KEA- The Truth!

By Jeff Simpson

The Journal Sentinel recently ran a story about the Kenosha Teachers Union being decertified. 

The union representing Kenosha teachers has been decertified and may not bargain base wages with the district.
Because unions are limited in what they can do even if they are certified, the new status of Kenosha's teachers union — just like the decertification of many other teachers unions in the state that did not or could not pursue the steps necessary to maintain certification in the new era of Act 10 — may be a moral blow more than anything else.

 This made the righties giddy....Mark Belling even thought he got a big scoop here and Mcgyver was pissed they didnt make up the story first.   Yet lots in the hoopla and BS..was no one talked to the Kenosha Education Association.   See the stories work out so much better for your point of view when you can wrte the ending!

Statement from Joe Kiriaki, Kenosha Education Association:

The Kenosha Education Association has not held a recertification election and the district's claim of a vote is untrue.

For the district to promote untrue information on a right-wing conservative talk show known for bashing teachers is disgraceful. Our union's members are dedicated, local educators who only want a voice in school decision-making.

The KEA long ago opted not to jump through the hoops created by the anti-union Act 10, and part of that is not participating in an annual, cost-prohibitive election with a threshold higher than that to elect the president of the United States. There's a state ruling in effect that holds Act 10 unconstitutional, and our members are confident that will be upheld. Kenosha educators have a lot more on their minds they would rather focus on rather jumping through arbitrary hoops. We want the district to address school quality and how the administration's "Transformation Plan" is affecting students.

The union exists with or without a recertification vote. Period. Our members will focus on affecting what matters in our schools through organizing with educators, parents and the community.

Joseph A. Kiriaki
Executive Director

OOPs...looks like Belling did not give us the whole story(surprise surprise).  Yes  the big government republicans in office in WI have pretty much legislated the teachers unions out of business, then sic their cheering section on the story to pretend that the people do not want to join the unions. 

It is also hilarious, and ironic, that the crew that told us we cant have elections every year(ie the recall), then made law that the unions had to re- certify every year.  yes Irony is lost on them.   

I also keep waiting for the JSONLINE editorial board to tell us that the removal of unions and the annual re-certification was not justified! 

I know they have it in them!

So when you are perusing the right wing blogs, newspaper, tv shows that fill up our airwaves....remember

TMJ Reporter Arrested, TMJ Doesn't Report It

One of WTMJ-TV's "investigative reporters" - in other words, one of their sensationalist gotcha reporters that they're so fond of - got himself all wee wee'd up:

According to the Glendale police report:

A Bayshore security guard caught Rob Koebel, 41, urinating outside of the Apple store at 10:11 p.m. Aug. 21. Koebel, an investigative reporter with TMJ4's I-Team, lives in an apartment above the Apple store.

The security guard told police he saw Koebel and his friend, a 52-year-old man, leave Bar Louie on their way back to their apartments. The friend told police Koebel had been drinking. When Koebel started urinating outside of the Apple store, the security guard told him to stop, but Koebel ignored him.

[...]

Police arrested Koebel after he refused to follow commands. When an officer tried to lock the handcuffs, Koebel kept swaying, and officers attempted to steady him against the wall of the business. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, bringing an officer down with him.

When police brought him back to the station, Koebel was uncooperative with officers. When an officer stated he was going to remove his handcuffs, Koebel warned him to "be careful."

Koebel became increasingly uncooperative, saying "Don't play games with me" and "Do you want to take the gloves off or no?" As he was booked, Koebel called an officer names such as "(expletive) face", as well as a derogatory term for homosexual.

Glendale police cited Koebel for disorderly conduct.

Now, when a local celebrity gets himself in a jam like this, this would normally be fodder for the local paper. Oddly, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hasn't printed a word about the misconduct and subsequent arrest of this knob.

Then again, as the gentle reader either already knew or could have surmised by the TV station's call letters, they are both owned by Journal Communications.

This perfectly illustrates the problem with the erosion of the regulations of the airwaves over the years allowing corporate media to buy up and monopolize whole media markets.

And it would be poetic justice since Koebel is the same guy that cost a school bus driver her job by playing his gotcha game.

It could also be that TMJ is just holding off on reporting anything until they have Koebel installed as their newest squawk radio host, like they did with the sensationalist political hack John Mercure, who should thank his stars that impersonating a reporter isn't against the law.

Cross posted at Whallah!