Rodolfo Palma, AFT-Oregon’s new Field Coordinator brings years of experience as an organizer beginning in his college years, and including a two year stint in Chile, as it emerged from an oppressive dictatorship.
AFT-Oregon members spent a few hours on May 4, to canvass for Jaime Rodriguez, Local 2277 (PCCFAP) who is running for the Hillsboro School Board. Volunteers knocked on doors all over the district to talk one-on-one with voters on the importance of voting in school board elections, and what their votes mean for public education in Hillsboro.
Local 6069 (CGE) will hold a representation election for OSU graduate assistants currently excluded from the bargaining unit. Ballots will be mailed by February 21, and will be due back to the Employment Relations Board by March 7, 2013. Inclusion of these employees would double the bargaining unit to some 1,700 represented.
The National Day of Action to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education brought together thousands of educators, parents, students and community members who attended more than 100 events around the country, despite challenging weather conditions in many locations.
The AFT and First Book announced that they have distributed 1 million new, free children's books to public schools and to community and educational groups nationwide serving children in low-income families.
The latest results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) drive home what has become abundantly clear: While the intentions may have been good, a decade of top-down, test-based schooling created by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top—focused on hyper-testing students, sanctioning teachers and closing schools—has failed to improve the quality of American public education, AFT President Randi Weingarten says.
Nurses and technicians at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., came prepared to return to work on Nov. 30, as their four-day strike came to an end. However, they were met with locked doors and threats of arrest if found on hospital property.
The nurses and health professionals at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., are on strike after negotiations came to a halt on Nov. 26. Talks broke down when representatives from Lawrence & Memorial Corporation, which owns the hospital, refused to keep working toward a mutual resolution of issues impacting patient care sought by the unions representing approximately 800 of the hospital's employees. Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and healthcare technicians walked off the job at 6 a.m. on Nov.
Adjunct faculty at Portland State University, represented by Local 3571 (PSUFA) are working hard to win a fair agreement for members. They have proposed a modest cost-of-living adjustment and wage package, comparable to other state workers. Meanwhile, the administration is asking adjunct faculty to endure a freeze in benefit contributions, and a nominal 1% cost-of-living increase. They have also rejected the faculty’s non-monetary proposals, such as language for bullying on the job.
The AFT is partnering with Project HOPE to recruit medical volunteers for deployments to the Philippines to help with recovery from Super Typhoon Haiyan.