More than 1,000 protesters chanted, marched and yelled as attendees arrived Tuesday evening for a Republican dinner at the in Troy.
The 9th Congressional District Republican committee's Southeast Michigan Ronald Reagan Memorial Dinner 2012 was the event, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's appearance there was the draw for protesters.
The crowd, estimated by Troy police to have reached about 1,300 people at one point, chanted "What do we want?" and an answering "Justice!" and "When do we want it?" "Now!" The protests, which started about 5 p.m. in advance of the 7 p.m. dinner program, stretched a whole block of Big Beaver Road.
The Michigan chapter of the National Action Network headed by the Rev. Charles Willams II planned the protest along with representatives of the UAW and other labor unions as well as the Occupy Detroit movement. They planned to deliver a "subpoena" to Walker and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who they call "co-conspirators against the 99 percent."
Many people in the crowd were teachers, and many were there with their children.
"I'm concerned about the erosion of my profession," said Novi teacher Chandra Madafferi. "When you strip away collective bargaining rights, you're taking away things like class size, calendar, working conditions – other things besides wages and benefits.
"My concern is that people won't go into teaching because they can't support their families. When the quality of teachers go down, the kids suffer."
Melissa Gronzo, a teacher from Utica, held a sign that said "Jobs" with question marks surrounding it. "He's cutting funding for education left and right," Gronzo said. "It's not fair to the kids."
Alan Gieleghem of Pontiac, who teaches in Troy and was there with his wife, Christine, and their daughter and niece, said, " We're just here to support collective bargaining."
Maria Stanczyk was at the protest with her daughters, Jenny, 8, and Nina, 10. "I'm a teacher and I want them to know we're not going to take this lightly and we're going to vote," Stanczyk said.
Others, such as Matthew Fiems of Canton, said they were there representing the "99 percent," standing against "the greed and policies of Walker and Snyder."
"They're killing us here in Michigan," Fiems said.
Two more protesters, Southfield resident Chiriga Sparks, left, and Torrey Green, of Detroit, said, "We are the 99 percent."
Teresa Sweeney, 21, of Ferndale said, "We have to stop the corruption and support the unions."
We both know that the true spirit of America is PROFIT! When my employees start whining about their lack of heath insurance, I promptly show them the door! Did I complain when I a jai alai incident left me deaf in my right ear? No, sir, I did not! I went right out and became a renowned veterinarian! And paid every single one of my medical bills! They can take their "Christian" nonsense about "loving thy neighbor" and "compassion" and go away! Nowhere does the Bible state that I am responsible to be my brother's keeper! We both know that when Jesus returns, the first people he will richly reward is Charles and David Koch! Liam "America's Veterinarian"™ Wolfpuncher
So, Dale, you are dead wrong when you say that teachers are upset about benefits. Teachers want adequate supplies, a decent class size and support. Is this too much to ask for those of us that care for our most precious resource...children?
It's too bad that you didn't play Jai Alai in more recent times as many professional players in the U.S. are now represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). I'm sure your medical bills would have been covered by Workman's Compensation Insurance, as bargained by the union. Perhaps they even would have been able to prevent the deafness if treated quickly!
I support Unions 100% !!!!!!
But, I'm sure you'll argue that the bottom 80% are just lazy do-nothings.
According to this Troy School District document (http://www.troy.k12.mi.us/images/2011Personnel.pdf), pensions ("retirement") along with FICA, unmployment, and workers comp. make up less than 15% of the annual budget. Obviously, 15% is less than 25%, and that 15% isn't made up solely of pension contributions. So there's one "fact" that doesn't seem to be true.
Now, I've read these sentences multiple times, but I an unable to ascertain any facts therefrom. Instead, it appears to be several logical fallacies strung together (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy). But, with that said, what do you mean by "least qualifications in a variety of subjects"? Also, why are you complaining about teachers having Masters degrees in education? Elementary teachers typically teach a variety of subjects (e.g., math, reading, writing, science, social studies), as the students very often stay with the teacher for the entire day. Are you arguing that a second grade teacher should have an advanced degree in math in order to teach addition and subtraction to 7 year old children? Personally, I don't care if my child's elementary school teacher is an expert at Calculus and differential equations. I would rather they have the teaching skills to teach the basic concepts to a wide variety of students with different learning styles.
I --and others oppose charter schools because they take away from public funding of public schools. If parents want private schools, let them pay the tuition--and not drain funding. Clinton sent his daughter to private school because of security. You have to do some of your own research for the others. What upper 75% are you referring to? ..... EruditeEarlobe 5:37 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012 We of the upper 75%, are sick and tired of the bottom 25% (greedy unionist teachers and their allies in the UAW) holding us up for more monies so that they can keep turning out mediocre and inferior products. No wonder they fight when competition is introduced: charter, private, parochial, religious and home schools are treated with disdain. This of course also begs another question: if public schools are so good, why does (did) Obama, Kennedy and even Clinton send their kids to private schools?