In New Orleans, history is just as vital an element in the city’s culture as food, music, architecture, spirituality, and celebration. In fact, history may be the most powerful force, because the stories we know shape how we view every other aspect of the culture. Because many histories in New Orleans are passed down orally, they often aren’t captured in textbooks or assessed on standardized tests. And when powerful stories of resistance, ingenuity, and solidarity aren’t told, we risk losing the power they have to inspire subsequent generations.

LFT has conducted a comprehensive survey to evaluate the concerns of educators and community members with regards to schools reopening later this summer. LFT received responses from nearly 15,000 teachers, support staff, parents, students and concerned community members regarding the reopening of schools. The survey was conducted electronically between June 30-July 10, 2020 and distributed widely through various online platforms.

Dane County continues to see record high numbers of new COVID cases, news from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement threatens our international students and co-workers, all while administration moves forward with plans for students to be back on campus this fall. We know that many in the campus community—faculty and academic staff, grad and student workers, administrative and blue collar employees—are deeply concerned about worker health and safety in light of these issues with a variety of questions and suggestions.

On July 14th, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will meet to discuss reopening plans/policies for Louisiana K-12 schools.

Through House Bill 59, the legislature charged BESE to adopt "emergency rules informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to provide minimum standards, policies, medical exceptions, and regulations to govern the reopening of schools for the 2020-2021 school year to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and others on school property are protected to the extent possible and practical from COVID-19."

These emergency rules will apply to all school districts. Local education authorities will have the ability to go above and beyond the rules set out by BESE, but they can not "adopt a policy, rule, or regulation that imposes a lesser standard." Click here to see BESE's preliminary rules proposal.

What do you want to see in the emergency rules? What do you want BESE to think about when they make these rules? What do you want them to consider?

It's important for the Board to hear from educators, parents and students before making these decisions. SEND THEM AN EMAIL NOW!

CUB MEMBERS & CITY EMPLOYEES: Times are unquestionably difficult for us all. There's an added burden if you're trying to pay college tuition during this time. Nationwide and the City of Baltimore Retirement Savings Plan & Deferred Compensation Plan has a scholarship opportunity for young people whose parents or grandparents are city employees that meet the qualifications. Take a look at the flyer and see if your young scholar is eligible for one of the scholarships. 

Application deadline is July 15, 2020. Click here for application form. See flyer or text below for more details. 

CLICK HERE FOR 

LFT members are coming together to protect students and staff from COVID-19!

This form should be used to track any work-related exposures to COVID-19 that members have. 

School Reopening and COVID FAQ’s Video

Over on Youtube, President John Abeigon and Director of Research Mike Maillaro put together a twenty question FAQ from the surveys we received from our members discussing School Reopening and Covid-19.  As more information comes out from the state and district, we will likely be adding more videos.  This is our first attempt at video content.  Let us know how we did!

When Gov. Hogan proposed to solve the state’s fiscal challenges on the backs of state employees, MPEC stood tall and fought back. President Jerry Smith quickly mobilized the membership to engage in a massive lobbying campaign to members of the Board of Public Works to reject hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state workers. Following intense letter writing and phone calling efforts, MPEC held a caravan outside of the Maryland State Treasurer’s Office to encourage Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot to reject the proposed cuts.

Field Coordinator Rose Wertz of AFT Healthcare testified in front of the Board of Public Works regarding budget cuts on behalf of our members. Find her letter here:

Part 1

Part 2