March 5, 2018 - Bow, NH

Welcome back to everyone who has been on winter vacation this past week.  Hopefully, you found the break restful and relaxing.  The Legislature has also been on break for the past week, though some committees continued meeting and pushing legislation forward.  This coming week, however, will be a busy one in Concord, especially for the NH House, which will meet three days and confronts a calendar with nearly 400 potential pieces of legislation to be considered.  Nearly two-thirds of these proposals are on the Consent Calendar, where legislation goes that has a unanimous or near unanimous committee recommendation (inexpedient to legislate, ought to pass, etc.).  One vote at the start of Tuesday’s session will dispose of all legislation on the Consent Calendar by approving the Calendar and all the recommendations contained therein.  The only exceptions will be pieces of legislation that individual legislators remove from the Consent calendar for later debate.  Thus, it is likely the House will vote on and discuss/debate over 150 pieces of legislation over the course of three days this week.  So fasten your seat-belts. 

The NTU Education Foundation is proud to announce its 20th Annual Albert Shanker Scholarship Awards and Hall of Fame Dinner on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at The Robert Treat Hotel, 50 Park Place, Newark, NJ at 6:30 p.m.

Twenty-two years of state takeover of the Newark Public Schools came to an end on February 1, 2018. Books have been written on the subject and no doubt more will be written in the future. Hundreds of newspaper articles and opinion pieces have been published regarding the infamous $100 million Facebook donation. Most of that donation went to settle labor contracts (two years in arears, mind you), but the balance was consumed by so-called education reform groups and consultants.

Nominations for President and Treasurer will be held on Monday, March 19, 2018.

Elections will take place on Monday, May 21.

Any one interested in running for these positions may contact the current board member with any questions about job duties for these positions.

President - Kathleen O'Brien    kathleen.o'brien@orecity.k12.or.us

Treasurer - Vicki Poyser           vicki.poyser@orecity.k12.or.us

AFT-Maryland rallied with the national AFT office and a host of activists as the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in the Janus v. AFSCME 31 case.

Let’s start with a simple fact: Teachers and school employees haven’t had a state pay raise in years. Our teacher pay is about $2,000 behind the Southern regional average, and the average salary of Louisiana teachers has actually gone down over the past two years.

Here’s what can’t happen until we get a state budget that is stable, predictable and fair: Teachers and school employees can’t get a pay raise. We can’t fix our roads and bridges, preserve our coastline, support colleges and universities, or provide other public services that we must have for a decent quality of life in Louisiana.

Lawmakers know that. As State Rep. Franklin Foil said, “Until we get the budget stable, I don’t think there is going to be a push to raise teacher salaries.”

Stewards are the lifeline of public employees unions and that is no different for state workers in Maryland. AFT Healthcare-Maryland (AFTHCMD) and the Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) brought together a host of activists and leaders for an important stewards’ training on Friday February 23, 2018. Jacqueline Raines of MPEC was the lead facilitator for the day but the staff of both organizations played a vital role in preparing the stewards for their duties. 33 professionals from MPEC and 11 healthcare professionals attended the training. 
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Stewards are the lifeline of public employees unions and that is no different for state workers in Maryland. The Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC)  and AFT Healthcare-Maryland (AFTHCMD) brought together a host of activists and leaders for an important stewards’ training on Friday, February 23, 2018. Jacqueline Raines of MPEC was the lead facilitator for the day but the staff of both organizations played a vital role in preparing the stewards for their duties. 33 professionals from MPEC and 11 healthcare professionals attended the training.

Dear Teachers and Instructional Personnel:

OCCTA continues to receive complaints from teachers that administrators are requiring their participation in certain activities that are strictly voluntary.

We are still hearing from teachers who have been told that they must conduct peer observations. OCCTA wants you to know that peer observations, whether related to the District Professional Learning Community (DPLC) close reading program or to Deliberate Practice, are strictly voluntary.