March for California's Future Print E-mail
dbmarchshafterwebThe marchers are nearing Sacramento after weeks on foot, and preparing to meet you there for a rally on April 21. Read their latest blogging and view photos and videos from each day on the March web site. David Bacon, photo
On March 5, the California Federation of Teachers kicked off a march from Bakersfield through the Central Valley to Sacramento.  It will arrive in Sacramento by April 21.  Its purpose is to draw public attention to three urgent ideas:
  • Restore the promise of public education
  • A government and economy that work for all Californians
  • Fair tax and budget policies to fund California’s future.
     

firstdaymarch

 

Core marchers before boarding the bus on Friday, March 5,
from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, where they began trekking
to Sacramento.  From left, Jenn Laskin, Emmannuel Ballesteros,
Anna Graves, Jim Miller, Irene Gonzalez, David Lyell, and Gavin
Riley.  In front, kneeling, are Kelly Mayhew (Jim Miller's wife) and
son Walt.  Rosemary Lee photo





There are alternatives to the destruction of the state’s future.  The state budget problem can be fixed with fair tax increases on the wealthy and closing corporate tax loopholes.  But California requires a 2/3 Legislative vote for new taxes and to pass a budget, instead of a simple majority, and a small group of anti-tax, anti-public education legislators can and does undemocratically block passage of fair taxes and a fair budget every year.   

The “March for California’s Future” kicked off with a rally in the Mount Moriah church in South Central Los Angeles on March 5, and then resumed in Bakersfield, following another rally in Martin Luther King Jr. Park, the same day.  A core group is marching all the way to Sacramento, including representatives of unions and other community allies of CFT.  Every few days there has been a larger event—rallies, town halls, a bigger march, visits with local union members, church breakfasts, teach-ins—designed to maximize public awareness of the three issues.  

We have registered voters as we marched, gathered signatures for the Majority Budget Act, and pressed local public elected officials along the way to agree to these principles. The march will culminate in Sacramento with a big demonstration on April 21.  But the march and demonstration are not ends in themselves.  They are part of an ongoing campaign:  the Fight for California’s Future.  Be a part of it.
 
For more information, or to join the March for California's Future on a leg of the journey, call 510-523-5238. Media inquiries, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (916-457-5546) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (510-579-3343).