― AUGUST ―
BESE CANDIDATE FORUMS
Each electable BESE seat is subject to election this year, which means you will have a chance to vote for your BESE representative in October. Therefore, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Public School Coalition are hosting a series of candidate forums across the state.
These forums are designed to give new and incumbent candidates for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education an opportunity to speak directly to their constituencies about the issues facing public education and the solutions they propose. All interested members of the community are invited to attend.
Please make plans to attend a forum in your district:
| September 16: Alexandria Alexandria Arts Council - 5PM | September 26: Reserve River Parishes Community College - 5PM |
| September 17: Houma (Schriever) Fletcher Technical Community College - 5PM | September 26: Monroe ULM Library - 5PM |
| September 18: Lacombe Northshore Tech Community College - 5:30PM | October 1: Baton Rouge Capitol Elementary School - 5PM |
| September 19: Lafayette Clifton-Chenier Center - 5PM | October 2: Lake Charles IBEW Hall - 5PM |
| September 25: Denham Springs Denham Springs-Walker Library - 4:30PM | October 3: Breaux Bridge Breaux Bridge Library - 5PM |
For more information about your local forum, please visit louisianapublicschoolcoalition.org/upcoming-events.
HUNDREDS OF NEW EDUCATORS JOIN THE LFT FAMILY
This month, LFT members and staff met with new and returning educators from all over the state. Hundreds of new teachers and support staff decided to join the LFT family for the on-the-job security, professional community, education advocacy, and extensive benefits that comes with LFT membership.
It was wonderful to meet and greet new teachers, welcome back old friends, and make sure everyone has what they need to start the year off right. If you want to get more involved in your Union this year, or know someone who still needs to join, please talk to your local representative: la.aft.org/join-union/find-your-local.
STUDENT DEBT CLINICS
44 million people in the U.S. are saddled with student debt and teachers are no exception. That is why AFT is partnering with locals to bring members student dept clinics. These 90-minute workshops provide members with information on how to enroll in income-driven student loan repayment programs and the underutilized Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Jefferson Federation of Teachers recently hosted one of these clinics. "Our members received a lot of great information, which they're already using to help with their own student debt issues," said Kesler Camese-Jones, Interim-President of Jefferson Federation of Teachers. If you would like to participate in a Student Debt Clinic, please talk to your local representative: la.aft.org/join-union/find-your-local.
LABOR DAY
Labor Day first became a federal holiday in 1894 to celebrate the achievements of working men and women across the country who leveraged their collective power to secure many of the rights we still enjoy today. In the late 1800's the average American (including children) often worked 12-hour days, seven days a week just to survive. However, by coming together as a Union and holding workplace actions, they managed to compel their bosses to negotiate over their working conditions. Through this process, they secured reasonable working hours, weekends, safety standards, living wages and more!
This Labor Day, take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of the men and women who worked to amplify the collective voice of hard working people across this country. Share my lesson has tools to help you discuss these important issues in your classroom.
But our work isn't done yet! Many employers still don't negotiate with their employees. According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans' approval of Unions is on the rise, and "there was an 86% approval rate in union households, compared with 60% in nonunion households," but we still have a long way to go to ensure workplace democracy and fair working conditions for all working people.