MADE YOU LOOK!
Now that you have THAT song stuck in your head, JCTA Elections start Wed, Jan. 31 and end Wed. Feb. 7, 2024, at 5 PM. It’s not THIS WEDNESDAY, but it will be here before you know it.
We thought you’d rather be reminded too early than too late. Put it on your calendar and recruit a friend to come to a strategy meeting. We have work to do!
I hear those sleigh bells ringaling, ring ting tingaling, too….
It’s the Most Critical Time of the Triennial
You thought we were still caroling, didn’t you?
That song doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as the original, does it? Well, that’s kinda the point.
Shortly after JCTA’s current cult leader grabbed the union by its balls, some quarter century ago, JCTA elections went from taking place every two years to every three years. He also eliminated term limits shortly thereafter, and, well, never left. More on that later, too. Picture a very well groomed man, good in front of a crowd or camera, so carefully choosing his words, that he could convince anyone within earshot that he is on their side. If you’re lucky, he might even throw in a little tear for you, which isn’t hard to conjure up when he thinks about all he could lose if he has to give up all his power.
This every-three-year election cycle makes it harder for members to keep track of when the next chance to do something about the terrible leader who is constantly caught playing footsies with known arch enemies to public education, including KY House Rep Jason Nemes and Julie Raque Adams (my senator), David Jones Jr (who might as well be Mitch McConnell’s own family member), among others.
On top of that, the instructions and rules are confusing. Members are not told when the elections are, when they inquire. They are told they will need to watch the Action News newsletter for the announcement. They are very shy about letting anyone know. Perhaps it is because they don’t want to let go of the life that comes with it.
More about that later. You keep wanting me to jump ahead, but you’re not ready yet. Trust me. But I’ll give you a flavor. Just think about what you would do if you had limited access to seemingly unlimited money and power. Would you protect that access at all costs? Would “democratic representation” no longer float your boat?
There are trials and hearings going on now at the national level, giving new insight to the level of depravity that has been allowed to go unchecked in so many of the systems the public depends on to keep us safe, well, happy and thriving. We learned about a president who thinks his title gives him absolute power. He may think he’s just doing what all others who came before him have done, whether it’s due to arrogance or ignorance, it doesn’t matter, he said the quiet parts out loud. We can only hope that accountability for our former president is inevitable.
Then there’s the “cocaine fueled orgies” that take place among US elected lawmakers. Why wouldn’t it be reasonable to think there are similar parties and trips that resemble one of the Wolf of Wall Street’s end-of-week celebrations, complete with almost naked marching bands, pool parties, baton twirlers, strippers, fast cars, alcohol and illicit drugs titillating every one of the senses. Here’s a nice recap:
So, those in power do everything they can to ensure there is very little buzz about the elections, even when they’re coming back around. ESPECIALLY as they are coming back around for their every three-year Punxsutawney-Phil stab at democracy. Will he see his shadow? Or will there be three more years of gaslighting, denial, attacks and retaliation against those who dare to challenge or resist, and be told “you’re lucky to even have a job” while they negotiate more perks for their own job categories and less retirement security for their members? It’s a trade-off they gladly make in order to stay in favor with those who dole out the access like tickets to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
Well, we’re here to change all of that!
Do you hear what I hear?
The most important election no one is talking about is the upcoming executive office turnover that’s about to happen in arguably the state’s largest and most powerful government employee’s union, JCTA.
JCTA is a chapter of KEA, which is a state-wide association under the NEA, but just as it is with the PTA, the leadership of the organization is just a musical chairs of a handful of power hungry white people who kiss the ring of powerful elites, so they can feast, while denying their members the tiniest of scraps. The same people for as many as 25 years, in some cases. Some who get a paycheck from the district to sit on our boards and tell us what we can and cannot do. Why? And look at the state of our education system right now, under their “advocacy” and “leadership.”
Nah, until you can show me evidence to the contrary, I am convinced they were recruited, groomed and positioned there by some very wealthy and powerful chess players by the likes of the Kochs, Mitch McConnell, the Joneses, the Fraziers, and others we air out on this website. Political leaders play along, moving the chess pieces for favorable treatment that could include, among other things, kickbacks (“lucrative service contracts”), power, job security, “cocaine-fueled orgies,” to fears of threats to safety, retaliation, blacklisting, and everything in between, and some things we prefer not to imagine. You know I’m right. And until now, we’ve been powerless. But some of us think it’s now or never, so seasoned activists who have been organizing a political resistance, some for decades who met as part of the Peoples Agenda and the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression have found ourselves once again in a position to make a difference, and so we are going for it. We think members are ready. We think taxpayers are ready. We think parents and students are ready. We think members of other unions are ready. Left-out caucuses are forming in groups going around their leadership, such as in AFSCME, for example.
Don We Now Our “Say Gay” Apparel
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Sorry, couldn’t resist. More on that later.
On the Third Day of Counting, My Union Gave to Me
A door shut in my face, a punch in my gut, and evidence of waste, fraud and abuse.
This is not our first rodeo with power-hungry white JCTA leaders.
In fact, we’re hoping third time’s a charm!
EDITORS NOTE: Now before you start spreading any rumors that we are “anti-union,” please keep in mind that were are not referring to ALL JCTA officers. Only about a dozen of them, many who have not been in a classroom since before the pandemic, if ever, who take up all the seats at all the tables, preventing needs and demands of outspoken and concerned members from being addressed. These are the same leaders who have changed bylaws to eliminate term limits, tamper with election results, and declare themselves winners using proprietary software they control. Many JCTA members have contacted us because they feel it will take all of us to get the union’s “president for life’s knee off our necks.”
You may recall the Botched BSK Election where we uncovered self-dealing by the current white supremacist bullies who run the union on taxpayer dime. We’ll get into that later. But in the mean time, you can watch this interview we did with young, sweet Kenyata, an up and coming JCTA officer who just wanted to be part of the solution.
Did we mention she is Black? Did we also mention she is unapologetic? Almost to a fault, as she puts herself, her livelihood and her family’s privacy on the line to talk back to the oppressor on behalf of a great many who don’t even know she exists.
Two Pipers Piping
More on this later, too. Yall, this is killing me.
The second time we danced with the “devils who live on S. Br**k” was when a slate of JCTA members who wanted better from their union representation came together to challenge the current slate. Those in power not only gaslit their compliant and disinformed members into chanting “slates are illegal” at them instead of waking from their trance long enough to realize one of the main reasons our schools are in the crisis they are in is because of the knees of fat cat powerful white leaders are on the necks of their own members. The group of challengers came together, as bylaws clearly state they can, and our PAC promoted them as a slate, which is a very common practice in Kentucky politics.
The real kicker? The ones who most loudly denounced slates, claiming they were a violation of the bylaws, themselves RAN AS A SLATE in their own bully, racist, “mean-girl” ways, denying it all the way to the gerrymandered, vote tampered, soon-to-be electoral balloted out (and other dirty backroom practices they don’t even want you to know about), ballot box.
We all remember this holiday classic.
LAST SCHOOL YEAR, I Paid You My Dues
THE VERY NEXT YEAR, You Threw Them Away
(and endorsed Jason Nemes)
Sing with us!
Legal Bills, Legal Bills, Lawsuits All The Way
Thank Kentucky’s God and Provider for Ms. Anna Whites, attorney, y’all. That’s all. Not only has she and Amye Bensenhaver been there for the People when our Constitutional and Civil Rights have been violated by people we elect to protect us! In addition to helping public taxpayers stand up to our PTA oppressors on multiple occasions, such as during the curious case of the compromised elections, the Lost Files of Redbook, and worse, she has helped unsung JCTA heroes who tried to disrupt the status quo three years ago document their objections to campaign violations, as well as bias, denial of harmful behaviors and practices, and more. We may not be able to hold these criminals accountable, but with the help of pro bono attorneys like Anna and Amye, some of the down-ballot members were able to win their campaigns and keep our chances alive until the next fight. NOW!
Next time you see either one of them, give them a fist bump for us, would ya? Here’s where you’ll find a complete copy of that complaint, exhibits and all.
Check back later to see if I’ve been able to locate their reply, filled with embarrassing, untrue, misleading and frankly, unethical and/or criminal behavior. They deny the same things over and over again, continuing to cause more harm. And members, district leaders, taxpayers, parents, tolerate it. Why?
We think it’s just because most members have been kept in the dark.
Don’t miss these other holiday classics:
“Oh, Holy Shit!”
“If You Knew What I Knew”
“Away in Grave Danger, No Pension for Me”
Like we said,
WE ARE HERE TO CHANGE ALL OF THAT.
All Eyes on Kentucky is the public-facing campaign page for the Coalition for the People’s Agenda Education Committee. We are a consensus-driven coalition that has been evolving and adapting to the attacks that have been thrown at our public schools from insiders and outsiders alike. Our actions and endorsements are informed by years of grassroots organizing and seeking to elevate the voices of those in the trenches and those who are most impacted. Coalition members have been stepping up to run for office against entrenched, corrupt lifetime politicians, only to find ourselves outspent, infiltrated and sabotaged. Over the years, we involved hundreds if not thousands of experiences of community members, fine tuned our demands, our messaging, our strategy, started a Political Action Committee so that we could have an opportunity to blaze our own trails, instead of always playing by the rules they made up to oppress and repress us. Assume good intent, they always say, when we catch them plotting, scheming and self-dealing. Meanwhile, their imaginations are working overtime, making paranoid assumptions about why we did open records requests or looked at them funny, only directing us to the scenes of the crime.
Our Coalition strives to be consensus-driven, and our meetings are open to any and all who share our mission and values and want to be part of the solution. Sometimes, however, financial commitments, deadlines and deadlocks may occur. Once input from the community and the capacity of our coalition’s volunteers have been weighed, it’s time to make a decision. Our elected decision making council, made up of 19 members of the community, votes on the motions brought to the floor. Our steering committee, decision making council and executive board for the PAC are all made up of seasoned community volunteers who have been working in the trenches alongside teachers/staff, parents/guardians, community organizers, etc., and in fact, often wear all of those titles simultaneously. If you are interested in serving on one or more of these committees in any capacity, please come to our next meeting.
Between now and the end of January, we intend to shine more light on these real-life crime stories, but we need help in elevating the candidates and issues that Louisville voters and taxpayers need to be made aware of as those who know these histories and therefore, how to address them. Won’t you please consider making a donation to the PAC so we can get our message in front of enough people to make a difference?