News for the Working Family From AFL-CIO
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Massachusetts AFT’s Jennifer Berkshire Wins Steinbock Media Jennifer Berkshire is the winner of the 2010 Max Steinbock Award, the highest honor given by the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA). Berkshire, who writes for the Massachusetts AFT Advocate, won for her story, “We Wanted a Voice.” The award, named after a longtime ILCA president, honors the best labor story written in the previous year. The ILCA’s annual Labor Media Awards this year includes a new prize category, social media, for those who ran campaigns with social networking tools. Other categories include print, Web, photo essay, electronic newsletter, blog and multimedia campaigns. The awards will be presented formally Nov. 19 at the annual ILCA Awards Luncheon in Washington, D.C. Click here for a list of this year’s winners. Berkshire tells the story of the successful effort by teachers at Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, Mass., to form a union. Nearly 2,000 teachers are currently employed by charter schools in Massachusetts. Unlike traditional public school teachers, educators at charter schools do not have rights and working conditions spelled out by a negotiated contract. Fed up with job insecurity, favoritism and varying pay rates, the teachers at Conservatory Lab last fall became the first group of charter school teachers to form a union. They now have a new three-year agreement that includes a just cause that prevents administrators from arbitrarily firing teachers, a grievance arbitration procedure and a new teacher evaluation tool that teachers will have a voice in creating. ILCA President Steve Stallone says: Jennifer Berkshire takes us into the first charter school in Massachusetts, where teachers chal... AFL-CIO | | Monday, 27 September 2010 | Hits: 160 | Comments Read more |
Indiana Union Members Greet Painters’ Jobs Bus Jade Mendoza, Indiana State AFL-CIO field communications director, sends us this report. More than 100 union members gathered outside the Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) building in Indianapolis as Johnny Alderman, IUPAT secretary-treasurer of District Council 91, welcomed the arrival of the IUPAT jobs bus. The bus rolled into town as part of a coast-to-coast “It’s About the Jobs” tour to connect IUPAT members across the country with the candidates the union believes are the best hope to generate and bring back jobs. Discussing candidates in statewide races, Indiana State AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott described how important it is to elect lawmakers who make restoring jobs to the middle class a top priority, especially given the harsh reality of Indiana becoming a “right to work” for less state. Among those speaking at the rally, Vop Osili, candidate for secretary of state, said: Don’t give a trifecta to the governor. If we lose the House in 43 days, we won’t recognize this state for 10 years. Warren Mart, general secretary-treasurer of Machinists (IAM) District 153, told union members to talk with candidates about jobs. If your candidate doesn’t talk about jobs, then rethink your support. Mart also encouraged members to step up in this year’s election by volunteering time. Talk to your friends and your family and tell your union, “Yes, you will,” when it asks for your help. Union members also are gearing up for the One Nation march in Washington, D.C., where tens of thousands of union members will join progressive allies to call for good jobs and many other key working family priorities. In a show of solidarity, Hoosiers will kick off a statewide labor-to-labor walk the same day.... AFL-CIO | | Monday, 27 September 2010 | Hits: 112 | Comments Read more |
Cooperation, Not Condemnation, Is Key to Improving Schools Imposing a one-size-fits-all “business model of performance on our schools…is as ill advised as it is ill suited for solving the problems we confront,” says School Administrators President (AFSA) Diann Woodard. In a recent Huffington Post column, Woodard says management techniques that amount to telling us, “Get in line and march,” are not the answer to improving the nation’s schools and student performance. Approaches like these aren’t turnaround plans; they simply turn a blind eye to the reality educators must confront, especially in communities where poverty and crime are more pervasive. Rather than glib condemnations, what’s needed is a new spirit of cooperation, one in which all the stakeholders in public education—especially school administrators—are consulted on solutions rather than being targeted for vilification. Read her entire column h... AFL-CIO | | Monday, 27 September 2010 | Hits: 122 | Comments Read more |
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15-Oct. 15 AFT and the National Education Association (NEA) have compiled a variety of resources to help educators celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15–Oct. 15, and to teach a new generation about the contributions Hispanics have made to this nation. Hispanic Heritage Month “is a time to celebrate the rich and diverse culture and traditions of millions of Latinos in the country,” says Hector Sanchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). Sanchez points out that Hispanics have made major contributions to the culture and development of the United States. Today, more than 50 million people claim Hispanic heritage, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice, 23 members of Congress and 2.3 million business owners, as well as many famous actors, musicians and human and civil rights activists. The AFT site here pulls together a variety of resources to help teachers explore the contributions of Hispanics this month and all year round in their classrooms. For example, the site includes a pie chart listing the home country of Hispanic Americans and a checklist of statistics. Other AFT resources include: Colorín Colorado, a free professional development resource for educators of Latino English language learners, provided by the AFT and the Reading Rockets project of PBS Station WETA, which offers ideas, tools and downloadables for Hispanic Heritage month, in addition to numerous other instructional resources for all year long. National Geographic Map Machine, where students learn about Hispanic countries throughout the world, including each country’s climate, population, maps, flag and brief history. Events in Hispanic-American History, a comprehensive site that highlights key even... AFL-CIO | | Monday, 27 September 2010 | Hits: 1 | Comments Read more |
Kentucky Retirees Mobilize to Make Sure Election Night’s NotRand Paul, the Kentucky Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Tea Party poster boy, “scares the you-know-what out of Roy H. Streeter, an IUE-CWA retiree. Rightfully so, too. Paul, who wants to phase out and privatize Social Security and Medicare, said yesterday that seniors need to pay more for whatever form Medicare would be left after he sliced the heart out of it if elected to the Senate. BTW, Paul’s campaign admits he received half his income from Medicare and Medicaid payments. At a recent get-out-the-vote rally in Louisville (see video), Streeter said: This guy Paul, he scares me. He wants to do away with Social Security….Everything is a “No,” “No.” All the things we as union members have worked hard for will be taken away from us if we don’t stand up and be counted. Your vote will count. If you don’t vote, you’ve voted anyway for your opposition. Charles Clephas, president of the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council, told the group of union retirees that Paul and his Republican cohorts who embrace the failed policies of the past want to send us back….So we’ve got to be there. If we don’t work, get our people out, we’re in trouble…we need your help. That help is growing and growing. Just last night more than 100 Louisville union members seemed to discombobulate Paul and his tea-partiers when they showed up at a Paul rally. The candidate rushed through a short speech and then bolted just a half hour into a scheduled two-hour event. Brian Tucker of the Valley Report writes: The crowd f... AFL-CIO | | Monday, 27 September 2010 | Hits: 159 | Comments Read more |
