PRESIDENT Biden said in his address that “Wall Street didn’t build America — Unions built America” and he was so right to a very large degree. While there are no unions in the CNMI the Founders of the CNMI did want Unions or at least some form of a Union for our teachers which is why they put “collective bargaining power for teachers in the CNMI’s Constitution”. But when I was on the Board of Education (BOE) and fighting FOR Teachers’ Rights, the BOE applied an old political ploy (TRICK) of “bundling the removal of this phrase in the CNMI’s Constitution WITH a measure to insure more funding for the School System. Needless to say, voters who were NOT totally informed wanted to help PSS which is why the changes were approved but I’m sure most voters didn’t know they were literally cutting the throats of Teachers in the CNMI’s Constitution.
FYI readers, an organized Teacher Workforce under a Union is the ONLY way to build a genuine “response to community & workforce concerns with real accountable school system” with real daily accountability over the BOE and our School System. Presently, the only accountability over the BOE and PSS only comes every two years when we vote for BOE members, which is really an ugly cruel political joke. But even then, it will not be fully conclusive and inclusive accountability of all members with alternating terms so in reality it takes four years for complete accountability of BOE & PSS. And WE the People can’t wait for four years to only have a “MINISCULE” (tiny) form of accountability over our School System. FYI, if you are one who wonders why PSS is always on the ropes with funding or some other problem that should have been resolved YEARS ago it’s all because our Teachers are not exercising their FEDERAL RIGHT to organize and hold the BOE fully accountable — if WE are to truly improve our school system then give teachers their RIGHT!
Unlike when I was fighting for teachers, they now have the President and the Federal Law on their side, as the CNMI’s Teachers are the ONLY teachers in America who are not organized to bargain collectively — our PSS is still operating like it did in the Trust Territory Days for TRUE! But back then there were actually FOOLISH teachers fighting against ME, can you believe it but it’s true which is why I refused to run for a second term. But more importantly the BOE was heavily involved “under-the-table in secrecy” working with the teachers fighting against me, which was really a violation of Federal Law but I didn’t pursue a remedy because it was teachers being their own worst enemies so I let them wallowing in their own mess that still exist today. Maybe now that the President is pushing the Unions as a vital part of our nation’s rebuilding effort, hopefully CNMI teachers will take this opportunity to organize and help themselves as well as our children and the school system. If there is anyone who knows what needs to be done within our school system to make it better its TEACHERS, not BOE Members, especially if they never spent a day teaching in a classroom. Teachers who want a Union please contact: Randi Weingarten [email protected] or “The American Federation of Teachers” — it’s your Right under Federal Law.
Science v Common Sense
DON’T believe your eyes, is what people are being told in an effort to deny & defy the sciences that have evolved over the centuries. Has science ever been wrong, YES? But unlike the Republican politicians of today on the mainland and in the CNMI, science has also been able to correct its mistakes with BETTER scientific techniques. Science is part of our evolutionary process and the only other option to science and our “common sense and what we SEE, HEAR or TOUCH.” But one of the GREAT things about science today is that science has gotten so much better in determining the true realities of our world and the outcomes of scientific experiments, especially when it involves humans.
Science is by it very definition the closest thing to God on planet earth but the bigger problem is when “leaders are split on science & what one believes.” Another problem is that too often there are political leaders who will find some form of “unqualified science and even conjecture” to counter the “prevailing qualified science” thus creating a conundrum that divides the People and takes the People nowhere, quick-fast-and in a hurry! Vaccinations is the latest example of this conundrum created by Political Conjecture for “political intentions” in defiance of qualified science. This is where OUR common sense is supposed to kick in but that can even be clouded or motivated by “personal intentions” that can and often are driven by either “compassion for one’s fellow mankind or racist self-preservationist ideals” like we see with White & our Local Supremacy People. The Governor just literally served “NOTICE” to all U.S. citizens from the mainland that “YOU don’t matter and not equal in the CNMI” with his public announcement to “KEEP Article XII” — it doesn’t get any more prejudiced than that. Every U.S. mainlander needs to YOU-Know-What!
The People need to become more like real jurors when consuming the politics of the day as with any case for example of “harm to a person” MOTIVE is just as paramount as the ACT. Who has WHAT to gain is the first question one should ask when considering “political arguments” and that doesn’t take much science, just knowledge of the truth and facts like a juror along with your common sense to know what is right and what needs to be done? But if you don’t know the truth and the facts then you are lost from the very beginning only guessing or being a follower, which is what happens with too many people who are so dependent upon Social Media but missing out on the FACTS & TRUTHS that are in the mainstream media. Common sense is great but if you don’t have the right data to make the right decision you will NEVER get it right.
To be continued: One People One Direction
The writer is a retired teacher, former CNMI Board of Education Member, James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays & Humanities Scholar who resides in Kagman III.
The head-rest of George Washington’s “Rising Sun” chair.
File photo
