Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Texas 2018 Primary Elections


Voting for the 2018 primaries is in full swing, and early polls are open through Friday, March 2 for the March 6 Primaries.

Texas AFT's Committee on Political Education has recommended 26 candidates in contested Republican races and 26 in contested Democratic races based on who they see standing up for public education and educators.

Their endorsements can be seen below, or visit the website here.

Contested Races in March 6 Primaries
Need to know your district and who currently represents you? Check here.
U.S. House of Representatives
(CD = U.S. Congressional District)
Lieutenant Governor
State Board of Education
Texas Senate
(SD = State Senate District)
Texas House of Representatives
(HD = State House District)
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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Link: Portrait of a Budget Cut



"My office mate once pointed out that there’s no such thing as a budget cut. There are only resource cuts, class cuts, people cuts. Budgets don’t hurt when they get cut. I do."

Last month at Inside Higher Ed, Adjunct Professor Sara Tatyana Bernstein wrote about her experience being a "budget cut" and the subtle dehumanization brought about not just by having her job and livelihood cut, but getting an email informing her of the cut titled "2017-2018 Budget Cuts."

It's an important reminder of the need for solidarity between full time and adjunct faculty, and of the ways that rhetorical choices made by administration can rub salt in a wound.

Read her account, "Portrait of a Budget Cut," here.
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Monday, February 12, 2018

Visit to Ted Cruz's Office

In the latest post, we organized a mini-visit at the office of Senator Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz in downtown Houston. Three comrades took a nice walk from the Sixth Ward, across Buffalo Bayou, and into the city streets until we arrived at the historic Esperson Building. On the 14th floor, we were buzzed by the aides until we were permitted to come into the office.


The young white aides were very polite, polished, and generous as they offered water as they seated us in a small comfortable meeting room, surrounded with emblems of American patriotism, the senator’s several “Love Me” wall awards and recognitions, and a tidy stack of conservative books. We should note that this visit occurred the morning after the Senate agreement on the budget, which failed to address DACA or immigration in any way, much to the disappointment and anger of many DREAMers. We discussed the senator’s press release and how he obviously disregarded the migration issue, though after the budget deal was reached, Senate Majority Leader McConnell had specifically stated that this budget agreement would permit the Senate to address migration immediately. 

Our discussion points centered on our concerns with our students and our college:
  1. Senator Cruz has not yet provided leadership to demonstrate how our undocumented students are threatened in our communities by the current administration.
  2. Our students are threatened, their families are threatened, and thus the college is threatened for any definition of “success.”
  3. As educators, our priorities are to see student success, but the senator has been largely dis-engaged from the movement to protect DACA or “DREAMers.”
The aides’ only discussion point was that the senator will not accept “amnesty” for migration. Though we mentioned that President Ronald Reagan had signed an enormous amnesty with significant economic benefits, the aides had no response. In fact, both aides were very  uninformed about the Reagan amnesty: “I had just learned about Ronald Reagan …” [! -- NOTE: While understanding that aides are not responsible (or not?) to understand all recent political history, we found this odd that very enthusiastic supporters of the GOP narrative are apparently clueless about those recent policies; certainly the Senator is more informed, and we know that. But this does also reflect that even “informed” citizens are truly clueless about the broken migration system in the U.S., as we’ve attempted to discuss in the Advocate.]


Our conversation continued for about 20 minutes. We emphasized that the Senator must lead this discussion to protect our communities. We emphasized, too, that our students are immediately threatened and few if any institutions are challenging this inertia of silence. Again, the aides were very polite, very friendly, very uninformed. They emphasized that they would take notes of our visit and “tally” our position, forward the tally to their Washington office, and every night the senator would look at the “tally.”


We asked what was more effective -- a call, a visit, a letter -- and the aides said that they were all equal [this response is contrast with other discussions, and we need to understand this more]. We left the office, impressed with ourselves, found a coffee shop in the tunnels, and discussed additional strategies to be more informed and more assertive with our voices, our citizenship, and our educational resources. The morning was very positive, even if frustrating.



In another time, we’d like to discuss the point of “democracy” in this system, and if our visit was in fact practicing good “citizenship,” but for now, we felt that we did something -- we have rights that some others do not have. We exercised our rights. Let us celebrate these small things.
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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

AFT Call for Action: A "Clean" DREAM Act

In the most recent issue of The Advocate, we called for an action at the downtown office of Senator Ted Cruz on Friday, February 9 to discuss the ways that a “clean” DREAM Act affects our students. The nature of this conversation may differ radically based on the actions taken in Congress to keep the government open past Thursday, February 8.

When Democratic leadership compromised with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reopen the government on January 22, they agreed to continue funding through February 8 with a promise to vote on some version of a DREAM Act. As we approach Thursday, congress has yet to hold this vote, and it remains unclear what kind of legislation might be under consideration or even whether the government will be funded/open on Friday. Current likely bills, like the bipartisan USA Act, have come under fire from immigrants rights groups for combining the promise of a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers with increased funding that many believe will result in more deportations and militarization of the US-Mexico border.

As we are considering the importance of a DREAM Act/Renewal of DACA for many of our students, it’s equally important to remember students who have undocumented family members or who are themselves undocumented. A “clean” DREAM Act is one that would renew and expand DACA without potentially harming other migrants.



It’s difficult to guess exactly what kind of political situation we’ll wake up to on Friday, February 9, but we understand the climate and the needs of our students well. You can inform yourself more on this issue by reading our past articles on DACA and immigration [1, 2, 3], read here for a discussion of why a DREAM Act is important for the Texas economy, and look here and here for posts from Dreamers about the kind of immigration reform they support.

We’ll meet in front of Ted Cruz’s office at 10am on Friday, February 9 to discuss these issues. After meeting Cruz’s aides, we will gather for sandwiches nearby in solidarity.


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Friday, August 30, 2013

Workers' Rights are Human Rights

A Great article about Houston Federation of Teachers President Gayle Fallon

If it hadn’t been for becoming involved in the civil rights movement, I would never have become involved in the labor movement—because they were one in the same,” she says. 'It’s all about human rights and human dignity. I didn’t see any difference.'

Read the full story.
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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Who Does Houston Work For?


In Houston, over 20 percent of our workforce is trapped in low-wage occupations — a significantly higher percentage than Chicago’s 12 percent or New York’s 10 percent. Even in Detroit, where cost of living is lower than that of Houston’s, only 10 percent of their workforce makes minimum wage.


Despite working full time, Annishia and her fellow workers are forced to survive on less than $13,000 a year — an income that is far below the national poverty cutoff of $22,350 for a family of four. By contrast, the Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator estimates the basic cost of living for a family of four in the Houston area to be $63,600 annually.
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Monday, June 3, 2013

American Federation of Teachers & the Texas AFL-CIO Team Up with COPA Univision Soccer Tournament




American Federation of Teachers & the Texas AFL-CIO Team Up
with COPA Univision Soccer Tournament

Volunteers Needed

The American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO will be hosting a booth at the COPA Univision Soccer Tournament on Saturday, June 15, 2013. The Union booth will be distributing books for children, information on immigration reform, workplace rights and safety and education tips for parents on reading to their children. There will also be opportunities to read to the children who visit the booth.

We will need volunteers to:

Assist in staffing our Union booth
Help distribute the books and other information
Read to the children
Please email me at shawtrek@aol.com your preference for the shift along with your name, cell phone number and email address. Thank you.

Please note that there is a $5 parking fee that will be charged to park in the parking lots that are around the complex.

Information on the event is below. If you would like to sign up for a shift in the Union booth, please email me, and let me know what you would like to do. Shifts are from 7am to 11 am, 11 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 7 pm.

COPA Univision 2013
Soccer Tournament
June 15, 2013
7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Houston Amateur Sports Park - HASP
1221 Kirby Drive
Houston, Texas 77051

http://www.houstonamateursportspark.com/events/copaunivision/
http://www.houstonamateursportspark.com/about-hasp/ground-maps--parking/


Thank you and in solidarity,

Richard C. Shaw
Secretary-Treasurer
Harris County AFL-CIO Council


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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Keep Guns Out Of Our Schools

Hi Friends. I hope you are enjoying May Term. The "campus carry" law that would allow guns on college campuses has passed the Texas House and will be coming up for a vote very soon in the Senate. I'm forwarding you a message with information about how to contact your senator to register your opinion. Although this comes from the Texas Democratic Party this is truly a bipartisan issue. We don't need to feel more unsafe on campus than we already do and our students don't need that either. Conventional wisdom says that, for every call or letter a legislature receives, they assume that at least 10 other people feel the same way. Consider making a call today!!! Thanks!!! John








Dear Democrats --


We need your help protecting Texas' colleges. This is urgent.


Republicans in the Texas Senate are pushing a dangerous bill -- the so-called "Campus Carry bill" -- that would reverse a decades-old ban on weapons in our college campuses.1

We need your calls today to stop this bill. Call your senator right now and tell them to vote to vote "NO" on the "Campus Carry" bill.

Click here to record your call and get the phone number for your senator.

At the start of this year, Texas Democrats convened a Task Force for Common Sense on Gun Violence. Our findings after collaborating with community leaders, mental health experts, gun owners, hunters, and educators?

Banning guns on college campuses is common sense gun control, except when those firearms are possessed or carried by certified peace officers. The Task Force was firmly against lifting the ban. So are we.

Can you call your senator right now? We need to remind Democrats AND Republicans that Texans don't want to see this ban lifted.

Please call your senator right now and tell them to vote “NO” on the “Campus Carry” bill. Then record how your call went by clicking here.

Thanks,

Gilberto Hinojosa
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Spring Branch AFT School Employees Need Our Help




Spring Branch AFT is our newest Union in the Harris County AFL-CIO Council. Let's all welcome them and wish them the best in representing Spring Branch ISD employees and fighting for them. Below is their first effort in getting a much-needed pay raise for the employees. Please sign on and let the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees know where you stand on this pay raise. Let them know that we are all standing with them!





Thank you for your help and in solidarity,





Richard C. Shaw


Secretary-Treasurer


Harris County AFL-CIO Council





Action Link:





http://action.aft.org/c/953/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=6428







Urge Our School Board to Support a Fair Pay Raise for All SBISD EmployeesOn May 20, the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees will vote upon a proposed pay increase for educators. Currently proposed is just a 1% increase with the potential of another 1%. In January, the Board of Trustees approved a 3.5% salary increase for the superintendent in addition to benefit upgrades.School employees will have increases in their costs for healthcare and paying out of pocket for school supplies. A one or two percent increase will not cover the costs of healthcare increases in some cases causing an actual net loss in salary overall. We need you to take action now!

Send our Spring Branch AFT electronic letter now urging the Board of Trustees to approve a 3.5% pay increase to help SBISD remain competitive in retaining/attracting high quality professionals. It is the position of Spring Branch AFT that no employee receives a salary cut due to rising costs of healthcare. Salaries and benefits for teachers and support personnel, in fairness, should match what is given to top district administrative personnel.

RSVP to join Spring Branch AFT at the May 20 board meeting which will take place at Memorial High School starting at 7:00 p.m. Please plan to arrive early if you wish to sign-up to speak during public comments. We need to be both seen and heard.
If you are one of the many employees who will experience higher costs in healthcare next year, and where a 1% pay increase will not keep up with those rising costs, then tell us your story. Send your thoughts to Spring Branch AFT president Craig Adams at cadams@springbranchaft.org.

Send Online E-Letter: Click Here

RSVP to Stand with SBAFT at the May 20th Board Meeting: Click Here



For questions, contact our office by calling 713/468-4700 or visit us online at www.springbranchaft.org or Facebook.com/SBAFT.












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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Harris County AFL-CIO Council May Newsletter



 Harris County AFL-CIO Council  

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD – NLRB – IN JEOPARDY 2013 

LABOR DAY Weekend BBQ COOK-OFF 

AFL-CIO WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU   


Click the hyperlink for more information on these items.
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