World Teachers Day 2011 Honors Educators
Kenneth Bernstein, a National Board Certified Social Studies teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. Md. sends us this report. He is a nationally known as a blogger on education and other topics as “teacherken”
Yesterday, Oct. 5, was World Teachers Day. As you can see at UNESCO’s website, the annual celebration honors “the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels.” The day is the anniversary of the 1966 signing of The Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers adopted by the Special Intergovernmental Task Force on Teachers.
Perhaps our news day was too full to give the day the focus it deserved.
Perhaps it is because in this nation rather than honor teachers we have been seeing a concerted attack on teaching as a profession and teachers as a group of people who do belong to unions. Teachers and their unions have been under attack, there is a serious attempt to deprofessionalize the field. Read the rest of this entry »
United University Professions’ Lisi Wins Steinbock Media Award
Michael Lisi is the winner of the 2011 Max Steinbock Award, the highest honor given by the International Labor Communications Association (ILCA). Lisi, who writes for the United University Professions’ (UUP) “The Voice,” won for his story “Speaking Up for SUNY.”
UUP, an affiliate of AFT and the National Education Association (NEA), represents more than 35,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 State University of New York (SUNY) campuses.
The Steinbock 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 include prize categories for social media, print, Web, photo essay, electronic newsletter, blog and multimedia campaigns. The awards will be presented formally Sept. 24 at the ILCA Convention in Seattle. Click here for a full list of this year’s winners.
AFT, NEA Offer Black History Month Teaching Tools
 |
|
AFT and the National Education Association (NEA) have compiled resources to help educators celebrate February as Black History Month.
The AFT site here highlights key facts and figures about African Americans, important historical events, influential figures and the continuing contributions of African Americans. For instance, did you know that Elijah McCoy, an African American, invented an oil-dripping cup for trains. Other inventors tried to copy McCoy’s oil-dripping cup, but none worked as well as his, so customers started asking for “the real McCoy.” The expression is still used today when people want the best or the genuine article.
NFL Players File Complaint Against Owners—and More Bargaining News
The NFL Players Association charged team owners with collusion to restrict thelr rights, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,300 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS NFLPA, NFL: The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) confirmed it has filed a complaint with a special master, alleging NFL team owners colluded to restrict the rights of players. Meanwhile, NFLPA members are visiting Capitol Hill this week to discuss with lawmakers the potential lockout by team owners and the devastating economic impact it would have on communities. The NFL is able to negotiate lucrative television deals because Congress granted it an antitrust exemption.
AFT-NEA, Minneapolis School District: After 18 months of negotiations, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (AFT-NEA) reached a two-year tentative agreement with the school district. While the deal provides no raises, it maintains step increases and health care coverage at no additional cost to teachers.
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).
National Teacher Day: Pink Hearts, Not Pink Slips
Today is National Teacher Day and members of AFT across the country are launching a “Pink Hearts, Not Pink Slips” campaign to draw attention to the devastating impact educational budget cuts—and the resulting layoffs—will have on our students, our schools and our communities.
By the end of this school year, it is estimated that as many as 300,000 teachers, school support staff and higher education faculty will receive pink slips throughout the country.
This could result in drastic increases in class sizes, erode classroom discipline and school safety and eliminate essential programs like art, music and summer school.
12,000 Alaska State Workers Reach Tentative Contract—and More Bargaining News
Some 12,000 Alaska state workers will vote soon on a tentative contract, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, State of Alaska: The Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME and the Alaska Public Employees Association/AFT have reached tentative agreements with the state that cover 12,000 workers. The three-year contracts, if ratified by the membership, would provide annual wage increases and increased employer contributions to health care.
Immigrant Students Deserve a DREAM
Our nation cannot afford to lose the productivity of thousands of undocumented immigrant students, a coalition of union, student and civil rights leaders said today. A day after a massive march in Washington, D.C., for comprehensive immigration reform, the leaders called on Congress to fix the nation’s broken immigration system by passing real reform legislation, including the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.
At a morning press conference, sponsored by the United States Student Association (USSA), student leaders were joined by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other union and community leaders. More than 600 USSA members are in town for their legislative conference this week and will visit Capitol Hill to lobby for immigration reform. USSA President Gregory Cendana said:
The DREAM Act will provide some of the hardest working students with the life-changing opportunity to attend college and better their lives as well as their communities. We must now push forward to achieve comprehensive immigration reform and extend opportunity to the next generation of leaders.
Adjunct Faculty Joins AFT/NEA Union
Some 150 adjunct faculty at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., voted 2-1 in recent days to join the St. Francis Adjunct Faculty Union, an affiliate of the New York State United Teachers, AFT and the National Education Association (NEA).
The part-time faculty members are concerned about low wages, infrequent paychecks, lack of access to health insurance and other benefits their full-time colleagues enjoy, including office and storage space.
Says Michael Fontana, an adjunct in fine arts:
A union at St. Francis will give adjunct faculty the opportunity to speak to the administration with one collective voice about issues which we deem important. We are denied access to health care, regular pay increases, and a fair approach to pay compensation based on experience and time in service to the college and we need a union to right these wrongs.
One Year Later, the Recovery Act Is Working
If there’s one thing Americans agree on, it’s that we need more jobs now. That reality is often twisted by conservatives, who say the one-year-old economic recovery plan has failed. But they are just wrong.
The AFL-CIO is pushing for much greater investment to create the millions more jobs we need to get us out of our current hole. Check out the federation’s five-point plan to put America back to work here.
The fact is that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is still working, generating more than 2 million jobs and laying the foundation for future economic growth.
