Topic: Collective Bargaining
Teachers and communities lay it on the line
Six Days That Shook Los Angeles - Part 1
With a massive outpouring of community support, a new generation of teachers shut down the country’s second-largest school district in a fight for the future of public education. UTLA members launched their first strike in 30 years to deliver “the schools our kids deserve.”
A week later they were well on their way.
UTLA members went on strike and won for public education
Yesterday the members of United Teachers of Los Angeles ratified their new contract, ending the six-day strike that has captivated the state and the nation, and paving the way for teachers to their classrooms this morning.
Strike? Stand with L.A. teachers to win the schools students deserve
UPDATE: After the factfinding report was released on December 18, UTLA announced it will go on strike January 10.
A Red-for-Ed wave rolled through downtown Los Angeles on December 15 as tens of thousands of members and supporters of United Teachers Los Angeles protested large class sizes, low pay, over-testing, a shortage of school nurses and other support staff, and the unregulated growth of charter schools.
Cerritos Faculty Federation takes a stand for healthcare
Cerritos faculty are taking a stand for equity.
“Right now our college doesn’t provide any sort of health benefit to part-timers,” explained local President Stephanie Rosenblatt. “Most of the districts around us provide at least some sort of reimbursement scheme, in which part-time faculty are reimbursed at even a minimal level for their healthcare premiums.”
UTLA rally draws thousands in call for ‘the schools LA students deserve’
Today thousands of educators from across Los Angeles jammed Grand Park today in a rally for “the Schools LA Students Deserve.” They arrived by rail, bus, car and on foot—wearing UTLA red to send a loud message to the Los Angeles Unified School District that teachers will not stop fighting for smaller class sizes, fully staffed schools, clean and safe schools, and fair compensation.
United Teachers Los Angeles was joined in the rally by students, parents, and community groups and supported by its affiliates CFT, CTA, AFT and NEA.
Part-timer health benefits: The successes and challenges ahead
Among the many challenges that part-time, or contingent faculty face, health care benefits, or rather, the lack thereof, has been one of the most significant.
According to Bloomberg, healthcare is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, and in spite of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in March 2010, the number of bankruptcies attributed to healthcare costs tripled in 2017, while the general rate of bankruptcies fell overall.
West Virginia teacher shares national movement with delegates
Convention 2018
At the EC/TK-12 Council meeting on Friday night, President Rico Tamayo thanked West Virginia teacher Angela Johnson for staying up late to Skype with the council about the successful strike she was part of in her state. She brushed it off.
Longevity awarded new respect
AFT Local 6142 members made two important gains at the bargaining table with front-loaded pay raises and a reworked system of longevity stipends.
Chief Negotiator Luukia Smith said El Camino College staff will receive a 5 percent raise for 2017 retroactive to January 1, with at least 1.28 percent more in 2018 and a cost-of living increase the following year.
New holidays for Long Beach staff
The Long Beach Council of Classified Employees ratified a three-year agreement providing significant economic relief and longer holidays for about 425 members.
Pay will increase 3 percent the first year retroactive to this July 1, followed by cost-of-living increases of at least 2.1 percent and 2.35 percent the second and third years.
San Francisco paras see pay increase
Facing a crisis of affordable housing that threatens to push educators out of the city, United Educators of San Francisco’s 6,200 teachers, early childhood educators, paraprofessionals, nurses and social workers negotiated an 11 percent pay increase over three years, as well as annual bonuses. The overall compensation package will grow to 16 percent if voters approve a parcel tax that city leaders hope to place on the ballot in 2018.
Unions get full and timely access to new employees
New law leads to union negotiating rules for employee orientation
In April 2016, Julia Troche applied to be a lecturer in Egyptology at UCLA. “It was my alma mater as an undergrad, so this was a special position for me, a chance to give back to the institution that gave me so much,” she says. She’d received an email from the department chair of Near Eastern Language and Culture asking her to apply. “She told me there was no guarantee of continuing employment, but it would put me in a good place while I looked for a tenure-track appointment.”
Legislature sends governor bill to include noon duty aides in classified service
Current law exempts part-time playground employees from classified status if they don’t also hold a second position in the same school district. Legislation now on the governor’s desk, however, would include part-timers who don’t have a second job.
AB 670 by Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) would help about 1,500 “noon dutys” statewide.
“Part-time playground employees work side by side with classified employees performing similar duties,” Thurmond said. “They deserve the same protection and benefits as classified employees.”
Supreme Court set to rule against union ‘fair share’
Conservatives launch another attack on workers, unions, democracy
Quick download: FAQ about Janus v. AFSME (pdf, 2pp)
What will the court decide?
The lawsuit Janus v. AFSCME asks the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether public sector unions may continue to charge non-members in a workplace represented by the union a fee (“agency fee” or “fair share”) equal to the cost of representing them. The court’s ruling is expected early next year.
Bringing part-time playground aides into classified service
AB 670 would give “noon dutys” long overdue workplace rights
> Para leer este artículo en español, hagaclic aquí
Lesa Estrada has been a noon duty aide at Lawndale’s Anderson Elementary since her son began kindergarten here more than 25 years ago.
“All three of my children attended Anderson,” Estrada said. “I’ve seen kids grow up and bring us their children. Now some are bringing us their grandchildren.”
Luchando por los derechos laborales de los asistentes escolares de tiempo parcial
AB 670 reconocería a "noon dutys" como trabajadores clasificados
Lesa Estrada es asistente escolar en la Escuela Primaria Anderson de Lawndale desde que su hijo empezó el kinder hace más de 25 años.
“Mis tres hijos asistieron a la Anderson”, afirma Estrada. “He visto a niños crecer y traer a sus hijos. Ahora algunos nos traen a sus nietos”, agrega.
Members unite to fight Trump’s immigration orders
Council builds solidarity by engaging with members on issues that unite
Before the election our focus was on leadership development,” says Mia McIver, vice president for organizing for the University Council-AFT, “and the election brought us a sense of new urgency.” Strong leaders will provide the underpinning for the campaigns the union will undertake as it faces the Trump administration and a predictable tsunami of anti-union and anti-education measures.
New law brings reemployment rights for part-time faculty
Successful CFT-sponsored legislation calls for districts to negotiate
Community college districts will soon be compelled to negotiate what CFT-sponsored legislation calls “reemployment preference for part-time, temporary faculty.” The landmark provisions require districts to negotiate with the union in order to receive significant funding available from the state Student Success and Support Program.
Local union contract gains
- Tuolumne County Special Educators Federation and the Tuolumne Council of Classified Employees won 4 percent pay raises at the negotiating table.
- Cuesta College Classified United Employees negotiated a 3 percent on-schedule raise for everyone and 1.8 percent off schedule.
- Ventura County Federation of School Employees won back-to-back annual 3 percent raises.
- Gilroy Federation of Paraeducators won a 3 percent pay raise retroactive to the b
Freeway Flyers: Local action & quick news
New study explores sociology adjunct working conditions
As the only part-time faculty member of an American Sociological Association taskforce assembled to investigate the teaching of sociology within community colleges, Peralta Federation of Teachers member and Laney College instructor Cynthia Mahabir co-authored a scholarly study of data collected from part-time sociology instructors in the nation’s community colleges.
San Francisco faculty struck for a day and won
Local unity gains good contract, overdue pay raises
The faculty union at City College of San Francisco pulled off a one-day strike on April 27, despite the administration’s claim that the strike was illegal. To avert another strike, the college agreed to a union contract with substantial raises by July.