Group grievances were filed for certain classifications believed to be eligible for the COVID-19 response that DBM did not include. The grievances include:

August 24, 2021

In advance of this evening's board vote on a vaccine mandate, PFT President Jerry Jordan issued the following statement:

PHILADELPHIA—"This union has been very clear from the start-- we support vaccines, and we have been urging every member to get vaccinated. Further, we have expressed our support for a negotiated vaccine mandate. As an AFT Vice President, I helped craft our national position on vaccine mandates. But let us not forget that while a vaccine mandate is warranted and very important, nearly 90% of educators nationwide have been vaccinated.

"It is imperative to note that our students in PreK-7 are not yet even eligible for the vaccine. As such, each day, tens of thousands of unvaccinated individuals will be entering our buildings. A multilayered mitigation strategy is absolutely key—vaccines, universal masking, and universal testing. Earlier this month, we shared testimony with the PA House Democratic Policy committee on critical safety measures.

Join us Wednesday, August 25 at 7pm!

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In August 2021, the NRLB approved the vote which formed the ORVA Educators United (OEU) union. ORVA teachers share their thoughts and hopes for their first labor contract.

We developed and sent a questionnaire to every candidate running for mayor or city council on October 9, 2021. Here are the responses of the candidates who responded.

August 20, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a largely unmitigated disaster. More than half a million Americans have died as a result of the virus. Through it all, nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, other healthcare professionals, and the various staff that keep our hospitals running have been worked to the bone. Without the efforts of these workers, including the workers who we represent across the state of Wisconsin, many more would have tragically lost their lives. As if healthcare workers weren’t a vital part of society before, the debt they are owed after what they’ve struggled through over the past year and a half is vast.

Despite the service of these workers to the communities in which they live and beyond, the healthcare corporations that they are employed by have not done enough to reciprocate these efforts. At several junctures over the course of the pandemic, employers have refused to offer bonuses for essential workers, failed to provide ample Personal Protective Equipment, failed to provide proper medical equipment, failed to provide proper staffing, and failed to produce appropriately safe working conditions. To sum it up, corporate healthcare employers have failed their workers and the people to whom they provide care. While the frontlines were starved for support, it was the bottom lines that received the reinforcements. This behavior isn’t new on the part of these corporations, but the stark differences between their words and their actions has never been more clear than now.

Concord, NH --- AFT-NH President Deb Howes Released the Following Statement on Approval of Rules for School Voucher Program

I attended the BESE meeting today. As you may have heard, the unruly crowd led to the meeting being adjourned before public comment and discussion of the mask mandate. 

Many have requested that we take the pulse again on the issue of masks now that the second week of school is almost complete. Even if you have taken it before, please take this second survey. There is some new content. As your representative, I need to know where you stand. 

COMING SOON! Check back here for more information by Sept. 1st, 2021! 

Dear President Holloway and Superintendent Brumley:

Due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic, the 2020-2021 school year was extremely challenging for students, families, and teachers. Unprecedented natural disasters, including Hurricanes Marco, Laura, Sally, Beta, and Delta in 2020 and the winter storm of February 2021, drastically disrupted the school year in multiple parishes. Students across the state were subjected to different levels of in-person instruction, online instruction, and instruction in a hybrid format of both in-person and online instruction. MORE