On Feb. 2, 2013, at the Radisson Hotel in Bismarck, delegates from the North Dakota Public Employees Association and from the North Dakota Education Association will potentially make history.

These two groups will finish a process that started back in 2008, of mutual cooperation and recognition that our organizations are a formidable force when combined into a single unit. They will vote on merger between our two groups, into the state's largest public workers union: North Dakota United.

Each year, AFT-Wisconsin holds a series of Town Hall meetings around the state to connect union leaders and members from various locals in a discussion about major issues. This year, we are scheduling these meetings in late January and early February in order to discuss the spring elections and the current legislative session, as well as updates on merger talks with WEAC. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the Town Hall meeting closest to you.

You will also receive a recorded phone call from AFT-W  with details and a reminder about a week before your local Town Hall meeting.

Sunday, January 27: Superior Town Hall, 5-7pm at VIP Pizza

Monday, January 28: Eau Claire Town Hall, 6-8pm, Location TBA

Wednesday, January 30: Fox Valley/Green Bay Town Hall, 6-8pm, Location TBA

Tuesday, February 5: Madison Town Hall, 6-8pm, Avenue Bar, 1128 E. Wash.

Thursday, February 7: Milwaukee Town Hall, 6-8pm, Location TBA.  Rescheduled for Sunday, February 10 at Solo Pizza, 2856 N. Oakland Ave., 5-7pm.

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BESE adopts changes to Bulletin 741, with minor modifications

Perhaps influenced by thousands of e-mails, telephone calls and personal contacts, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education made some modest adjustments to proposed rule changes affecting Bulletin 741, the School Administrators’ Handbook.

          This year I propose to highlight different groups of our classified staff during the Staff Reports section of our Neah-Kah-Nie Board meetings.  I welcome any input you'd like to have included in these remarks.  The following remarks come from what I have shared with them so far, and  I will continue to share with you as the year progresses.  

                                               ---- Laurie DeKlyen, Chapter President
                    

(from the November board meeting)    

They say it's never too late to learn something new, and I'm learning how to get information out to you by way of a website rather than email and newsletters alone.  Please bear with me as I learn, and stay tuned to keep up on the latest news in the Neah-Kah-Nie School District, especially as it has to do with our outstanding classified staff!

Laurie DeKlyen, President

Members of the Maryland Professional Employees Council (MPEC) met with Scott Jensen, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR), January 16th for the first of several sessions intended to establish a Labor Management Committee (LMC) in the department.

The LMC is intended to resolve workplace conflicts between employees and management through a cooperative process. As a result of a provision included in the contract negotiated by MPEC, LMCs may be initiated by employees in any state agency.

Public schools should be made safer without turning them into armed camps, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan told a legislative committee meeting in the aftermath of a horrific school shooting in Connecticut.

List Of Unresolved Items Substantially Reduced And
Compromise Reached On Teacher Voice

LANGHORNE, PA (January 16, 2013) — Representatives of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers and the Neshaminy School District met this evening for the first bargaining session of the new year. The majority of the session was spent working to refine a list compiled by the Federation of 69 items that are either unresolved or required clarification. During the face-to-face discussions, the parties mutually agreed that more than a third of the items on the list could be considered resolved based on developments at the previous meeting on December 18^th. 

Through the state mediator, the parties exchanged proposals addressing the sensitive and heavily publicized debate over teacher voice on school committees. After extensive discussion between both teams, the Federation and District reached a tentative agreement on language that settles the issue. According to NFT leaders, the language required mutual compromise. 

“We were absolutely unwilling to agree to anything that completely compromised the professional voice of our members in decisions that affect our students and our day-to-day work,” said NFT President Louise Boyd. “The language we settled on clearly removes any reference to ‘equal say’ and makes it clear that the District has final decision-making authority, but it preserves the critical role of teachers in school-based decision-making.”

“Board President Webb has assured us repeatedly that he recognizes and respects the meaningful input of staff in our District,” said Boyd, “and the language we ultimately agreed to is a reflection of that viewpoint. Now we hope to keep moving things forward.”

The parties scheduled another bargaining meeting for Thursday, January 24^th.

HESP is the only Union to hold a Non-Instructional Consultation seat in HISD for: