In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.
Tell your legislators to reject two dangerous proposals* that would sabotage Ohio’s budget and jeopardize funding for public schools, higher education, libraries, children’s services, and other essential public services. Instead, tell them to meet their constitutional obligation to fully and equitably fund Ohio’s public schools.
*HB1 is a regressive tax scheme that would lead to big tax cuts for the rich and create a $4 billion revenue shortfall over the next two years.
This Spring, STRS Ohio will hold an election for one contributing member seat on the State Teachers Retirement Board. This seat is currently held by Arthur Lard.
OFT is proud to announce that we have endorsed Pat Davidson. Pat is a member of Berea Federation of Teachers and a Business and Computer teacher with 22 years experience. Read below about Pat’s experience and his priorities for STRS.
Nearly 250 years since our country’s founding, some Americans are still attempting to restrict others’ basic freedoms. In Florida and elsewhere, censoring books is part of larger efforts to exert greater control over and undermine education.
In the leadup to the midterm elections, pundits predicted a red wave, even a tsunami, based on polls, historical precedent, and steep gas and grocery prices. But I had my doubts. I spent the weeks before the elections talking to voters and traveling on the AFT Votes bus, rolling through a dozen states with more than 50 stops. In a year when kitchen table issues, democracy and our freedoms were on the ballot, many people told me that the elections came down to a choice between, on the one side, election deniers and extremists stoking fear, and on the other, problem-solvers working to help the country move forward. Many races were close, but Americans turned the tide from a red wave to a swell of support for progress and problem-solvers. Read the full column here.
Columbus, OH — Today, teachers and staff at the KIPP Columbus charter school called on their superintendent and board of directors to voluntarily recognize their union after they presented signed union cards from an overwhelming majority of teachers, paraprofessionals, intervention specialists, social workers, and student life coordinators. The organizing campaign is led by educators from all four schools (Primary, Elementary, Middle, and High) at the KIPP Columbus campus.
