ABCFT - Week in Review - September 7, 2018
Wittmann Teachers showing their spirit!
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In case you’ve missed previous Weeks in Review, you can find all of them here: ABCTeachernews To find previous editions, just click on “Blog Archive” which is the menu on the right and click on the specific week.
(ABC Federation of Teachers)
In Unity
ABC Federation of Teachers
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NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
All members should have seen the 2% increase to the salary schedule on their September 1 checks. In addition, the majority of teachers and health professionals who chose to participate in the August 22nd professional development day bargained for by your ABCFT negotiating team should have received their checks on September 5. Members who are brand new or hired after the original June requisition will see their check on October 5.
We have been working with the district to clarify exactly when members can expect the distribution of this year's 2% off schedule check. We currently have a tentative window of around the new year at this point but will firm up this date in coming weeks.
Q: What is the color of a new tennis ball, was produced with a great deal of hard work, and helps protect you every day?
A: Your new contract!
A paper copy of the 2017-2020 ABCFT/ABCUSD Master Contract will be delivered to your site reps at the October 4 rep council meeting. The Site Representatives will then deliver the contracts to the teachers and medical professionals at their school site. In the meantime, here is a link to the online version of the new contract.
Here are some time sensitive highlights from your new contract:
1) October 1 is the new date by which administrators have to get classes adjusted. This was a priority noted on a number of member surveys and is a change from the longstanding date of October 15.
2) TK-Kindergarten teachers have no fewer than 20 minimum days for the purpose of assessing students. These days are exclusive of any other minimum days the site may choose to have.
These contracts, though new, will not reflect the most recent pay increases. Please see the links below or on the district website for the updated schedules.
In Unity
Ruben Mancillas
ABCFT, Chief Negotiator
ABCFT will have more information about negotiations in future weeks but here is an update on current projects:
- Stipend committee members are will be solicited for discussions about the use of stipends at school sites.
- The Negotiating team is looking at the updating the current STULL evaluation form with updated language from the California Standards for Teaching.
- Evaluation handbook is being updated to reflect the language changes in the evaluation.
Here are the links to the Human Resources page on the remodeled ABC website for the new ABCFT Master Contract as well as the link to the new 2018-2019 Salary Schedules.
Know your Weingarten Rights
In 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court held that employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement have a right to be represented during investigatory interviews. The case was National Labor Relations Board v. Weingarten. Below, you will learn how to assert your “Weingarten Rights.”
When to bring a union representative
You have the right to have a union representative at any meeting or investigatory interview with a supervisor or administrator that you reasonably believe might lead to discipline. These are called your Weingarten Rights, named after a 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision. Your supervisor does not have to notify you of your right to union representation — you must assert your Weingarten Rights. This applies to everyone who works in a unionized child care center, school, college or university, whether public or private.
What is discipline?
Discipline might include a written reprimand, a demotion, an unpaid suspension from work, or termination.
About attending meetings
If you are told to attend a meeting with your supervisor, ask what the topic will be. If it sounds to you as if it might lead to discipline, contact your union and ask for a representative to accompany you. Or, if you are in a meeting with your supervisor and the direction turns toward reprimand, say that you would like to reschedule the meeting to allow you to have a union rep present. If the supervisor refuses, explain that you prefer not to answer questions, but that you will if directly ordered to do so.
To assert your Weingarten Rights, say:
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated, or could affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present.”
> If you have a problem on the job or you see a violation of your union contract, contact your site representative or local grievance officer. If you think you have a legal problem, contact ABCFT at Ext. 21500 or ABCFT@ABCUSD.us or ABCFT2317@gmail.com immediately.
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KEEPING YOU INFORMED
Each week, we will highlight a communications flyer that will help keep you informed about your rights and responsibilities as an educational professional. Next week, we will feature a flyer about class sizes and caseloads.
Each week I work with unit members in representations, contract resolutions, email/text/phone call questions, site concerns, site visits, presentations, state/national representations and mediations. Here are some of the highlights of interest.
I hope you all had a good Labor Day Weekend and that this week has been short and sweet. This week ABCFT has been delivering cakes to welcome back teachers and medical professionals and to give a little sugar rush before their Back to School nights. Keep an eye out for a cake in your staff lounge as part of your school year kick-off. In case you were wondering if you were going to get a welcome back package, we are putting the finishing touches on our welcome back magnetic erasers that will be delivered in the next week or so.
I’ve had the pleasure of attending some of the Back to School celebrations to tour classrooms and speak with teachers. As I’m visiting the schools I see that there is a big push of information for parents about the bond measure BB which will be on the ballot in November. ABCFT will have a special report on Monday to highlight information on the bond and how important a school bond is to some of the bread and butter issues that impact teachers (salary, working conditions and benefit). However, mark your calendars for the Measure BB kickoff on September 12th at 5pm. On Monday ABCFT will send out all the necessary details to attend and the unions plan on how to support measure BB.
At the moment, I’m sitting in an interviews for an administrator position next to a site representative and representatives from all the bargaining units and site administrators. I was talking to someone from another district that was upset that his school did not have a school representative for a new vice principal position. It is so important that a school site has representation during a job interview so that a site representative has the opportunity to pass on to the interview panel what is important to the site or program that will be impacted by the hiring.
I’m sorry for the brevity of this week's message, but you know that we will more than make up for it throughout the year. Have an excellent weekend!
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
What is the CFT?
What is the California Federation of Teachers?
- The California Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals affiliated with the more than 1.7 million member American Federation of Teachers, and through it with the AFL-CIO.
- The CFT comprises the state’s 145 local unions chartered by the AFT. Each local is affiliated with its regional AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and the California Labor Federation.
- Through its local unions, the CFT represents more than 120,000 educational employees working at every level of public and private education from Head Start to the University of California.
- In all segments of education, the CFT is committed to promoting high-quality education and to securing the conditions necessary to provide the best services to California’s students.
Why is there a CFT?
- The CFT was founded in 1919 to provide a labor union alternative for classroom teachers. To gain employee rights taken for granted by other workers, CFT lawyers and courageous teachers tested the courts again and again, building a strong body of case law. One observer said, “The AFT in California is responsible for having won 90 percent of the cases dealing with teachers’ rights during the 1960s.”
- To provide essential workplace rights, the CFT in 1953 introduced the first teachers’ collective bargaining bill in the California Legislature. It reintroduced similar bills for the following two decades, until passage of the Educational Employment Relations Act in 1975 finally brought collective bargaining rights to K–14 teachers and classified employees working in public education. Since then CFT has represented these employees in professional and employment-related matters.
- Three years later, in 1978, CFT helped pass the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, bringing the benefits of collective bargaining to university employees. Today the CFT represents lecturers and librarians at the University of California.
What has CFT achieved?
- PRE-K AND K–12 TEACHERS The CFT leads the state’s movement for quality education based on high academic standards for both students and teachers. Through the collective bargaining contract, AFT unions became trailblazers in establishing successful peer assistance and review programs, and other professional development, still in place today. CFT works to secure universal preschool for all California children as well as lifelong learning for adults.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
No plans to use federal funds to arm teachers
Betsy De Vos has said that she has “no intention of taking any action” regarding any possible use of federal funds to arm teachers or provide them with firearms training. The Education Secretary’s comments come after Frank Brogan, assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education, said states and local jurisdictions always “had the flexibility” to decide how to use federal education funds. Mr. Brogan said arming educators “is a good example of a profoundly personal decision on the part of a school or a school district or even a state.” However, Ms. DeVos said that: “Congress did not authorize me or the Department to make those decisions” about arming teachers or training them on the use of firearms. Her comments were in a letter to Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House committee overseeing education;. “I will not take a ny action that would expand or restrict the responsibilities and flexibilities granted to state and local education agencies by Congress,” Ms. DeVos wrote.
Frustrated teachers hitting campaign trail
Following a series of grassroots strike action, teachers are running for office from both parties in unprecedented numbers to increase their voice both in statehouses and in Washington. Over 300 educators are on ballots, more than double the 2014 and 2016 numbers, seeking to reverse trends that have led to tighter budgets, charter school expansion and pension cuts. Jahana Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year who is vying to be Connecticut's first black Democrat in Congress, says: "Education is in crisis. And teachers are held responsible for the poor decisions made by lawmakers. Even though we were never at the table, we're still held accountable." In Florida, Andrew Gillum, who won the Democratic primary last week, is noted to support investing in public education, raising teacher salaries and overhauling standardized testing.
Districts nationwide tackle rising absenteeism
School districts across the country are trialling new ways to tackle student absenteeism, which increased nationally by 12% between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 school years. Some are taking a punitive approach: in Washingtonand Arkansas, districts have instated truancy boards to investigate the reasons behind individual students’ absenteeism, while Dothan City Schools district inAlabama is suspending absentees and charging families a re-enrolment fee.Florida and Texas districts are instead aiming to encourage better attendance by offering prize incentives -- such as gift cards and televisions – to students with perfect attendance records. Chronic absenteeism is factored as a measurement for district accountability standards in 36 states as well as the District of Columbia, with DC reporting the highest level of chronic absenteeism in the country at the last count, at 31% of all students. Policy experts advise that there is “no single solution” to absenteeism, but recommendations include celebrating smaller attendance milestones to keep motivation up through the year, and mailing personalized letters to parents to inform them of their children’s absences.
DeVos to attend G-20 education event in South America
Betsy DeVos will travel to South America this week for the first-ever G-20 economic development and cooperation forum meeting of education ministers, her second international trip after visiting Europe in June. The Education Secretary will visit career and technical education programs in Argentina and meet with her counterpart in Chile, Minister of Education Marcela Cubillos.
----- STATE NEWS -----
New California bill could limit early school start times
California lawmakers voted on Friday to block Friday middle and high schools from starting before 8:30 a.m., with SB 328 narrowly passing in both chambers ahead of a midnight deadline. If Gov. Jerry Brown signs it, schools will have about three years to comply. It would not apply to rural schools or to extra periods offered before the start of a school day. It would not mandate changes to school day lengths. Supporters point to science that shows later start times make kids healthier by letting them get more sleep and help them graduate; opponents, however, say local school boards, not the state, should determine start times. "When it comes to education, the farther away the decisions are made from the classroom, the worse those decisions are," Assemblyman Jose Medina (D-Riverside) said.
----- DISTRICTS -----
Los Angeles teachers authorize strike action
Members of the Los Angeles teachers union have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if labor negotiations with Los Angeles USD fail to bear fruit. Ninety-eight per cent of United Teachers Los Angeles members cast ballots in favor of strike action; if the strike is called, it would be the first in the district since 1989. Arlene Inouye, chair of the UTLA bargaining team, called the vote a "sharp rebuke" of LA USD Superintendent Austin Beutner's agenda to "starve our schools of resources, call them failures, opening the door to dismantling our school district." In response, the district said: "We hope our shared responsibility to put students first will prevent a strike and lead to a common-sense resolution that recognizes the hard work of our employees while addressing the safety and instructional needs of students and the financial solvency of L.A. Unified."
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT stated a working relationship with National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company. Throughout our partnership, NTA has been supportive of ABCFT activities by sponsorship and prizes for our various events. This organization specializes in providing insurance for educators across the nation. We have been provided both data and member testimonials about how pleased they have been with the NTA products and the opportunity to look at alternatives to the district insurance choice.
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