Newsroom
Local organizer preps for fall elections, takes on financial giant
Peralta Federation challenges Morgan Stanley to share bailout windfall with district
Janell Hampton rarely slows down as she goes about connecting faculty, students, staff, unions, and community groups. The political organizer for the 1000-member Peralta Federation of Teachers is pulling together people with a long-term vision for improving public education. She calls her work “the perfect opportunity to impact the world in a way other than teaching.”
Deceptive ballot proposition is another corporate power grab
The latest in a string of ballot measures claiming to limit special interest money in politics will appear on the November ballot. This is yet another attempt to deceive voters into passing a law that benefits wealthy corporate interests at the expense of workers and unions. It is nothing but a corporate power grab, the kind California voters have already rejected twice first in 1998 and again in 2005.
No on Proposition 32
It's not what it seems
Proposition 32, a measure appearing on the November statewide ballot, is not what it seems. While it claims to be about “stopping special interests” the measure actually exempts corporate special interests and Super PACs from its proposed rules.
Instead, Prop 32 would give even more power to the wealthy and well-connected to influence elections, control government and weaken our state’s middle class, while drastically reducing the ability of unions to represent their members and address workers’ needs through the political process.
Rank & Files, Feb-March 2012
Kimberly Claytor, president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, Local 1794 and CFT vice president, was listed by Costa Mesa’s Daily Pilot newspaper as the eighth most influential person in the Newport-Mesa community for 2011. The Pilot said, “The teachers’ union president voiced support for cutting money from the administration instead of the classroom and led a teachers union no-confidence vote in the superintendent.”
It’s What Matters Today
In American education and in Finnish education
Diane Ravitch and Pasi Sahlberg spoke at events hosted by United Educators of San Francisco and co-sponsored by CFT and CTA
Yes on 30: The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012
Proposition 30, the Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act, is on the November 6 ballot. Along with Proposition 32, it is the most important issue facing California voters among the many ballot measures.
Three CFT-sponsored equity bills continued in 2012 legislative session
When locally bargained contract improvements seem impossible, statewide legislation becomes an attractive option. Over the past few years, CFT and other education unions and associations have sponsored bills to strengthen part-time faculty job security and improve working conditions. While the ultimate gains of this strategy could be tremendous, the process of passing bills can be extremely challenging.
Freeway Flyers: Local action & quick news
Coast rights injustice for part-timers working in non-instructional positions
After years of patience andpersistence, the Coast Federation of Educators secured compensation for two part-time non-instructional faculty members who were discovered to be working more hours than a full-timer — at a fraction of the pay.
When confronted with these violations, according to Local 1911 President Dean Mancina, the district claimed this group of faculty was exempt from both the California Education Code and the local’s collective bargaining agreement.
Ravani comments on new “parent trigger” regs
In San Jose Mercury News op-ed
Last week the state Board of Education issued new regulations governing the “parent trigger” law for struggling schools. The CFT views the new regulations as an improvement over the original poorly-crafted law, but finds the very concept of the “parent trigger” to be a distraction from the central issues facing public schools.
CFT’s EC/K-12 Council President Gary Ravani comments in today’s San Jose Mercury News in an op-ed piece.
The passage of Proposition 25 will help make California a working state
The members and leaders of CFT see that California’s education system, and our jobs, are placed at grave risk by a faltering economy, chronic late state budgets, and a paralyzed political process. On November 2, the rest of California agreed with us.
Voters passed Proposition 25, changing state budget approval to a majority, ending the tyranny of a two-thirds vote and the partisan groups that benefit from a revenue-starved government.
Week 5: March for California’s Future
Marchers say the two-thirds rule cuts teachers and builds prisons
MANTECA, CA (4/11/10) — Beginning the final stretch before their arrival in Sacramento, the hardy band of walkers in the March for California’s Future passed into the California delta at Manteca and Stockton.
Week 4: March for California’s Future
Defending a life's work in education
DELHI, CA (4/3/10) — Evenings in the San Joaquin Valley have grown warmer as the marchers for California’s future head for Sacramento. At the journey’s start in Bakersfield and Shafter, even the days were cold. But as night settles into a campground beside the Merced River just north of Livingston, you can feel spring is in the air.