July 7, 2016. The law that gutted civil service, Act 150, went into effect on July 1, 2016, although some changes won't be implemented right away. Here is a link to a set of FAQs about the changes.
There was also a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform where DOA officials (Cate Zueske and Stacey Rolston) described the implementation of Act 150. Below is a link to the video (it's about 2 hours).
Through the signing of an Executive Order Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards established an advisory council on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) - the new, bipartisan law that recently reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Louisiana Association of Educators President Debbie Meaux and Louisiana Federation of Teachers Chief of Staff Marcus Fontenot joined the governor as he made the order official.
Educating. Organizing. Mobilizing. That’s how Detroit Federation of Teachers members have spent the last few weeks. And our work is making a difference. Let’s stand together and keep our union strong.
Eau Claire, WI: Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution of no confidence in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents. Members of AFT local 6481, United Faculty and Academic Staff of UW-Eau Claire, collected signatures from one-third of campus faculty to call for a special meeting of all faculty on the resolution, the first such meeting at the university in nearly fifty years. The resolution, which passed by a landslide margin of 227-98, is the latest in a wave of no confidence resolutions across the UW System, a nationally unprecedented event.
AFT-NJ generously contributed an ad and scholarship to this year's Hall of Fame Dinner.
Thank you again to our colleages at AFT-NJ!
Colleagues,
The NPS has announced their intention to change over from the State Health Benefits plan to a “NPS only plan” through AETNA for all Newark Public School Employees. The district claims that this change will allow them to save $9.8 million over the next 16 months. While we hesitate to trust any claim made by the district, if this is accurate, it would free up money that could prevent layoffs, etc, and this savings could mean members would be contributing less per month to their health benefits.
A group of about 35 teachers, parents and community activists gathered at the Fisher Building Monday afternoon to present Detroit Public Schools Transition Manager Judge Steven Rhodes with “The Public Schools All Detroit Children Deserve,” a platform document that outlines a community-driven vision for public education. You can read the community platform here in English, or Spanish.
A group of about 35 teachers, parents and community activists gathered at the Fisher Building Monday afternoon to present Detroit Public Schools Transition Manager Judge Steven Rhodes with “The Public Schools All Detroit Children Deserve,” a platform document that outlines a community-driven vision for public education. You can read the community platform here in English, or Spanish.
May 24, 2016. Here is a link to some documents about the civil service bill. Check out pages 83-89 in the document. This is the part from the Division of Personnel Management in DOA commenting on 2015 SB 285 (the bill that gutted civil service.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article which describes some of the concerns raised by state HR staff.
