AJ Duffy Union Scab

[Modern School]

The Workers on the S. P. line to strike sent out a call;
But Casey Jones, the engineer, he wouldn't strike at all;
His boiler it was leaking, and its drivers on the bum,
And his engine and its bearings, they were all out of plumb.

Casey Jones kept his junk pile running;
Casey Jones was working double time;
Casey Jones got a wooden medal,
For being good and faithful on the S.P. line.

The workers said to Casey: "Won't you help us win this strike ? "
But Casey said: "Let me alone, you'd better take a hike."
Then Casey's wheezy engine ran right off the worn-out track,
And Casey hit the river with an awful crack.

Casey Jones hit the river bottom;
Casey Jones broke his blooming spine;
Casey Jones was an Angeleno,
He took a trip to heaven on the S. P. line.

When Casey Jones got up to heaven to the Pearly Gate,
He said: "I'm Casey Jones, the guy that pulled the S. P. freight."
"You're just the man," said Peter, "our musicians went on strike;
You can get a job a-scabbing any time you like."

Casey Jones got a job in heaven;
Casey Jones was doing mighty fine;
Casey Jones went scabbing on the angels,
Just like he did to workers on the S. P. line.

They got together and they said it wasn't fair
For Casey Jones to go around a-scabbing everywhere.
The Angel Union No. 23 they sure were there,
And they promptly fired Casey down the Golden Stair.

Casey Jones went to Hell a-flying;
Casey Jones, the Devil said, "Oh fine;
Casey Jones, get busy shoveling sulfur
That's what you get for scabbing on the S.P. Line."

Casey Jones—Union Scab,
By Joe HIll

Joe Hill wrote Casey Jones as a parody about those workers who want to please their bosses so badly that they undermine safety and working conditions for themselves and all of their colleagues. Casey Jones could be any one of those teachers who skip union meetings because they conflict with a school club meeting, or who refuse to join a picket because they are scared of conflict, or who graciously accepts extra responsibilities and work, even when it violates their contract.

Casey Jones could also be A.J. Duffy, the former president of the nation’s second largest teachers’ union local, United Teachers of Los Angeles, who wants to make it harder for teachers to obtain tenure at the charter school(s) he hopes to open next year.

As boss of UTLA, Duffy fought against charter schools. Yet according to the Los Angeles Times, Duffy wants to open one or more charter schools in Los Angeles by fall of 2012. As union boss, he also opposed attacks on tenure. Now he intends to join the union busting Ed Deformers in their attempts to whittle away at teachers’ due process protections by weakening tenure for his own future employees.

Duffy wants to make it harder to earn tenure and to lengthen the time it takes to get there. He wants teachers to have to continually prove they are effective in order to keep their tenure. And he wants to make it easier to fire teachers. “I would make it 10 days if I could,” he said, in reference to the length of time it takes to dismiss teachers, suggesting that he doesn’t give a damn about due process.



Duffy is a founding board member of Apple Academy Charter Public Schools and will soon become its executive director. The academy’s charter proposal will be submitted for review and possible approval by LAUSD in the coming weeks. Considering LAUSD’s love of charter schools (they have by far the most of any district in the country) it seems likely Duffy will soon become a boss.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/09/aj-duffy-union-scab.html