October 3, 2009

Agenda

1.  Welcome new committee members
Introductions, New member: Ed Wong, CFT staff liaison

2.  Approve Minutes of May 2, 2009 meeting; minutes accepted as presented.

3.  Brief reports:

• Speaker’s Commission on Labor Education – Brief intro by Fred. Because of hostile governor, budget for Speaker’s Commission is gone and the SCLE is basically in a holding pattern. But SCLE has built support for Labor History Week activities, funded creation of California Labor History map, the production of  “Work Money, and Power,” etc. Diane Bush noted that SCLE is a place where labor unions who really support labor education have come together and reinforced their support for labor education. The SCLE is larger than the CFT and has been very useful for mutual support, eg. the revolving displays have been shared there, and the SCLE has been a clearinghouse for other labor publications and programs, as well.
• AFT resolution progress – National Task Force for K-12 Labor Education. The resolution (brought by LISC to CFT) mandates that NEA &  AFL-CIO be asked to join in a labor education conference. AFT leadership transition issues have delayed action on the resolution at the AFT national level, as has its focus on EFCA and health care reform. Yet, Fred attended UALE meeting in April, on behalf of the AFT. He found 4 or 5 labor educators who have been working around our issues there from other parts of the country. At the recent AFL-CIO convention, the same resolution was passed.
  Yet the AFT has not yet moved on this. FG assures the LISC that AFT & AFL-CIO VP Laura Rico and Paul Cole (ALSC -- Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 http://www.labor-studies.org/colebio.php & retired NY AFT VP) will take the lead on implementing this resolution and on moving it through the AFT. LISC needs and hopes to see movement on convening the conference in the next few months. We can assess progress or lack of movement at the January 10 LISC meeting.
  F Glass again notes: “Labor education is the ‘2^nd favorite topic’ of all labor leaders.”
• AFL-CIO resolution – see above
• Dolores Huerta Labor Institute – received 2 or three year extension, but budget has been cut.. DHLI will have to fundraise. DHLI staff are updating primer on LA area labor and demographics, working on a new book on Wal-mart, and working on developing partnerships. DHLI needs about $1000 for Labor History Week installation at LA City Hall. for shipping and for installation/dismantling. Perhaps a union with member on Labor Council could assist in fundraising for this. [see later LISC agenda action item.] The display will be installed on the Bridge at LA City Hall; Fred says a reception would be good idea to launch LHW in Los Angeles area; However, in order not to incur further costs, the reception has to be during regular work/office hours.
• SF Community College Labor and Community Studies
• HSS framework revision: “Governor vetoed budget covering the HSS framework revision. And, the federal Dept of Education/Arne Duncan/“Race to the Top” policy is creating national academic standards which would override all of Linda Tubach’s work on State standards committee.
• CBEP /Collective Bargaining Education Project  -- see L Tubach written report:
  CBEP removed from LAUSD budget, but is still alive as volunteer project by Linda. UTLA is still underwriting office and basic support. Tubach is actively fundraising. She has also requested that Greg Solkovits (UTLA AFT & high school teacher) to push UTLA and LAUSD into an MOU memorializing their mutual commitment to CBEP. This has not yet occurred.
  
  As of this meeting, LISC Co-Chair Linda Tubach is in Italy.

• LOHP/Labor Occupational Health Program/Safe Jobs for Youth Month
  Diane Bush reports on 3 opportunities for teens: poster contest.
  (Last year’s winner was honored by Adrienne Denney’s district and county Superintendent):
  PSA/Public Service Announcement contest; Young Worker Leadership Academies @ UCB and UCLA, in early 2010. There is also a summer internship program for young people to get involved in Occupational Healthà Trying to interest students in Public health and work-related issues. Under grads get paid $5000 for 8 weeks. DB et. al. are looking for interested students. Gerry V. asked for materials on YWLA.

• Curriculum development- T Edminster and B Morgan spoke with Bill Shields about possible Spring semester course on “Teaching about Labor and Social Justice” for teachers; Shields has not gotten back to TE & BM about the course; he needed to explore the possibility of moving funds from non-credit to credit; he could only permit a one unit course for the Spring. The process of Edminster & Morgan local/UESF collaboration was initiated by UESF President Dennis Kelly, who had also proposed development of biographies of people active San Francisco/Bay Area labor movement, ie, Curt Flood, Mattie Jackson (ILGWU) & Jack Shelley---targeted at middle school students. Catherine Powell, SFSU Labor Archives Director—assisted BM and TE in outlining possible resources, activities, projects for such a CCSF class.
  • elementary curriculum:  Prepublication of “Mission Labor” was passed out to LISC members for input.
• San Diego Community College : Jim Miller:
  Classes proposed and created for Labor Studies classes. Politics and history classes filled; nuts and bolts classes always cancelled. Labor Council agrees to their need but has never followed through with recruiting for such classes. Program is moving to more academic programs, ie, organizing classes. Lot of old classes have been cut in favor of Black Studies, Chicano Studies, gender classes, labor movement (diversity classes) many have graduated from this program and joined other Labor studies programs and staff in ‘house of labor.’
  
  Fred Glass reports that 8-10% budget cuts at SFCC, so Fred’s class was cut. His class will be continued next year, per agreement with Bill Shields.

Other:

United Association for Labor Educators/UALE to be held in San Diego March 24-27, 2010. LISC will participate. Jim would love to attend and present. All are encouraged to attend. Discussion between Fred and Diane about presenting at this conference.

Fred presented each member with a copy of “Solidarity Stories,” by labor historian Harvey Schwartz. The book is gift to LISC members, courtesy of  ILWU Educational Director.

Thanks also to Kenadi for bringing them to the LISC meeting.

4. Planning/calendar

• Review 2008/9 budget: LISC budget info from 2008 to present was reviewed. LISC has highest allocation of all CFT Committees for 2009-10.
  Dennis Smith, CFT Secty-Treasurer and Leticia Castro, new to CFT staff, sat in meeting and described protocol for meeting reports and allocations for peripheral CFT committee costs. Tom described confusion between specific committee costs and more general CFT Committee expenditures. Dennis Smith: “I feel your pain.”
  LISC  proposal for 2010 was for between $6,000 and $9,000.
  LISC m/s/p to allocate $1000 of 2008-2009 budget to LA City Hall Labor History Week display, being organized by DHLI/Kenadi Le.

• Fred Glass repeats “2^nd favorite issue” line, but will make Farmworker comic book happen by end of this calendar year.

• LISC appointment process/accountability?:  Joel Flores is still interested in working w/ committee. Richard Hathaway has dropped out. Lori Minor – status; F Glass will check her status with Dean M of Los Rios local.

• Labor History Week (“Month”)– possible sites for displays: bus displays, I LWU displays, CFT labor history, etc. (See LISC minutes of May 2^nd). J Colon ill check with Berkeley High School. Fred will follow up with SF Main branch library and Diane Bush will follow up with Bill Shields, and AFT 2121 (Ed Murray or Gus Goldstein). Sacramento people are also doing displays, Dept. of Ed, Capitol Rotunda, Sacramento State….

Notification of LHW/M to high school social studied dept chairs: is done by State Superintendent of School Jack O’Connell’s office. All high school Social Studies Dept. heads receive notification. What about Jr. High and Elementary? Costs are prohibitive. Hard copies are better than emails. Mailings are about $3000 each.

Adjourned for lunch at 12:06

• Safe Jobs for Youth Month (DB) – see above

• labor education curriculum report (funded by Shanker Institute) – Paul Cole,  former Sec-Treasurer of AFT New York – American Labor Studies Center website on K-12 Labor Ed; Kate Mullaney House purchased, National Park/Historical Site; project on Jr. High/High School history texts, to detect bias against labor in those books. Based on early work of Will Scoggins LISC member. ALSC website link is on CFT website, via the Labor in the Schools Committee.

• Other budget item noted: CFT Labor in the Schools Conference? This was placed in budget  in case AFT did not take up labor education conference.

6. New Member Orientation- DVD shown by F Glass to LISC members present. DVD produced for AFT  Local 2121, who are working with Fred to develop orientation for new members.

Fred answered questions and discussion took place on this effort. For about $100-125, F Glass can make such a film for any local.

7.  Other…..(At this point, we adjourned to take a  committee  picture.)

8.Next meeting—January 10, 2010, Oakland Airport Hilton; pre Convention CFT Committee meetings.

keyboarding by Bill Morgan/first edit by T Edminster 10 14 09

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