Tag: walkout
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Florida students ‘Walkout 2 Learn’: How to join their education revolution
Florida students are taking a half-day Friday, not in anticipation of the weekend, but to walk out in protest of recent moves by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators to limit school curriculum.
The 12 p.m. mass demonstrations, set to take place at more than 300 campuses across Florida, are organized by Walkout 2 Learn, a Florida-based network of student activists leading an opposition effort across the country in protest.
“Black, queer, trans, and female-identifying people and their histories are the targets of government censorship. Florida’s government is, no exaggeration, leading an authoritarian takeover of its public education system. Our governor has forgotten that students have rights. We’re here to remind him,” the site reads. “This is an education, an activation, a revolution.”
Earlier in the week, DeSantis expanded the reach of the controversial Parental Rights in Education bill (also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) passed last year, which banned discussion of LGBTQ issues in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. The latest expansion will forbid teachers across all grades from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, “unless such instruction is either expressly required by state academic standards…or is part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student’s parent has the option to have his or her student not attend.”
The youth organizers also are decrying Florida lawmakers’ introduction of bills to limit Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives at state colleges and universities, implement moderation requirements for school libraries, and restrict sexual health education.
The coalition of Florida students and organizations was connected by The Social Equity through Education Alliance (SEE), Teen Vogue reported, which seeks to empower youth political power through local community organizing.
Walkout 2 Learn was founded by 19-year-old Zander Moricz, who is also the mind behind SEE. He told Teen Vogue that organizers are hoping to garner attention from lawmakers who have been ignoring students for too long. “They are not dealing with our perspectives,” he said. Moricz has become an outspoken LGBTQ student activist since garnering attention with his high school graduation speech, which strategically skirted around his school’s prohibition on using the word “gay.” He’s also the face of Walkout 2 Learn’s TikTok presence.
How to get involved whether in Florida or afar
Moricz and the other student organizers are calling for supporters nationwide to join them in Friday’s action and have published a toolkit for those looking for guidance on organizing their own demonstration or otherwise supporting the cause before, during, and after the walkout. Resources include guidance on how to donate to the efforts, spread the word, and join coalitions and teams dedicated to continuing the work.
“Walkout 2 Learn recognizes the harmful fascism that Floridians are experiencing every day and will provide immediate, short-term solutions to every participant so that they may protect themselves and their communities,” it reads. “In the long-term, Walkout 2 Learn gives every participant avenues to build power and community so that the next time we have a chance at making our voices heard in the legislature, we’re ready.”
Interested students are encouraged to join Walkout 2 Learn’s Slack channel to connect with fellow organizers, find training, and get additional support. The coalition’s Instagram page is also hosting student story takeovers and will be resharing “Why I’m Walking Out” vlogs taken by participating students.
What makes the demonstration unique is that Walkout 2 Learn isn’t letting class just stop when students take to the streets. It’s honoring, but adding to, the demonstrations of Florida students last year by providing educational opportunities to students on the ground.
Attendees of Friday’s walkouts will participate in a five-minute, peer-led, banned curriculum lesson led in defiance of DeSantis’ educational mandates, says Walkout 2 Learn, with each peer instructor receiving instruction from Harvard educators. The organizers will also provide the option for students to enroll in a virtual, college-level African American studies course, which organizers are creating along with professors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions across the country.
At the end, students will be asked to sign an “Active Pledge” and make sure their voter registration is up to date. Follow-up rallies in several cities, including Miami, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Orlando, will begin at 6 p.m.
Walkout 2 Learn walkouts and rallies can be found by searching the online event registry.
Friday’s events have garnered the support of celebrities, like actor Beanie Feldstein, and popular TikTok advocates and educators like Griffin Maxwell Brooks, Khalil Greene, and Jory (@AlluringSkull).
The Florida Democratic Party and Rep. Anna Eskamani also have come out in support of Walkout 2 Learn, signaling a partisan outcry amid this week’s actions.
In the long term, Moricz told Teen Vogue that student organizers are approaching the state’s legislative future pragmatically, focused on building a strong foundation of outspoken students. “We need to provide ourselves with curriculum, with resources, with activations, with communities. It’s a short- and long-term strategy that allows survival and then, hopefully, a chance at reclaiming our state.”
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Royal College of Nursing votes for fresh strike, as 96-hour walkout by junior doctors comes to an end
Junior doctors’ strike: NHS braces for most disruptive walkout yet
Five-week walkout by Passport Office workers begins as civil service strikes escalate
NLRB says Activision Blizzard illegally surveilled employees during a walkout
Activision Blizzard is facing yet another complaint by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The labor agency has “found merit with several elements of the unfair labor practice charges filed by the Communications Workers of America (CWA)” on behalf of the company’s workers, the union has told Engadget. This particular case pertains to the CWA’s accusations that the game developer illegally surveilled workers when they walked out in July last year to protest the lack of gender equality in the company, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as well as Activision Blizzard’s alleged union-busting practices.
The NLRB found after an investigation that the company broke labor laws by using managers and security staff to monitor workers during the walkout. In addition, the labor board found merit in the CWA’s accusation that the developer threatened to cut off workers’ access to an internal chatroom where they discussed their pay, hours and overall working conditions. According to IGN, though, NLRB has dismissed one charge regarding the company cutting off people’s chat access to an all-hands meeting. The publication says Activision Blizzard‘s chief administrative officer Brian Bulatao has informed workers that chat was shut down for future all-hands because that particular meeting turned toxic. Attendees used it as a chance to “disparage the work of the Diablo Immoral team and others,” he explained.
An NLRB spokesperson told Reuters that it will move forward and prosecute Blizzard if the company doesn’t settle.
The company’s labor practices were thrust into the spotlight after California filed a lawsuit against it in 2021 for fostering a “frat boy” workplace. After a two-year investigation, the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing had determined that the developer discriminated against female employees. It’s one labor issue after another for Activision Blizzard after that, mostly related to workers’ organizing efforts. To note, the company is also facing another NLRB complaint, accusing it of violating labor laws by implementing an overbroad social media policy that prevented workers from talking about their working conditions and threatening employees who were exercising their right to join a union. Activision Blizzard told Engadget that those allegations were “false.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nlrb-says-activision-blizzard-illegally-surveilled-employees-during-a-walkout-094211193.html?src=rss
Swiss Google workers stage walkout over layoffs, offer to reduce wages to prevent cuts
Back in January, Google became one of the many tech companies to announce layoffs as a result of overhiring during the pandemic and the current global economic downturn. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said 12,000 workers globally, equivalent to 6% of its employees from around the world, would be let go.