Just like it has been for all of you, this week has been a very busy one for Education Austin officers and staff, but we didn't want to let the week slip by without acknowledging National Teachers Week.  Thank you for all you do every day for our students, our colleagues, and our communities. 

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Link to early voting locations: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/county_clerk/election/20120529/early_polls.pdf

Texas AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) endorsements:

President - Barack Obama

U.S. Senate -- Paul Sadler

U.S. Congressional District 35 - Lloyd Doggett

Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals -- Keith Hampton

State Senator, District 14 – Kirk Watson

State Representatives, District 46 -- Dawnna Dukes
                                District  47 -- Chris Frandsen
                                District  48 -- Donna Howard
                                District  49 -- Elliott Naishtat
                                District  50 -- Mark Strama
                                District  51 -- Eddie Rodriguez

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 Austin AFL-CIO Central Labor Council endorsements:

Travis County District Attorney – No endorsement

County Attorney – David Escamilla

Sheriff – Greg Hamilton

County Commissioner, Precinct 1 – Ron Davis

County Commissioner, Precinct 2 – Karen Huber

Tax Assessor-Collector – Bruce Elfant

167^th District Court Judge – Efrain de la Fuente, David Wahlberg (dual endorsement)

Constable, Precinct 1 –Danny Thomas

Constable, Precinct 2 –Adan Ballesteros

Constable, Precinct 4 – Maria Canchola

Constable, Precinct 5 – Carlos Lopez

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In 2012 Humanities Texas will hold four comprehensive teacher institutes for social studies teachers around the state. The institutes will take place at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, The University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of Houston, and The University of Texas at San Antonio. Read more.

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Click HERE for the Google Doc calendar for Education Austin. Click on each event for more information.

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After five months of careful negotiations with the AISD administration, Education Austin achieved its goal of continuing as elected consultation representative for all certified and classified employees on April 23.  The AISD Board of Trustees voted 6-1 with one abstention and one trustee absent to adopt a revised consultation policy which, while providing for other employee organizations to give advisory input, leaves the elected consultation agent--Education Austin--as the only organization at the table during actual consultation sessions.

The power of unions to speak out on behalf of their members and their right  to collectively bargain has come under attack in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and other states.  While the state of Texas does not allow state or school district employees the right to collective bargaining, AISD board policy provides for an elected agent to meet monthly with the district through “consultation” to work on wages, benefits, and policy changes to improve working conditions for all AISD employees.  Education Austin considered the attempt to change this successful 14-year-old policy as a method to limit the voice and influence of labor in the district.  However, we stood firm in our conviction that a democratic policy that allows all employees to elect their consultation agent—or to vote them out—was the best way to be a clear, representative voice for the employees of AISD.  It seems from the 6-1-1 vote on Monday, April 23, that the AISD Board of Trustees agreed as well.

The revised policy stipulates that the other employee organizations and any individual employee who so chooses will meet with Education Austin on a monthly basis prior to each  consultation session to give EA input.    Education Austin remains the sole organization to formally negotiate with the  AISD administration’s team once a month regarding wages, working conditions, and other issues as long as employees re-elect EA as their consultation representative.

EA appreciates our members’ patience and support while we were working out the details of the revised policy with the administration.  We pledge to negotiate and to represent employees more effectively than ever as we work to take back public education.

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Join the Austin AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and other organizations in celebrating International Workers Day Tuesday, May 1.   Gather around the Education Austin banner on the south steps of the Capitol at 6 PM for a rally, then march down Congress Avenue, through downtown, and back to the Capitol.

According to the Austin May Day Coalition, “May Day is an international day of action and protest in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs who were killed while organizing for the 8-hour work day. It is in that tradition that we honor the historical struggle faced by working, poor, and unemployed people. We will highlight the struggles being battled by organizations in the Austin area, and work to reconnect everyday people with the idea and spirit of what it means to be a worker.”

For more information, visit www.maydayatx.org.

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Source: The Austin Chronicle
Date of Publication: April 24, 2012

After months of delays, changes and unnecessary ugliness, the AISD Board of Trustees has finally revised its policy dealing with employee relations.

The new policy retains the system of having a single elected employee group as the consultation agent, the main point of contact for the district in discussions about staff pay and conditions.  Read more

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Since 1999, Education Austin has assertively represented the interests of all AISD employees before the AISD administration through a process called elected consultation.  Since 1999, AISD has held an election every four years to determine which employee organization will represent the workforce in consultation, and Education Austin has either won decisively or has been unopposed.  Unfortunately,  the district is considering changing the current consultation process.

We need your help NOW and on Wednesday, April 18, to tell the district to continue elected consultation.

·       Please send an e-mail message from www.austinisd.org/consultation-policy-feedback to AISD as soon as possible, but no later than this Friday, April 13, at 5 PM, insisting that the current consultation policy has worked well for AISD employees and needs to continue.  Use your own words, but suggested points could include:

-- school board members are elected by majority vote; why shouldn’t AISD employees elect their consultation representative by majority vote?
 

-- opening consultation to every employee organization would be confusing and would unnecessarily weaken the one strong voice that has won pay raises and needed policy changes under elected consultation.

-- only Education Austin has the capability and willingness to advocate at the district-wide level for employees

-- Education Austin represents certified and classified employees equally

-- the consultation agent should be able to freely address the school board and the administration

·       Attend AISD’s all-staff meeting on Wednesday, April 18, from 6 PM to 8:30 PM at McCallum High School cafeteria, 5600 Sunshine Drive.  Tell the administration directly that elected consultation has served you well and you don't want any changes that would limit our voice.

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 Saturday, April 14 - 9 AM to 12 noon
Crowne Plaza Hotel
6121 North IH-35 & Hwy 290

Breakfast Buffet Provided – RSVP Required
Forging a movement of AISD Employees, Parents, and Community Members:

• for campus led decision making that respects teachers’ and school employees’ expertise
• for a rich curriculum that promotes student inquiry and investigation, not test preparation
• for safe schools that promote learning
• for respecting the duty day and avoiding excessive meeting and paperwork
• for professional development that strengthens the profession
• for community engagement that integrates its ideas into policy and programs
• for fair wages and benefits for all AISD employees
• for electing public education friendly candidates to public office

JOIN THE MOVEMENT - LET’S TAKE IT BACK!
RSVP today by contacting Mary M. at Education Austin at 472-1124 or marym@educationaustin.org

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Education Austin members who are able should consider attending the dedication of the Tejano Monument on the south lawn  of the Capitol this Thursday, March 29, at 10 AM.   The memorial honors early Spanish and Mexican explorers and settlers and their descendants.  According to yesterday’s Statesman,   “…hundreds of schoolchildren will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, and the descendants of pioneer Tejano settlers will unveil some of the 10 pieces of the massive granite and bronze statuary. Children will lift the veils off statues depicting a young boy and girl.” 

For more information, visit www.tejanomonument.com

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Source: The New York Times
Date of Publication: March 4, 2012

I AM a special education teacher. My students have learning disabilities ranging from autism and attention-deficit disorder to cerebral palsy and emotional disturbances. I love these kids, but they can be a handful. Almost without exception, they struggle on standardized tests, frustrate their teachers and find it hard to connect with their peers.

Read more

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Sign the online petition TODAY: http://www.tstaweb.net/forms/2012cutsPetition.html

Demand that Governor Perry call a special session to…

STOP the Education Layoffs

Because the Texas legislature cut $5.4 billion from what was needed to maintain the current level of education funding, almost 50,000 Education Jobs — teachers, teacher’s aides, bus drivers, custodians and many more of the people who care for our kids everyday — could be lost due to state budget cuts. Another 68,000 private sector jobs could be lost due to education cuts.

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"I take the time to do 20 home visits the first two weeks of school. It is a lot of work, but I invest the time because I want to build very strong relationships with the parents."

Montserrat Garibay teaches a bilingual pre-kindergarten class at Lucy Read Pre-kindergarten Demonstration School in Austin ISD. She serves on the executive board of Education Austin. Read more about her in the Winter 2011 issue of the Texas State Teacher Association Advocate.

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Today’s hearing of the Texas House Public Education Committee showcased a rising tide of discontent in Texas with standardized testing. The message came from parents, teachers, principals, superintendents—all agreed something is badly awry.

 Read MORE

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American Federation of Teachers Robert G. Porter Scholars Program, 2012 Four-year $8,000 Postsecondary Scholarship. Apply here...

Deadline:  Must be postmarked by March 31, 2012

Because of the strength of the members in our Union, Education Austin has been able to win many improvements for AISD employees. Click here to view a list of a few of our certified employee victories.

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Because of the strength of the members in our Union, Education Austin has been able to win many improvements for AISD employees. Click here to view some of the things we have won for Classified Employees:

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The AFL-CIO has launched its 2012 AFL-CIO Executive Paywatch site—now called CEO Pay and the 99%—which includes the most comprehensive data available on 2011 executive pay. All the data available is searchable by industry, by state and by the top 100 highest-paid CEOs.

In her latest column appearing in the New York Times, AFT president Randi Weingarten describes how the AFT Innovation Fund is providing an alternative to school reform efforts that ignore the expertise of educators and their unions. The fund supports AFT affiliates that engaged in collaborative efforts that focus on promising ideas and proven programs that can be scaled up. Read the full column.