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November 4 is our opportunity to elect an ally and defeat a self-appointed reformer
By Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President
The CFT’s priorities in the November 4 General Election are straightforward: Reelect Tom Torlakson Superintendent of Public Instruction, elect Betty Yee for State Controller and pass Propositions 45 and 47.
In the remaining weeks before the election, we need all of our members to get involved with their local unions and their central labor councils. We have to approach this election as if the future of public education depends on it, because it does.
CalSTRS contribution rates rise to rebuild pension fund
Union’s full court press succeeds
Three bills on fair accreditation signed into law
Community colleges Legislative action has demonstrated that Gov. Brown and the California Legislature believe that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges was out of line.
California districts roll out LCAPs to mixed reviews
Degree of teacher and classified input to local plans varies widely
Ray Gaer sees the Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, as “a different forum for unions to talk about things that matter and an opportunity to build more cooperative relationships. The president of the ABC Federation of Teachers says, “We can talk about how programs are selected and developed and how money is spent before getting to the bargaining table.”
Rank & Files, Sep-Oct 2014
Adam Siegel, UC Davis librarian and grievance steward for Local 2023 was awarded a $12,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to translate a contemporary Russian work of fiction into English. Siegel, a translator of numerous languages, will use the grant to translate Vasilii Golovanov’s The Island: or, A Justification for Meaningless Travels.
About Proposition 2 and capping K-12 district reserves
Many members have inquired about the budget trailer bill that places a much-needed cap on K-12 district reserves and adds more transparency and public accountability measures for these districts.
Propositions 45 and 47 protect consumers and communities
Proposition 45 With increasing health insurance costs continuing to burden consumers, Prop. 45 is designed to reduce the pace of premium increases. The measure requires insurance companies to justify rate increases prior to passing additional costs on to consumers and gives the insurance commissioner the power to approve rate increases. A similar system of checks and balances in the auto insurance market has saved consumers billions of dollars.
Local Wire, Sep-Oct 2014
LOCAL 1603
Protecting the rehire pool…When administrators at
Oakland’s Laney College chose not to rehire part-time sociology
professor and Peralta Federation of Teachers Part-time Faculty
Representative Cynthia Mahabir, and two other members of the
Part-time Faculty Rehire Preference Pool, the faculty rallied
quickly.
Legislature acts on EpiPens, teacher dismissal, drought, pesticide use on campus
FROM THE STATE CAPITOL
During the driest calendar year on record, Gov. Brown declared a statewide drought emergency, which spurred a concerted push for a new water bond.
Betty Yee: The qualified candidate for State Controller
A young Betty Yee worked in her immigrant parents’ laundry and
dry cleaning business, where she dealt with customers, and with
money.
After graduating from the University of California, Yee held jobs
in which she was responsible for analyzing and collecting
billions of dollars, including senior fiscal positions for the
state Legislature.
New organizing chief embraces democracy campaign
“You See (UC) Democracy?”aims for systemwide change and a fully enfranchised faculty
Chris Hables Gray is widely known in academic circles for his research on the U.S. military post-World War II. The UC Santa Cruz lecturer has also written extensively about how technology is transforming humans.
Education unions fight to reverse Vergara ruling
The CFT and the California Teachers Association filed a notice of appeal asking that Judge Rolf Treu’s ruling in Vergara v. California be reversed in its entirety. Stating that Treu’s decision striking down five California Education Code provisions “is without support in law or fact,” the appeal says Treu’s reversible errors are “too numerous to list.”
Torlakson has the courage to face false reform efforts
State Superintendent has proven leadership and classroom experience
Her voice swelling with hometown pride, elementary school teacher Melinda Dart says, “Tom Torlakson was a student in our Daly City schools — and he went on to become a teacher and state superintendent of all schools.”
During his early years, Torlakson’s mother worked as a school secretary and his father as a welder. After high school, Torlakson attended San Mateo Community College before entering the Merchant Marine and serving in Vietnam. Upon his return, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in education and a teaching credential at UC Berkeley.