Petaluma Federation of Teachers
Just a quick check in for the new semester…
Constitution Ratification
In November, the most current update of the constitution was ratified. Thank you to all that had great questions, organized the voting, and came out to vote. There are hard copies that your rep(s) will be receiving if you would like to take a closer look. It will also be posted on the websiste (pft1881.org).
CFT Convention
The Convention will be held in San Francisco this year, March 11-13, 2016. Sandra Larsen (VV), Kelly Kovanis (PHS), Erinn VanderMeer (KJHS), and I will represent PFT. Thank you to the Elections Committee for getting this all done way before our deadline.
Important Supreme Court Issue
The Friedrichs vs. CTA case (LA based) has risen through the courts and has been heard by the Supreme Court. This is a very important case to us and to the labor movement as a whole. A decision is pending…could be anytime between now and April. In a nutshell, a teacher from CTA in Los Angeles (backed by large, anti-Union, anti-labor, well-funded political groups) has decided that teachers should receive the benefits of the Union and the collective bargaining agreement without paying for it if they so choose. This is NOT about political contributions. This is about Union busting. Any organization needs capital to run. Protecting the contract, representation, and all of the millions of things a Union does for its members AND non-members is not free. We cannot do our job with members not paying dues. We keep our portion (PFT has the smallest portion you pay per month) as low as possible. No organization can provide the protection without monetary support. With Justice Scalia passing, the imminent decision is questionable. The topic however has not disappeared. Depending on future appointments, this is not an issue that the supporters want to fade. I would love to discuss this further if people are interested. I plan to have a General Membership meeting in the near future. This will be one of the main topics of discussion.
After completing the revision of our by-laws, the PFT Budget Committee met about our dues structure and completed an internal audit. As per Article XII, section 3 of our Constitution, we have revised our dues structure. Starting in April, you will see a $4.77 increase in your dues.
Up to this point, PFT has been absorbing the increases for all other portions (AFT, CFT, AFL-CIO, North Bay Labor Council, etc.) of our dues. The recommendation to Executive Council was this small increase. Executive Council passed the motion in January. Please see the attached structure (last page of this memo).
Survey
Thank you to all who participated in the survey about 1-1 devices and furniture. We take your comments and questions seriously. Executive Council met January 11 where we viewed the results, and we plan to look at each and every comment/question in the upcoming months. We will begin acting on and responding to what we can as soon as possible. We appreciate the activism and information.
More to come…
LCAP and District Leadership Team
I know I have been talking about this committee, but I can’t stress enough the importance of your participation in this process.When our structure for getting paid by the state changed (to LCFF, Local Control Funding Formula), our budget is now designed according to the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). We HAVE A VOICE in determining where and how our money is spent through this process. PLEASE ATTEND!!
The next dates are: March 2, April 5, May 3…all are held in the board room at the district, starting at 6pm and ending at 7:30pm. I also understand that Site Councils are starting to have this as a topic. Please keep your ears open for opportunities to participate.
Furniture/Tech Difficulties
There have been many difficulties brought to Executive Council. Here are some guidelines as we wade through it all:
1) if you have some accident with the furniture, fill out a report. No one has to go to the hospital for this to be done. If a student falls, trips, whatever, and the furniture is part of the mix, please fill out the district accident report.
2) if you are having issues with what was promised with technology, please use what we have and document your efforts:
a) check in with your Petaluma Pioneer/Tech support person. Email them (keep a record).
b) Fill out a tech ticket…keep sending it, checking on it.
c) Email Lori Deen with your issues.
d) keep your rep in the loop and keep records of what is happening
* records will help us track what is happening and address issues if they arise
With all of this information said, I will sign off for now. Please keep participating, being activists for our students and collegues, and doing all the wonderful work you do every day with every student.
In Unity-
Just a quick check in for the new semester…
Constitution Ratification
In November, the most current update of the constitution was ratified. Thank you to all that had great questions, organized the voting, and came out to vote. There are hard copies that your rep(s) will be receiving if you would like to take a closer look. It will also be posted on the websiste (pft1881.org).
CFT Convention
The Convention will be held in San Francisco this year, March 11-13, 2016. Sandra Larsen (VV), Kelly Kovanis (PHS), Erinn VanderMeer (KJHS), and I will represent PFT. Thank you to the Elections Committee for getting this all done way before our deadline.
Important Supreme Court Issue
The Friedrichs vs. CTA case (LA based) has risen through the courts and has been heard by the Supreme Court. This is a very important case to us and to the labor movement as a whole. A decision is pending…could be anytime between now and April. In a nutshell, a teacher from CTA in Los Angeles (backed by large, anti-Union, anti-labor, well-funded political groups) has decided that teachers should receive the benefits of the Union and the collective bargaining agreement without paying for it if they so choose. This is NOT about political contributions. This is about Union busting. Any organization needs capital to run. Protecting the contract, representation, and all of the millions of things a Union does for its members AND non-members is not free. We cannot do our job with members not paying dues. We keep our portion (PFT has the smallest portion you pay per month) as low as possible. No organization can provide the protection without monetary support. With Justice Scalia passing, the imminent decision is questionable. The topic however has not disappeared. Depending on future appointments, this is not an issue that the supporters want to fade. I would love to discuss this further if people are interested. I plan to have a General Membership meeting in the near future. This will be one of the main topics of discussion.
After completing the revision of our by-laws, the PFT Budget Committee met about our dues structure and completed an internal audit. As per Article XII, section 3 of our Constitution, we have revised our dues structure. Starting in April, you will see a $4.77 increase in your dues.
Up to this point, PFT has been absorbing the increases for all other portions (AFT, CFT, AFL-CIO, North Bay Labor Council, etc.) of our dues. The recommendation to Executive Council was this small increase. Executive Council passed the motion in January. Please see the attached structure (last page of this memo).
Survey
Thank you to all who participated in the survey about 1-1 devices and furniture. We take your comments and questions seriously. Executive Council met January 11 where we viewed the results, and we plan to look at each and every comment/question in the upcoming months. We will begin acting on and responding to what we can as soon as possible. We appreciate the activism and information.
More to come…
LCAP and District Leadership Team
I know I have been talking about this committee, but I can’t stress enough the importance of your participation in this process.When our structure for getting paid by the state changed (to LCFF, Local Control Funding Formula), our budget is now designed according to the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). We HAVE A VOICE in determining where and how our money is spent through this process. PLEASE ATTEND!!
The next dates are: March 2, April 5, May 3…all are held in the board room at the district, starting at 6pm and ending at 7:30pm. I also understand that Site Councils are starting to have this as a topic. Please keep your ears open for opportunities to participate.
Furniture/Tech Difficulties
There have been many difficulties brought to Executive Council. Here are some guidelines as we wade through it all:
1) if you have some accident with the furniture, fill out a report. No one has to go to the hospital for this to be done. If a student falls, trips, whatever, and the furniture is part of the mix, please fill out the district accident report.
2) if you are having issues with what was promised with technology, please use what we have and document your efforts:
a) check in with your Petaluma Pioneer/Tech support person. Email them (keep a record).
b) Fill out a tech ticket…keep sending it, checking on it.
c) Email Lori Deen with your issues.
d) keep your rep in the loop and keep records of what is happening
* records will help us track what is happening and address issues if they arise
With all of this information said, I will sign off for now. Please keep participating, being activists for our students and collegues, and doing all the wonderful work you do every day with every student.
In Unity-