speak out against budget cuts. Led by a powerful rank-and-file workers’ organization, this will be an important opportunity for other left and progressive forces to unite and help build a statewide fight-back. The campaign also plans to launch similar actions in 10 other cities throughout the state.
Part of this campaign demands collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, who are still denied that right by law. There are currently two bills in the state General Assembly that would repeal the ban. This is the first time that such a bill has had support in the state Senate.
On May 26, the HOPE (Hear Our Public Employees) Coalition, which includes UE Local 150, NCAE, the Teamsters, the North Carolina AFL-CIO, Triangle Labor Group, the State Employees Association of North Carolina in Service Employees union Local 2008, and others, will convene a lobby day to repeal the ban on collective bargaining.
By Dante Strobino, Workers World, May 31, 2009
Durham, N.C. - When North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue announced that all state workers would be mandated to take 10 unpaid hours off to help balance the budget, many workers began discussing how they could collectively withhold their labor by organizing to take the same time periods off.Then the state legislature began discussing furloughs of up to 20 days for all state workers. But that plan was soon taken off the table after seeing the mass outrage it caused.
City and local governments began looking at similar measures to cut costs on the backs of workers and the oppressed. The city of Durham announced it was laying off 35 workers and eliminating 78 jobs. The city of Charlotte announced similar cuts, including threats to privatize the entire Recycling Department.
Already mass lay-offs and plant closings mean the state now suffers from the country’s second-highest official unemployment rate at 10.8 percent. In reality it is much higher when counting total unemployment, including permanently discouraged workers and the underemployed.
On May 16, a thousand teachers from around the state, organized by the North Carolina Association of Educators, rallied against the 10-hour furloughs. Many of the teachers from rural areas had never been to a rally before, yet it seemed clear to them that cuts to teachers can only be stopped through mass action.
Jennifer Lanane, president of the Wake County Chapter of the NCAE, led the teachers in a strong chant: “Shut it down!” After the rally, the teachers jumped in their cars and went on a motorcade to the governor’s mansion.
On May 18, over 50 city of Durham workers crowded into the chambers of City Hall to listen to City Manager Tom Bonfield present his proposed budget plan. It includes a water utility hike of up to 9.5 percent, a pay raise for police and fire totaling $1.8 million, and elimination of 113 city worker jobs, saving the city $6.5 million.
According to officials, the plan allows the city to get out of the hole from lower sales taxes, state revenue sharing, charges for services and permit fees. At the same time, the city will keep $19.8 million in a reserve fund for what Bonfield called “worse economic times to come.” This amount represents 12.1 percent of the general fund! Unionists have calculated that the city could spend $6.8 million of this money, which only lowers the reserve to 8 percent, maintain a maximum bond rating and save city workers’ jobs.
George MacNeal, a member of the Durham City Workers Chapter of the Electrical Workers union Local 150, told Workers World, “It’s a rainy day now and those funds need to be released. ... If it wasn’t for us, this city wouldn’t run.” The union is launching a broad campaign to get community support against cuts in such services as trash pick-up, which, if it’s allowed to pile up on sidewalks and streets, could become a major public health hazard.
Workers fight to save jobs
UE Local 150 has launched a State of Emergency Campaign around the state to give workers the tools to fight back against budget cuts. Workers have already begun to circulate a petition that demands “No layoffs, furloughs, pay or service cuts,” and “Tax the corporations and the wealthy.”
The state budget has a deficit of up to $4.8 billion, yet the state Senate revenue plan includes additional tax breaks to big corporations like Bank of America, which already receive over $1 billion in tax breaks every year from the state. According to the plan, these tax breaks will increase by as much as $350 million per year!
Gwen Burwell, a licensed practical nurse at state-run Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh and secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Council of UE Local 150, told Workers World: “I think it is outrageous. It makes me sick that the state is lowering taxes for corporations. What about other people who have children, who have to eat, pay light bills and car bills?”
Burwell continued: “The big corporations’ taxes are cut, but what are they doing with that money? They aren’t giving it to us! We are the ones on the bottom, working hard, getting paid less as they sit on the throne getting richer and richer while our people are suffering.”
North Carolina already has low tax rates for multinational corporations whose hunger for profits and super-exploitation of workers knows no limits. Corporations cannot be lured to stay for any long period of time by lowering taxes, as the politicians claim.
As part of the State of Emergency Campaign, some workers who are members of the Carolina Auto, Aerospace and Machine Workers Union, a chapter of UE Local 150, are fighting for recall rights. They are organized in a non-majority union without a collective bargaining agreement. In March 390 of almost 1,500 workers at the Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant were laid off. Workers have been rallying and mass petitioning ever since.
The Raleigh People’s Assembly will host a forum on May 30 where teachers, state workers, city workers and youth will speak out against budget cuts. Led by a powerful rank-and-file workers’ organization, this will be an important opportunity for other left and progressive forces to unite and help build a statewide fight-back. The campaign also plans to launch similar actions in 10 other cities throughout the state.
Part of this campaign demands collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, who are still denied that right by law. There are currently two bills in the state General Assembly that would repeal the ban. This is the first time that such a bill has had support in the state Senate.
On May 26, the HOPE (Hear Our Public Employees) Coalition, which includes UE Local 150, NCAE, the Teamsters, the North Carolina AFL-CIO, Triangle Labor Group, the State Employees Association of North Carolina in Service Employees union Local 2008, and others, will convene a lobby day to repeal the ban on collective bargaining.
Deadline nears for teachers to appeal layoffs
News14.com, May 28, 2009
click here for video
CHARLOTTE -- Teachers who have already been laid off from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have until the end of day Thursday to file an appeal.
CMS laid off more than 300 teachers last week and about 60 more layoffs are expected this week.
Officials say annual contract teachers, those having problems getting their license and rehired and retirees are next in line to be let go.
Many teachers won't find out if they'll be laid off until the state budget is finalized, which might not be until July.
click here for video
CHARLOTTE -- Teachers who have already been laid off from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have until the end of day Thursday to file an appeal.
CMS laid off more than 300 teachers last week and about 60 more layoffs are expected this week.
Officials say annual contract teachers, those having problems getting their license and rehired and retirees are next in line to be let go.
Many teachers won't find out if they'll be laid off until the state budget is finalized, which might not be until July.
State plans to cut child abuse programs criticized
Karen Bouffard, The Detroit News, May 14, 2009
Lansing --Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to slash nearly $14 million from services that help prevent child abuse will lead to more crimes against children and the loss of millions in federal matching grants for the prevention of child abuse, the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and child advocacy groups said Wednesday.
The cuts, part of an effort to balance the state's budget, come as police agencies statewide are less able to deal with the problem due to cutbacks in law enforcement, said Howell Police Chief George Basar, president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
"Another $41 million in cuts in revenue sharing to local communities will result in more (police) layoffs at the local level," Basar said. "And while that's happening, we're eliminating prevention programs at the front end."
The cuts coincide with rising unemployment and economic hardship expected to result in an increase in violence against children, said Kathy "K.P." Pelleran, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids -Michigan, a group of more than 400 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutor and other law enforcement leaders.
The organization released its latest figures on child abuse in the state, showing that 29,638 Michigan children were abused in 2007. Based on research on the long-term effects of child abuse, the group predicts that 1,185 of those children will become violent adult criminals.
"One of the best investments is child protection," Pelleran said. "If we don't pay today, we will pay tomorrow."
The Nurse Family Partnership, a program that provides support for teenage parents in five counties, including Wayne and Oakland, will end under the cuts, according to the group.
Ending that program will hurt Michigan's chances of accessing part of $124 million in federal money available in 2010 as matching grants to states with evidence-based home visitation programs for low-income mothers and pregnant women, Pelleran said.
Michigan's Zero to Three Secondary Prevention Initiative, which gives home visitation and support for families of infants and preschoolers considered at risk of neglect or abuse, also would be purged, the group said.
"The children abused or neglected in 2007 would more than fill the Palace of Auburn Hills," Pelleran said. "And these acts of violence could have been prevented."
kbouffard@detnews.com (517) 371-3660
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090514/POLITICS02/905140393/State-plans-to-cut-child-abuse-programs-criticized
Chris Cejas Network To End Child Abuse
Lansing --Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to slash nearly $14 million from services that help prevent child abuse will lead to more crimes against children and the loss of millions in federal matching grants for the prevention of child abuse, the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and child advocacy groups said Wednesday.
The cuts, part of an effort to balance the state's budget, come as police agencies statewide are less able to deal with the problem due to cutbacks in law enforcement, said Howell Police Chief George Basar, president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
"Another $41 million in cuts in revenue sharing to local communities will result in more (police) layoffs at the local level," Basar said. "And while that's happening, we're eliminating prevention programs at the front end."
The cuts coincide with rising unemployment and economic hardship expected to result in an increase in violence against children, said Kathy "K.P." Pelleran, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids -Michigan, a group of more than 400 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutor and other law enforcement leaders.
The organization released its latest figures on child abuse in the state, showing that 29,638 Michigan children were abused in 2007. Based on research on the long-term effects of child abuse, the group predicts that 1,185 of those children will become violent adult criminals.
"One of the best investments is child protection," Pelleran said. "If we don't pay today, we will pay tomorrow."
The Nurse Family Partnership, a program that provides support for teenage parents in five counties, including Wayne and Oakland, will end under the cuts, according to the group.
Ending that program will hurt Michigan's chances of accessing part of $124 million in federal money available in 2010 as matching grants to states with evidence-based home visitation programs for low-income mothers and pregnant women, Pelleran said.
Michigan's Zero to Three Secondary Prevention Initiative, which gives home visitation and support for families of infants and preschoolers considered at risk of neglect or abuse, also would be purged, the group said.
"The children abused or neglected in 2007 would more than fill the Palace of Auburn Hills," Pelleran said. "And these acts of violence could have been prevented."
kbouffard@detnews.com (517) 371-3660
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090514/POLITICS02/905140393/State-plans-to-cut-child-abuse-programs-criticized
Chris Cejas Network To End Child Abuse
No Budget Cuts To Public Programs & Services
To date, Together NC partners have organized 5 Town Hall discussion across the state. The newest addition is Elizabeth City, scheduled for May 22nd. We are working on dates for Rocky Mount, New Bern, Durham, and Winston-Salem.
If you have suggestions for other locations or are willing to help organize an event in your town, please let us know.
The purpose of the discussions is to let elected officials hear from folks in their communities about the importance of public programs and services so they can make budget decisions that support communities and families and do not undermine the state's economic recovery.
As a reminder, here’s a list of the scheduled Town Halls with locations, dates and times:
* May 18th- Asheville- 8:30 am to 10:30 am at the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (thanks to Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County and Action for Children for organizing)
* May 18th- Fayetteville- 10 am to noon at the Cumberland County Bordeaux Branch Library (thanks to AARP for organizing)
* May 22nd- Elizabeth City- 9 to 11 am at the Pasquotank County 4-H Extension Office (thanks to the United Way for organizing)
* May 28th – Charlotte- 6 to 8pm at the Mecklenburg Charlotte Main Library
* June 4th- Pittsboro- 7 to 9pm at the Pittsboro campus of Central Carolina Community College (thanks to the League of Women Voters NC for organizing)
Please help us turn out people to these events. We want to hear from local providers, advocates, families, teachers, students, etc.
Please call or email with questions.
Thanks,
Meg Gray and Rob Thompson
Meg: meg@ncjustice.org (919)-856-3192
Rob: info@ncconvenant.org (919) 866-3280
If you have suggestions for other locations or are willing to help organize an event in your town, please let us know.
The purpose of the discussions is to let elected officials hear from folks in their communities about the importance of public programs and services so they can make budget decisions that support communities and families and do not undermine the state's economic recovery.
As a reminder, here’s a list of the scheduled Town Halls with locations, dates and times:
* May 18th- Asheville- 8:30 am to 10:30 am at the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (thanks to Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County and Action for Children for organizing)
* May 18th- Fayetteville- 10 am to noon at the Cumberland County Bordeaux Branch Library (thanks to AARP for organizing)
* May 22nd- Elizabeth City- 9 to 11 am at the Pasquotank County 4-H Extension Office (thanks to the United Way for organizing)
* May 28th – Charlotte- 6 to 8pm at the Mecklenburg Charlotte Main Library
* June 4th- Pittsboro- 7 to 9pm at the Pittsboro campus of Central Carolina Community College (thanks to the League of Women Voters NC for organizing)
Please help us turn out people to these events. We want to hear from local providers, advocates, families, teachers, students, etc.
Please call or email with questions.
Thanks,
Meg Gray and Rob Thompson
Meg: meg@ncjustice.org (919)-856-3192
Rob: info@ncconvenant.org (919) 866-3280
Library looks at range of possible cuts
Reduced acquisitions, six-day weeks, reducing or eliminating Novello – all are under consideration.
By April Bethea, charlotte.com, Feb. 27, 2009
No libraries open on Sunday. Layoffs. Less money for books, CDs and movies. A smaller Novello reading festival this fall, or none at all.
Those are some of the scenarios officials with the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County are considering as part of a plan to cut money in the next fiscal year.
The proposals follow a request from the county that its departments submit budgets with cuts up to 20 percent of current funding. The goal: to close an estimated $70 million gap in the budget year that starts July 1.
The library system receives more than $35.76 million, or 85 percent, of its budget from the county.
A 20 percent cut would mean about $7 million less, Director Charles Brown told trustees on Thursday.
To help reach that target, Brown said officials are considering cutting 150 jobs, including all 97 of the library's part-time employees and 20 to 25 full-time employees. Library employees also could have to take four days of unpaid leave.
Library trustees asked staff to consider ways to avoid or reduce the number of layoffs, including salary cuts or additional furloughs.
Among other possible cuts: $2 million from collections, which could cut in half the number of books, movies, music and other materials purchased by the library next year.
The library also may cut back, or put on hold, its annual Novello reading festival this year. The event isn't paid for using county funds. But trustee Joan Martin said putting the festival on hold this year could show the library system is being “fiscally responsible.”
Brown told trustees the $7 million in cuts in county funding is a “worst case scenario.” County administrators have said departments may not be asked to cut the full 20 percent next year.
County commissioners will approve the county budget, which includes funding for the library, in June.
County Manager Harry Jones recently asked the library and parks systems to study reducing hours at or closing some facilities for one day during the week. Brown said officials have discussed closing all facilities on Sundays, and keeping community branches open only five days a week.
The library also is cutting $750,000 out of the current budget as part of efforts to close a $69 million shortfall in the county budget this year.
By April Bethea, charlotte.com, Feb. 27, 2009
No libraries open on Sunday. Layoffs. Less money for books, CDs and movies. A smaller Novello reading festival this fall, or none at all.
Those are some of the scenarios officials with the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County are considering as part of a plan to cut money in the next fiscal year.
The proposals follow a request from the county that its departments submit budgets with cuts up to 20 percent of current funding. The goal: to close an estimated $70 million gap in the budget year that starts July 1.
The library system receives more than $35.76 million, or 85 percent, of its budget from the county.
A 20 percent cut would mean about $7 million less, Director Charles Brown told trustees on Thursday.
To help reach that target, Brown said officials are considering cutting 150 jobs, including all 97 of the library's part-time employees and 20 to 25 full-time employees. Library employees also could have to take four days of unpaid leave.
Library trustees asked staff to consider ways to avoid or reduce the number of layoffs, including salary cuts or additional furloughs.
Among other possible cuts: $2 million from collections, which could cut in half the number of books, movies, music and other materials purchased by the library next year.
The library also may cut back, or put on hold, its annual Novello reading festival this year. The event isn't paid for using county funds. But trustee Joan Martin said putting the festival on hold this year could show the library system is being “fiscally responsible.”
Brown told trustees the $7 million in cuts in county funding is a “worst case scenario.” County administrators have said departments may not be asked to cut the full 20 percent next year.
County commissioners will approve the county budget, which includes funding for the library, in June.
County Manager Harry Jones recently asked the library and parks systems to study reducing hours at or closing some facilities for one day during the week. Brown said officials have discussed closing all facilities on Sundays, and keeping community branches open only five days a week.
The library also is cutting $750,000 out of the current budget as part of efforts to close a $69 million shortfall in the county budget this year.
Proposed N.C. cuts: From road repair to libraries
charlotteobserver.com, Feb. 3, 2009
N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue ordered state agencies to propose budget cuts in anticipation of a budget shortfall that could reach $2 billion – or nearly 10percent of the state's $21.5 billion operating budget. Here are some examples of programs, services and line items that agencies suggest cutting. The dollar figures represent the amount agencies believe they can trim. Perdue was unhappy with the proposals and has ordered deeper cuts.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Reduce beaver management funds: $134,000
End aid to counties and cities for erosion control: $100,000
End aid to counties for mosquito control: $37,000
Fewer meetings of Marine Fisheries Commission: $5,500
No replacement of zoo trams: $208,000
Crime Control and Public Safety
Cuts to Guest Worker Program (designed to educate non-English-speaking population of North Carolina about their obligation to pay state taxes): $450,000
Close two regional offices of N.C. Council for Women & Domestic Violence Commission: $74,600
Reduce grants to rape crisis shelters: $211,000
Department of Correction
Reduce drug testing frequency among inmates: $130,000
Close McCain Correctional Hospital in Raeford: $15.5million
Eliminate program to train inmates in forestry work: $263,470
Close Gates Correctional Center near Gatesville, the Haywood Correctional Center in Waynesville and the Union Correctional Center in Monroe: $3.4 million
Close the Umstead Correctional Center in Butner and the Cleveland Correctional Center in Shelby: $4.6 million
Eliminate the Wilmington Female Residential facility: $514,854
Eliminate three chaplain positions: $155,264
Department of Transportation
Reduce funding for road repair and maintenance by 8percent: $54 million
Cut back on ferry operations: $2.2 million
Reduce funds for airports and railroads: $2.7 million
Department of Commerce
Cut funds for in-state travel, lodging, meals: $131,000
Reduce funds for out-of-state and international travel, lodging and meals: $137,000
Reduce gasoline purchases (for travel): $141,000
Cut advertising budget: $218,500
Department of Health and Human Services
Cut total of 50 beds from Broughton and Cherry psychiatric hospitals: $6 million
Close Wright and Whitaker schools for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents: $5.8 million
Reduce aid and public assistance for high risk maternity clinics: $250,000
Reduce Smart Start funding: $14.7 million
Eliminate senior center outreach and development program: $100,000
Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
End state sponsorship for after-school programs: $5.9million
End grant to Wake County Boys and Girls Club: $400,000
Department of Cultural Resources
Reduce funding to local libraries: $16.5 million
Cut local arts funding: $6.5million
N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue ordered state agencies to propose budget cuts in anticipation of a budget shortfall that could reach $2 billion – or nearly 10percent of the state's $21.5 billion operating budget. Here are some examples of programs, services and line items that agencies suggest cutting. The dollar figures represent the amount agencies believe they can trim. Perdue was unhappy with the proposals and has ordered deeper cuts.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Reduce beaver management funds: $134,000
End aid to counties and cities for erosion control: $100,000
End aid to counties for mosquito control: $37,000
Fewer meetings of Marine Fisheries Commission: $5,500
No replacement of zoo trams: $208,000
Crime Control and Public Safety
Cuts to Guest Worker Program (designed to educate non-English-speaking population of North Carolina about their obligation to pay state taxes): $450,000
Close two regional offices of N.C. Council for Women & Domestic Violence Commission: $74,600
Reduce grants to rape crisis shelters: $211,000
Department of Correction
Reduce drug testing frequency among inmates: $130,000
Close McCain Correctional Hospital in Raeford: $15.5million
Eliminate program to train inmates in forestry work: $263,470
Close Gates Correctional Center near Gatesville, the Haywood Correctional Center in Waynesville and the Union Correctional Center in Monroe: $3.4 million
Close the Umstead Correctional Center in Butner and the Cleveland Correctional Center in Shelby: $4.6 million
Eliminate the Wilmington Female Residential facility: $514,854
Eliminate three chaplain positions: $155,264
Department of Transportation
Reduce funding for road repair and maintenance by 8percent: $54 million
Cut back on ferry operations: $2.2 million
Reduce funds for airports and railroads: $2.7 million
Department of Commerce
Cut funds for in-state travel, lodging, meals: $131,000
Reduce funds for out-of-state and international travel, lodging and meals: $137,000
Reduce gasoline purchases (for travel): $141,000
Cut advertising budget: $218,500
Department of Health and Human Services
Cut total of 50 beds from Broughton and Cherry psychiatric hospitals: $6 million
Close Wright and Whitaker schools for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents: $5.8 million
Reduce aid and public assistance for high risk maternity clinics: $250,000
Reduce Smart Start funding: $14.7 million
Eliminate senior center outreach and development program: $100,000
Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
End state sponsorship for after-school programs: $5.9million
End grant to Wake County Boys and Girls Club: $400,000
Department of Cultural Resources
Reduce funding to local libraries: $16.5 million
Cut local arts funding: $6.5million
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