Newark, NJ – Thousands of high school students in New Jersey walked out of their schools on April 27 to oppose $820 million in cuts to state aid by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Newark had the largest number of students who chose to walk out, with about 2000 students taking over the steps and the street in front of City Hall for their protest. The statewide protest was triggered by a Facebook page posted by Michelle Ryan Lauto, a college freshman.

Irvington, NJ – The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) held a protest at the Irvington, New Jersey branch of Wachovia, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, April 17. Irvington has been devastated by foreclosures, with many boarded-up houses on every residential block in town.

Newark, NJ – Community forces here, led by the United Front to Defend Public Education (UFDPE) are opposing funding cutbacks and the privatization of public schools. There have been marches and rallies, speakers at public forums and literature distribution to oppose the cutbacks.

St. Paul, MN – Protesters assembled in the rotunda of the Minnesota state capitol here on April 15 for a rally to demand that the state government not “balance the state budget on the backs of working and low-income people.” The rally called on politicians to instead, “tax the rich.”

San Bruno, CA – In March, 162,000 new jobs were created, according to a monthly survey of businesses taken by the Labor Department. This was the largest number of new jobs created in a month in three years. This positive report may be a sign that the labor market has finally turned a corner following the worst recession in 70 years.

The March 4 national day of action for education was a huge success! Over 100,000 people marched, rallied and took action at over 100 schools and colleges. The biggest protests were in California, both on college campuses and in city streets. College students and union members joined parents with their children, as well as high school students, to demand education funding from the state government. Across the country, students, union workers and faculty marched across campuses and rallied outside administration buildings, while administrators hid or snuck out the back door. In some cases university chancellors and presidents locked themselves inside their offices surrounded by police while students tried to deliver petitions.

_The Good, the Bad and the Ugly _

San Bruno, CA – On Feb. 5 the Department of Labor released their report on the January 2010 job market. The good news in the report was that the official unemployment rate fell from 10.0% in December to 9.7% in January. This is the biggest drop in the unemployment rate since the recession began in December 2007.

St. Paul, MN – About 100 people gathered here Feb. 4 on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol for a protest that coincided with the opening of the Minnesota State Legislature. The Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout organized the protest. Standing at the top of a giant banner reading, “Tax the rich, no cuts to poor and working people,” Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee led the chant, “Hey politicians, here’s the fix – tax the rich! Tax the rich!”

St. Paul, MN – The battle is under way to put a moratorium on home forecloses in Minnesota. The first legislative hearing on an bill to put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions began with a joint hearing by State Senate Economic Development and Housing Budget Division and Health and Housing and Family Security Committee, Jan. 27 at the Minnesota state capitol.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 75 workers, students and community supporters rallied at Morrill Hall, the central administration building here, Jan. 21, to oppose attempts by President Bruininks and senior administrators to balance the budget on the backs of staff and students.