Newsroom
CFT Convention delegates working to “Reclaim the Promise”
A recap of Convention 2014
The Reverend William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, and leader of the growing “Moral Monday” movement contesting his state’s descent into the nineteenth century at the hands of its Tea Party government, provided a parable to the 600 elected delegates in the waning hours of the California Federation of Teachers’ 72nd annual convention, held in Manhattan Beach over the March 21-23 weekend.
Local Control Funding Formula: New regulations specify use of funds for targeted students
On January 16, the State Board of Education adopted emergency spending regulations for the supplemental and concentration grant funds that Local Educational Agencies (districts, county offices of education and some charter schools) will receive under the Local Control Funding Formula.
Morgan Hill educators fight to keep community-based schools
Silicon Valley charter chains eye San Jose suburb
The latest flashpoint in the big-money expansion by charter school chains in Silicon Valley is Morgan Hill, a bedroom community with rural roots just south of San Jose.
Within the last year both Rocketship Education and Navigator Schools petitioned to open charter schools in the Morgan Hill Unified School District. Following swift mobilization and communication by the union and community groups, the school board denied both applications.
New legislation proposes universal transitional kindergarten
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, has introduced a bill to expand California’s Transitional Kindergarten program to give every four-year-old the opportunity to attend a year of school before kindergarten.
UC-AFT: Putting union passion to work…
UC-AFT
Putting union passion to work. . . New
UC-AFT Executive Director Amy Hines brings a passion for labor to
the University Council. For the past several years she worked as
an organizer for the California School Employees Association and
coordinated the work of 10 labor relations professionals
representing 14,000 classified employees in more than 125
districts.
Hines has worked in unions since 2003, including UAW Local 2322,
SEIU Local 1000, and AFSCME Local 3299. Proudly, she said, “I am
honored to have been welcomed in all nine UC-AFT locals within my
first three months working here.”
CFT advisory committee analyzing impact of CalSTRS funding gap
The Legislature has begun public hearings to address a $71 billion funding gap in the pension system for K-14 teachers. Without an increase in contributions, CalSTRS predicts its assets will be depleted in about 30 years.
Union establishes Retiree Organizing Committee to build new chapters
The CFT has established the Retiree Organizing Committee to help local unions take advantage of the experience, skills and commitment of retired union members.
The goal of this new standing committee is to organize AFT retiree chapters around the state so that retirees may continue to contribute to their unions — and have opportunities to connect with former colleagues.
Photographer brings the art of class struggle to wide audience
Previously censored works of San Diego professor Fred Lonidier in Whitney Biennial
Fred Lonidier’s artwork depicting the lives and struggles of maquiladora workers was banished from the Autonomous University of Baja California in 2005. This month artwork telling the story of that censorship will go up on the walls of New York’s prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art as part of its renowned Biennial exhibition.
Proposition 30 leads way to fiscal recovery
Public school educators face a new threat in the form of the Vergara v. California lawsuit, which aims to declare unconstitutional five provisions of the Education Code that ensure seniority, due process and other rights for K-12 teachers.
CFT releases statewide study of part-time faculty pay
Collaborative union effort leads to promising new tool for bargaining
A new CFT study has, for the first time, ranked compensation for part-time faculty throughout California and found that salaries vary dramatically across the state.
The Vergara lawsuit: Anti-public education ideology cloaked in civil rights rhetoric
Public school educators face a new threat in the form of the Vergara v. California lawsuit, which aims to declare unconstitutional five provisions of the Education Code that ensure seniority, due process and other rights for K-12 teachers. (See page 7)
Domestic Worker Bill of Rights corrects historic wrongs
Seven-year journey to bring overtime protections to personal attendants
They work in the shadows of society and have been excluded from the most basic of labor protections. Yet those domestic workers who care for seniors, children and the disabled, have risen above their historic isolation, built an effective coalition and performed the seven years of heavy lifting that saw their struggle succeed.