Council of Classified Employees  

Week of Dec. 14, 2009 

AFT at Climate Conference
Lecturers Seek Union Voice
Jobless Benefits a Vital Lifeline 

Final School Improvement Regulations a Mixed Bag
Final rules for the federal School Improvement Grant program paint a mixed picture, making it critical for AFT affiliates to get involved at the state and local levels to help keep this massive program true to its goal of helping struggling schools. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, SIG provides more than $3.5 billion to assist the nation's persistently lowest-achieving schools. The U.S. Department of Education released final SIG rules on Dec. 3—rules that, to some degree, reflect comments submitted by the AFT and its affiliates during the rule-making process. For example, some SIG-prescribed models for turning around struggling schools rest on job-embedded professional development, improved school climate and discipline, expanded instructional time, and strategies to engage families and communities. However, the final SIG regulations also retain components that are neither research-based nor likely to increase student achievement. The AFT has produced an overview of the final regulations. [Read more.]

AFT Participating in U.N. Climate Change Conference
AFT vice president and New York State United Teachers president Richard Iannuzzi is joining other labor leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, to urge all nations to make a strong commitment to address climate change and create "good green jobs." More than 25,000 delegates and observers are attending the historic summit, which continues through Dec. 18. Iannuzzi, a member of the AFL-CIO delegation, is participating in events sponsored by the Blue Green Alliance, an organization of labor and environmental leaders. "We just can't talk about climate change. We're in Copenhagen to start working to improve the world for the students we serve today and for future generations," Iannuzzi says. "Addressing climate change is crucial to the survival of all nations and their citizens." [Read more.]

Eastern Michigan U. Part-Timers Seek a Union Voice
Part-time lecturers at Eastern Michigan University have filed for a representation election with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. A majority of these lecturers have joined the Eastern Michigan University Federation of Teachers, which already represents full-time lecturers at EMU. Part-time lecturers, who call themselves the Adjunct Lecturers' Organizing Committee, filed an accretion petition and membership cards with MERC on Dec. 9. "For me, one of the central goals for bringing part-time lecturers into the EMUFT is to secure the fundamental right of all teachers to have a determining voice in the conditions under which we work," says Mark Wenzel, a part-time lecturer in the History and Philosophy Department. [Read more.]

Unemployment Benefits Provide Economic Boost
A new study predicts that, unless Congress extends jobless benefits provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through 2010, 1 million workers will become ineligible for those benefits in January. By March, that number would increase to 3.2 million, according to "Keeping a First Line of Defense for the Jobless," a study from the National Employment Law Project, the Center for American Progress Action Fund and The Half in Ten Campaign. Speaking at a press conference, AFL-CIO executive vice president Arlene Holt Baker pointed out that jobless workers spend their benefits very quickly, which in turn quickly boosts the domestic economy. Every dollar the government provides for unemployment benefits is estimated to increase economic output by $1.63 to $2.15, she said. Extending unemployment benefits for families hard hit by the recession is one part of the AFL-CIO's five-part plan for immediate job creation.

Where and When
AFT president Randi Weingarten will be in Pittsburgh on Dec. 14 to attend an event sponsored by Pittsburgh Promise, an organization that helps all students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools plan, prepare and pay for education beyond high school at an accredited post-secondary institution within the state. She also will speak at the announcement of the Gates Foundation Intensive Partnership grant to the Pittsburgh school system, which was based on a proposal submitted collaboratively with the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. On Dec. 16, Weingarten will be in Washington, D.C., to participate in an AFL-CIO executive council session, meet with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to discuss issues of importance to our members, and participate in a conference call with the AFT Teachers program and policy council. AFT secretary-treasurer Antonia Cortese will attend the Learning First Alliance board meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 14. On Dec. 15, she will attend a United Way of America board meeting in National Harbor, Md.

Inside AFT, an electronic newsletter for leaders and activists, is prepared by the AFT editorial department. Contributors and sources for this week's edition include Mike Rose, Beth Antunez, the AFT public affairs department, Barbara McKenna, David Hecker, Greg Pratt, AFL-CIO Now, AFGE, Jared Schwartz, Rita Freedman, Tressa Stunson and Catherine Mason. Dan Gursky, editor; Jane Feller, copy editor.