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Smears vs. solutions

Randi Weingarten at a Massachusetts high school

Summer is upon us, and parents, children and teachers are winding down from what has been an exhausting and fully operational school year—the first since the devastating pandemic. The long-lasting impact of COVID-19 has affected our students’ and families’ well-being and ignited the politics surrounding public schools. All signs point to the coming school year unfolding with the same sound and fury, and if extremist culture warriors have their way, being even more divisive and stressful.

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What unions do

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In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

Oregon Virtual Academy Teachers Vote to Form New Union

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Teachers at the Oregon Virtual Academy (ORVA) in North Bend voted overwhelmingly to form a new union, the ORVA Educators United (OEU). The National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election results on Thursday, with over 80% of ORVA’s teachers voting to form the new union.  MORE

In defense of public education

Randi Weingarten and NYC teacher Tamara Simpson

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

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Coalition of Four School Workers Unions Reach Agreement with Portland Public Schools to Provide Free Lead Testing to All Workers

District Also Promises Increased Transparency and Communication
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 24, 2016
 
Contact: 
Andrew Gorry, andrewg@aft-oregon.org, 971-888-5665
Belinda Reagan, belinda@pfsp111.org, 503-236-3497
 
PORTLAND, OR—On Tuesday, June 21, the Portland School Board approved a budget for 2016-2017 that includes up to $250,000 to make free lead testing available to any Portland Public School (PPS) school worker who requests it.
 
This new funding comes from an agreement made between the district and leaders of four unions representing school workers at PPS over the course of two meetings
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SWOCCCF, local 3972, wins back pay

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“Unions stand up for workers even if they’re not in the bargaining unit … technically.”

This was the mindset of Southwestern Oregon Community College Classified Federation (SWOCCCF), local 3972, President Vickie Brumit, and the rest of the local’s classified employees when they challenged the classification of five test proctors at their college.

For years, the college hid the proctors from the unit claiming they were not classified employees and not subject to the union contract.

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Members excited to see Sitton receive $5,000 AFL-CIO Adopt-a-School grant

Local 111 member Diane Newton-Prior encourages classified employees at Sitton Elementary to stand during a presentation of a $5,000 AFL-CIO Adopt-A-School grant.
Sitton Elementary School in North Portland is one of 21 schools nationwide to receive a $5,000 AFL-CIO Adopt-A-School grant. During a presentation to the school, Diane Newton-Prior, one of the Local 111 (PFSP) members who work at the school, expressed her gratitude to the AFL-CIO on behalf of classified staff and teachers.

“We are very honored and will put the money to good use,” said Newton-Prior, who is a library assistant at the school. “At a low income school, every penny counts, and there are many ways we can use the grant.”

AFL-CIO Adopt-a-School grant program is designed to provide

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