Hello again,
Here are five items I am considering after this challenging week for BTA and unions in general.
1. In negotiations this week we were presented with a side letter stating that two of our professional development days may be cut due to loss of funding. We are still investigating this letter but insist that all professional development time is valuable and necessary to the continued improvement of our educational program. Just because the district may cut these days does not mean they have to cut these days. Since our professional time appears to be an easy target for the administration, we will need your help and support to retain these two days.
2. Members of BTA’s Executive Board will be making visits to some school sites the week of March 7th. Please stop by to meet us and share your concerns.
3. Supportive leaders are vital to the existence of our rights guaranteed by union membership. I am asking BTA members who live in Glendale to please consider voting for Nayiri Nahabedian (incumbant) and Ingrid Gunnell (former student of Glendale schools and elementary teacher in LAUSD). Both are recommended by Glendale Teachers Association and will be sure to stand up for teachers. We are continually compared to GUSD so a strong GTA helps make a strong BTA.
4. The new personal property form acknowledging your right to compensation in case of loss in Article 15 of the contract. BTA still does not recommend bringing your personal property to school, as the amount of compensation will not match the actual cost of the item.
5. We are enjoying the successes of our efforts in the November election and are relatively safe that our state leaders see the importance of workers’ rights. That is not the case across the country. Many states have new leadership who are focused on dismantling unions. CTA members throughout the state have been staging rallies in support of unions in Wisconsin, Idaho and many other states who are facing challenges to their unions. Now is the time for unions to speak up and stand together to let the world know that we are not responsible for the failure of the economy. Instead of begrudging the rights and benefits of union workers, we should be fighting to insure the rights of all workers.
Here are some links to articles that have been passed around by CTA members regarding the fight in Wisconsin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/opinion/21krugman.html
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/22/ravitch.follow.up/index.html
http://lilysblackboard.org/2011/02/wisconsin-teachers-union-struggle/
Have a good week!
Lori Adams
BTA President