Thousands Tell Big Insurance: Blocking Health Care Reform Is a Crime
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| AFSCME members declaring the Ritz-Carlton a crime scene. |
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| AFSCME President Gerald McEntee to Congress: “You better take our side before we arrest you!” |
Thousands of union members, community activists, religious leaders and others turned out in Washington, D.C., today to confront Big Insurance and demand insurance companies stop plotting to kill health care reform even as Congress debates bills to reform the nation’s broken health care system.
The boisterous, energetic, diverse crowd marched from the AFL-CIO and AFSCME buildings and DuPont Circle to the sound of beating drums and shouted slogans like, “Blocking health care is a crime” and “Health care can’t wait.” The crowd was so large, it completely encircled the block-long Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the front group for the nation’s biggest insurance companies, the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is meeting. Health Care for America NOW (HCAN) sponsored the rally and march. We live-tweeted the event here.
Nicole Varma from Arlington, Va., who has no health care insurance because she is unemployed was among those taking part in the rally.
I am unable to get my medications because I can’t afford them. We need to send a message to the insurance companies that they definitely need to listen to the people. We don’t want insurance abuses. We want real health care reform.
Central Falls Superintendent Agrees to Resume Talks with Teachers
The school superintendent who last week fired all teachers at Central Falls (R.I.) High School has agreed to resume bargaining and include the union in all discussions on a comprehensive education plan that will help students and teachers succeed. The move followed a nationwide public outcry, with thousands signing an online petition to tell school officials the students deserve better and they should work with teachers to build on improvements at the high school. (Keep the pressure on the Central Falls school administration. Sign a petition here.)
AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement that she was pleased the superintendent has agreed to resume talks:
The dedicated teachers and staff [of Central Falls High] want nothing more than to continue and improve upon the progress they have made. Real, sustainable change will only happen when all stakeholders work together.
Executive Council: Central Falls Students Deserve Better than Mass Teacher Firing
The AFL-CIO Executive Council today condemned the firings of the entire education staff at Central Falls (R.I.) High School and called on the Obama administration and the local school superintendent to work together with the teachers to create an environment that allows students and teachers to succeed.
(You can tell the Central Falls school administration that the students deserve better and to work with teachers to build on improvements at the high school by signing an AFT petition here.)
In the midst of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, more than 90 dedicated professional educators are out of a job. On Feb. 23, the Central Falls school trustees fired the entire teaching staff of the high school, which is located in Rhode Island’s smallest and poorest city.
In all, 93 got pink slips—74 classroom teachers, plus reading specialists, guidance counselors, physical education teachers, the school psychologist, the principal and three assistant principals. Negotiations over strategies to improve the school between teachers and the school superintendent broke down when the superintendent walked away from the table and fired the teachers.
Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’
In the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, more than 90 dedicated professional educators find themselves put out into the street. On Feb. 23, the Central Falls, R.I., school trustees fired the entire teaching staff of Central Falls High School, supposedly because of declining test scores at the school, which is located in Rhode Island’s smallest and poorest city.
In all, 93 persons were put in the street—74 classroom teachers, plus reading specialists, guidance counselors, physical education teachers, the school psychologist, the principal and three assistant principals. Negotiations over ways to improve the school between teachers and the school superintendent broke down when school officials insisted that teachers add new duties, some without any extra pay at all.
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.
One Year After Ledbetter: Work Still Needed on Pay Equity
One year ago today, working people celebrated a milestone in the battle for pay equity when the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law.
The law corrected the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that Ledbetter, a 20-year employee of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., had sued too late when she discovered her pay was far below that of men doing similar work. President Obama signed the bill into law Jan. 29, 2009.
In observance of the anniversary, Ledbetter, writing on Alternet, said there is still work to do:
We need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill gives teeth to the protections against pay discrimination. And women, who are still shortchanged in the workplace, deserve just that. The bill would empower women to negotiate for equal pay, create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, and strengthen federal outreach and enforcement efforts. It would also strengthen penalties for equal pay violations.
AFT President Proposes New Path Forward in Education
AFT President Randi Weingarten today proposed a “new path forward” in building quality schools in our changing world.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., this morning, Weingarten said if America is going to thrive in the 21st century, our entire approach to education must change. She proposed specific changes in the way teachers are evaluated, disciplined and how they are allowed to do their jobs:
- Creating a fair, transparent and expedient process to evaluate teachers. States should adopt standards for what teachers should know and be able to do; teachers should be assessed through multiple measures, including student test scores that gauge individual academic progress; administrators should be held accountable for putting the standards into motion; and teachers should receive help through mentoring and professional development.
Teacher Survey: Children Coming to School Hungry
Despite programs intended to ensure children have enough to eat in and out of school, teachers across the nation report they are witnessing a growing number of hungry students—which affects their ability to concentrate and learn, according to a new survey.
More than 60 percent of the teachers responding to the survey, Hunger in America’s Classrooms, say most or many of the students at their schools rely on school meals for their primary source of nutrition. But that often is not enough, and teachers are dipping into their wallets to fill the gaps. Elementary teachers reported spending an average of $27 a month to buy snacks and other food items for their students and for middle school teachers, the average is $38.
AFT Fights Exploitation of Foreign Teachers
The growing number of overseas-educated teachers in U.S. schools has put many talented educators in classrooms, but the trend also has led to a host of concerns about exploitation, questionable hiring practices and harmful effects in the countries that are losing their most qualified teachers.
An estimated 19,000 migrant teachers work in U.S. schools, according to a recently released report by AFT. ”Importing Educators: Causes and Consequences of International Teacher Recruitment” examines the growing number of allegations that recruiting agencies have intimidated teachers, forced them into housing contracts, misrepresented their pay, charged them exorbitant fees and threatened to pull their visas. These practices continue because the international teacher recruitment industry is almost entirely unregulated, according to teacher union leaders.
AFT Civil Rights Conference: Help Turn America Around
Public school teachers must work hard to make the nation’s schools places where the suffering of the nation’s children is alleviated. In her keynote address to AFT’s Civil, Human and Women’s Rights conference, Oct. 23-25 in Miami, union President Randi Weingarten said teachers can help turn America around by advocating for change inside and outside the classroom.
Building on the conference theme, “Rise, Advocate, Collaborate, Educate: Our Civil Rights,” Weingarten urged the hundreds of union members and allies to fight for health care reform, affordable housing and after-school activities for students, as well as for tools and resources in the classroom.
Said Weingarten:
We know that it takes a village to raise children. We have to pull in partners and fight to ensure that parents and children get the services they need.
