Daily proCeeDings of the aft national Convention Welcome ChiCago, illinois | july 10, 2008 sored by the CTU, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the AFT on Friday evening (July 11) at the Grand Ballroom, East End Plaza. In addition to great food, sample Lake Michigan breezes and the Chicago blues, see some famous Chicago personalities and take a few turns on the dance floor. It will be a great party. Also be sure to visit the CTU hospitality desk in the exhibit hall to get your distinctive red "fanny pack," which includes a helpful bus and rail map and a useful booklet filled with information about Chicago's eateries, tourist sites, events and more. And then it's on to the work of governance and advocacy: In the days ahead, delegates will vote on a resolution to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (DIll.) for president, giving him the union's full support in the general election. Obama will address the convention via live satellite video on Sunday. Sen. Hillary Clinton (DN.Y.) will address delegates on Saturday morning, July 12. On the world scene, a special order of business will take on the sham election in Zimbabwe as well as the violence and abuse of democracy there. Delegates will debate and vote on policy resolutions covering a wide range of topics, which Continued on page 2 Chicago, ChicagoAFT's kind of town Delegates blow in to the Windy City for union's 80th convention Welcome to the city where it all began: Ninetytwo years ago on April 15, seven teacher groupsthree from Chicago and one each from Gary, Ind., New York City, Scranton, Pa., and Washington, D.C.came together to form a national union. Shortly thereafter, Samuel Gompers signed their charter from the American Federation of Labor. Today, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and Local 1, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), are hosting more than 3,000 delegates and guests for the 80th AFT convention of the 1.4 million member union. As with those six unions back in 1916, this comingtogether heralds new collaborations, fresh agendas and reform opportunities as we face historic and challenging times. On Sunday afternoon (July 13), delegates will elect new leadership. Delegates will also say goodbye and pay tribute to two leading trade unionists, retiring AFT president Edward J. McElroy and secretarytreasurer Nat LaCour, who leave having made significant marks on both our union and the American labor movement. Plan to start the weekend right at the "Taste of Chicago" delegate reception cospon together ChicagoShorts PIER REVIEW touted as the Midwest's top tourist destination, navy pier attracts nearly 9 million visitors a year with 50 acres of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, theaters, cruise boat rides, a 15story ferris wheeland an exhibition area. Municipal pier opened in 1916 as both a shipping and recreational facility. in 192122, it entered a golden age of recreational and cultural activity, drawing nearly 1 million visitors to the city's 15day "pageants of progress" exhibition. the pier served as a military training site during the two world wars (and was officially renamed in 1927 as a tribute to navy personnel who served in World War i). in 1926, the Chicago federation of labor established its pioneer radio station in the pier's north tower and began transmitting as WCfl, known as "the voice of labor." following ups and downs and serious decline in the 1970s and '80s, navy pier was reborn in 1995the result of a $150 million redevelopment project. FIRST SKYSCRAPERS although most of us associate skyscrapers with new york City, these soaring, lightfilled buildings originated in the Midwest, most notably in Chicago, created by a group of architects known as the "Chicago school" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. one of the leaders of this group was louis sullivan (he's the one who said "form follows function"), and you can see an example of his work at the sullivan Center, at 1 south state st., built in 1899. the technology of steel beams and girders, along with the introduction of the elevator, made tall buildings with large windows possible as well as practical. Chicago in particular benefited from the application of skyscraper technology, thanks to the building boom that followed the fire of 1871. THE CHICAGO FIVE Margaret haley, an early pioneer of the aft, was one of five women who changed Chicago and the nation. haley was listed with four other women in American Magazine in 1906 as key movers and shakers for the welfare of children and workers. the others were Mary McDowell, who organized the first women's local of the meatcutters union; Cornelia DeBey, a physician and school board member who confronted the head of a packing plant to help settle a strike by 50,000 workers; julia lathrop, who curbed the abuse of patients in state institutions; and jane addams, who spearheaded the nation's child labor laws. haley obtained an order from the state supreme Court forcing all public utility corporations in Chicago to pay taxes, which added millions to the city treasury and reversed teacher pay cuts. Continued from page 1 include expanding peer assistance and review programs, addressing the healthcare worker and nursing faculty shortages, supporting programs to bring equity to parttime/adjunct faculty, promoting the understanding of how government is part of the common good, and improving the buildings in which our members work (the AFT'S "Building Minds, Minding Buildings" campaign). Also keep an eye on resolutions to enhance AFT's commitment to early childhood education programs and workers, and on faculty diversity. In addition, two human and labor rights warriors will be honored: Min Zin, a Burmese journalist and democracy activist will speak at the Human Rights Award Luncheon on Saturday, and Lilly Ledbetter, who fought wage discrimination at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. all the way to the Supreme Court, will speak at the Women's Rights Awards Breakfast on Monday morning. Delegates also will have ample opportunity to take their CTU's Deborah Woo advocacy work to hands out fanny packs the streets when filled with visitor they march at the information. Resurrection Health Care rally on Saturday afternoon in support of hospital workers and the Employee Free Choice Act. These workers have faced years of antiunion resistance and need labor's show of solidarity. Another way to flex your union muscle is at the Greater Together Action Center in the exhibit hall. Stop by, bone up and send a letter to elected officials on your pick of 15 different topics. How strong are we? Bask in the pride of our organizing successes by visiting the Organizing Wall of Fame, right on the floor of the convention. Displayed on the walls are pennants of all the new units and charters in states that have grown either by 5 percent or 500 members since the 2006 convention. What if 3,000 voices were raised as one to demand ... a new direction for the no Child left Behind act passage of the employee free Choice act the end of worldwide attacks on trade unionists passage of the fair pay act passage of the public safety employeremployee Cooperation act passage of the 21st Century green highperforming public schools facilities act a u.s. postage stamp to honor the yellow school bus Come to the Greater Together Action Center in the exhibit hall and see how powerful you really are! At the same time ... volunteer for aft's election 2008 drive join the faculty and College excellence campaign sign the Worthy Wage quilt for early childhood educators and child care workers volunteer for the special olympics donate to Chicago's fresh start schools jump into an aft organizing campaign greater together Swell the chorus and grab your free AFT Tshirt. We can make a difference! 2 Welcome Union's ER&D program marks growth, plans expansion preconvention conference features workshops focusing on student success The 2008 Educational Research and Dissemination network conference sparkled with lively presentations and exciting prospects for continued growth in ER&D, the AFT's professional development program for K12 educators. Held July 910 in Chicago, the preconvention event packed the Hyatt Regency ballroom with activists from AFT locals nationwidethe union leaders, coordinators and educators who work with ER&D every day and have put the program in the vanguard of unionsponsored professional development. A major theme at this year's conference was growth that preserves ER&D quality. Local ER&D programs on average are reaching about 23 percent more teachers, paraprofessionals and schoolrelated personnel today than they were just two years ago, and surveys of the 231 active locals in ER&D indicate that growth in the next two years will accelerate. In recent months, ER&D has enjoyed a boost from the AFTdeveloped Strategies for Student Success, which tailors ER&D training to the needs and capacities of emerging locals, AFT educational issues director John Mitchell told the conference audience. And ER&D is working to develop training tied to the fall PSRP divisional conference that will make the program even more accessible to these valuable members of the education team, Mitchell said. "The currency of this program is quality," ER&D director Rob Weil told the audience, and the union will expand support in the field to match growth in the program. Included in that effort will be new ways for local site coordinators to support each other, he said. "We know we can't just hand you a manual and say `go forth and deliver.'" Many of the workshops offered at the conference showcased the type of growth opportunities that ER&D planners are seekingsituations where ER&D is an integral part of a comprehensive school improvement effort rather than a professional development addon. One workshop detailed how ER&D played a valuable role in supporting 39 lowperforming public schools in MiamiDade (Fla.). These schools make up the district's school improvement zone, and their improvement plans include extended school days and academic years, with much of the extra time allotted to professional development. Conference participants also were treated to a lively presentation of many ER&D concepts in action by nationally recognized trainer Bobb Darnell of Achievement Strategies Inc. Darnell stressed the power of classroom lessons that make learning objectives and strategies for achieving those objectives clear to students. He then led conference participants through short lessons that illustrated those points, making use of graphic organizers, grouping strategies and other techniques familiar to the audience of ER&D specialists. "Students resist or defy when facing what they perceive as overwhelming tasks that fill them with anxiety," he said. Teachers can defuse the problem by ensuring students have the skills necessary for the lesson, clearly communicating the lesson, and breaking down the task so that students get "little tastes of success" along the way. Darnell also addressed systemic considerations and highlighted key characteristics in successful schools and districts. Among those traits were data management strategies that present concise, usable information in ways that don't simply trigger "fight or flight responses" in school staff. Also important to success is a school vision statement that goes beyond a stale poster on a wall as well as process management, which requires abandoning programs that have taken on a life of their own but have ceased to be useful. The conference also featured a presentation on how AFTsponsored professional development can flourish even in political climates that are frequently hostile to public education. Brian Baker, AFT state educational issues coordinator for Texas, detailed how ER&D programs have taken root in schools from El Paso to Houston and flourished in the state, even though Texas has no collective bargaining for teachers and is burdened with a Legislature that has accelerated sanctions against schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress. The conference also heard from Olatokunbo S. Fashola, senior research fellow at the Optimal Solutions Group, who stressed the importance of measuring the impact of education programs. Schools can only improve if we know what makes a difference and by how much. AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese also addressed the conference and spoke about how important ER&D is to the union, adding that there are plans to strengthen and expand the program in the near future. Effective classroom lessons are central to achievement, presenter Bobb Darnell told ER&D conference participants. Welcome 3 Gathering brings together AFT communicators Almost 100 AFT editors and communicators from around the country gathered at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on July 910 for the annual AFT Communicators Network conference, which featured handson workshops, roundtable discussions, and plenary sessions on the November 2008 elections, the connection between communications and organizing, and strategies for communicating more effectively about the vital role of government in society. The conference, "Many Voices, One Message," opened with an address by retiring AFT president Edward J. McElroy, who was honored with a special lifetime achievement award. "I made communications one of my priorities because I believe it's one of the most important things we do as an organization and as a union," he said. One thoughtprovoking session featured Patrick Bresette from Public Works: The Demos Center for the Public Sector, who condensed into one informationpacked hour what is usually a daylong presentation on changing the way we communicate about government. The dominant story the public hears about government, he noted, tends to focus on partisan politics, bloated bureaucracy and citizens as consumers of government services. He talked about the way organizations like the AFT can play a role in changing the nature of the conversation about government by promoting the idea that public institutions are crucial to advancing the common good. Other plenary sessions included an overview of the 2008 elections from John Ost, the AFT's director of political and legislative mobilization, and a panel discussion featuring organizers and communicators from Texas AFT and from the Professional Staff Congress at the City University of New York. The conference also featured a banquet recognizing the winners of the annual AFTCN journalism contest (see list of winners, this page). AFTCN members will have their own media center this year to post their stories and video clips online. 2008 AFTCN Awards CLASS I (10,000+ members) AFT Connecticut general excellence publications (electronic), second place, inside aft Connecticut Best feature story, second place, state of the union Best original illustration or photo, first place, state of the union Best Web site (stateWeb), second place, www.aftct.org AFT Massachusetts Best news story, second place, the advocate Best feature story, third place, the advocate Best editorial or Column, first place, the advocate California Federation of Teachers general excellence publications (print), third place, California teacher Best news story, first place, California teachers Best Design/layout, third place, California teacher Best issuesBased organizing Materials, first place, "yes on 92" Chicago Teachers Union Best news story, second place, Chicago union teacher Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), third place, "professionals, it takes one to Create one" Education Minnesota Best editorial or Column, third place, Minnesota educator Best Design/layout, first place, Minnesota educator Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), first place, "schools first!" campaign, year 2 Best Web site (other), second place, www.educationminnesota.org Illinois Federation of Teachers Best Web site (other), second place, www.iftaft.org New York State Public Employees Federation Best original illustration or photo, third place, the Communicator Best public relations activity (single effort), second place, "nys Data Center Move" Best Web site (other), third place, www.thecommunicator.org New York State United Teachers Best Web site (other), first place, www.nysut.org Oregon School Employees Association general excellence publications (print), first place, osea journal Best public relations activity (single effort), third place, Classified employees Week Professional Staff Congress/CUNY (N.Y.) general excellence publications (electronic), first place, this Week in the psC your union at Work Best news story, third place, Clarion Best editorial or Column, second place, Clarion Best original illustration or photo, second place, Clarion Best Design/layout, first place, Clarion Best issuesBased organizing Materials, second place, contract campaign Texas AFT general excellence publications (print), second place, texas teacher Best feature story, first place, texas teacher Best editorial or Column, third place, texas teacher Best issuesBased organizing Materials, first place, texas teacher Best Web site (stateWeb), first place, tx.aft.org United Teachers of Los Angeles Best feature story, third place, united teacher Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), second place, "pay teachers right" payroll campaign United University Professions (N.Y.) Best news story, third place, the voice Best Design/layout, second place, the voice Best public relations activity (single effort), first place, 2008 ad campaign, "suny is ny's economic engine" CLASS II (1,001 9,999 members) Alaska Public Employees Association/Supervisory Unit Best Web site (other), second place, su.apeaaft.org Albuquerque Teachers Federation (N.M.) general excellence publications (print), third place, the teacher's voice Boston Teachers Union Best news story, third place, Boston union teacher 4 Welcome Cleveland Teachers Union Best feature story, third place, Ctu Critique Best Web site (stateWeb), second place, www.ctu279.org Cook County College Teachers Union (Ill.) Best news story, second place, College union voice Best editorial or Column, third place, College union voice Best Web site (stateWeb), first place, il.aft.org/local1600 Council of New Jersey State College Locals Best Web site (other), third place, www.cnjscl.org Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College (N.Y.) Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), first place, Community outreach (December Web page) Georgia Federation of Teachers Best Design/layout, second place, gft/ aft Messenger Guam Federation of Teachers Best original illustration or photo, first place, gft news Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), first place, fair taxes poster campaign Newark Teachers Union (N.J.) Best Web site (other), first place, www. ntuaft.com NYSUT Retiree Council 17 (N.Y.) Best news story, first place, seventeen soundings Best editorial or Column, second place, seventeen soundings Temple Association of University Professionals (Pa.) Best Design/layout, third place, taup Bulletin Union of Clerical, Administrative, and Technical Staff (N.Y.) general excellence publications (print), second place, Momentum United Educators of San Francisco general excellence publications (print), first place, san francisco educator Best feature story, first place, san francisco educator Best Design/layout, first place, san francisco educator Best issuesBased organizing Materials, first place, "thank a teacher: settle a fair Contract" University Professionals of Illinois Best feature story, second place, university people and issues Volusia Teachers Organization (Fla.) Best public relations activity (single effort), first place, "for Working families, Where's relief?" Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Local 5001 Best news story, third place, 5001 news transfusion Best editorial or Column, first place, news transfusion Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Local 8070 Best feature story, second place, network Best editorial or Column, first place, network Best Web site (stateWeb), third place, www.wfnhp.org North Babylon Teachers' Organization (N.Y.) Best news story, third place, partners in education Best original illustration or photo, second place, partners in education Best Design/layout, second place, partners in education Randolph Central School Teachers Association (N.Y.) Best feature story, first place, the rCsta Banner Best original illustration or photo, second place, the rCsta Banner Valley Central Teachers Association (N.Y.) general excellence publications (print), second place, vC echoes Best feature story, third place, vC echoes Best editorial or Column, first place, vC echoes Best original illustration or photo, first place, vC echoes Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), second place, vC echoes West Genesee Teachers' Association (N.Y.) Best Web site (other), second place, www.wgta.net West Islip Retired Teachers Association (N.Y.) Best news story, first place, Wirta news Best editorial or Column, third place, Wirta news Winona Education Association (Minn.) Best public relations activity (program/ Campaign), first place, "educating every Child every Day" CLASS III (1,000 or fewer members) Billings Classified Employees Association (Mont.) general excellence publications (print), third place, BCea newsletter Best Web site (other), third place, www. bceabillings.org East Detroit Federation of Teachers (Mich.) Best original illustration or photo, third place, eDft Monthly newsletter Federation of Rowan College Educators/Retirees (N.J.) Best feature story, second place, afterwords Best Design/layout, third place, afterwords Harlem Federation of Teachers (Ill.) general excellence publications (print), first place, hft update Best news story, second place, hft update Best original illustration or photo, second place, hft update Best Design/layout, first place, hft update Best public relations activity (single effort), first place, "thank you harlem Community!" Best Web site (other), first place, www. harlemft.org Malverne Teachers Association (N.Y.) Best editorial or Column, second place, the Mta Messenger Meriden Federation of Teachers (Conn.) general excellence publications (electronic), first place, Mft union Bulletin Among the AFTCN sessions were lunchtime roundtable discussions, right, and handson video editing workshops, below. Welcome 5 Fresh Start Festival features fun, food and a health fair Families and children from Chicago's Englewood neighborhood gathered at Bass Elementary School on Thursday, July 10, for a morning of fun, food and health screenings. Hosted by the Chicago Teachers Union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the AFT, the preconvention Fresh Start Festival included face painting, balloons and a moon bounce for the children, and materials for parents on helping their kids succeed in school. The highlight, however, was a health fair that featured free physicals, immunizations, and hearing and vision screenings for the community's schoolchildren, along with information on diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. "There's a severe shortage of nurses in Chicago schools, and many families have trouble getting the proper health screenings required before Rally for healthcare workers Delegates are urgeD to join a rally on saturday, july 12, at 5 p.m. with afsCMe Council 31 to support workers at resurrection health Care, a chain of eight hospitals that has repeatedly suppressed the voices of employees who are seeking to form a union. show your support for healthcare workers' efforts to win representation at resurrection and to add our voices in support of congressional passage of the employee free Choice act (efCa). the rally will be held at lincoln park across from saint joseph hospital, an rhC facility. Buses will leave navy pier beginning at 4:30 p.m. Delegates are asked to sign up for the rally at the efCa table at the aft greater together action Center as soon as possible to give organizers an idea of how many buses will be needed. all participants will receive a free aft rally tshirt. children start school in the fall," said CTU president and AFT vice president Marilyn Stewart. "We're trying to bridge the problem in a small way with this health fair." IFT's director of program development JoAnn Harper said the health screenings benefit members as well as the schoolchildren. "Children are what we're about as educators. And if we expect to be able to teach them, it's important that they be able to hear and see." Bass Elementary is one of the city's eight Fresh Start Schools. The program is a partnership between CTU and the Chicago Public Schools. AFT delegates can support the Fresh Start program with a donation at the Greater Together Action Center in the exhibit hall. The health fair benefited children who need health screenings before the start of school, says Chicago Teachers Union president Marilyn Stewart, above. A festival participant has her vision screened, below. Check us out online visit www.aft.org for more coverage Delegates With internet aCCess should check out the convention section of the aft's Web site (www. aft.org/convention) throughout the event. for the first time, the complete daily summaries will be posted online as "ebooks" that allow users to flip pages, zoom in on specific articles and print what they want to read offline. the convention section will also include all the videos that will be shown during convention sessions as well as regular video updates of convention highlights. press materials, such as news releases, statements and the text of major speeches also will be available. other items will be added regularly, so check back every day. 6 Welcome AFT welcomes international guests trade union leaders, special guests from around the world arrive for convention SPECIAL GUESTS Min Zin Burmese student activist John Dewey Educational Foundation Zhi Luan China project Director Education International Thulas Nxesi president Fred van Leeuwen general secretary Public Services International Peter Waldorff general secretary TRADE UNION LEADERS Canada Centrale des syndicats du Québec Alain Pelissier ** secretary treasurer ontario secondary school teachers' federation James Forster associate general secretary (retired) Chile Colegio de profesores de Chile Jorge Pavez Urrutia ** international relations Jenny Assael advisor instituto de Desarrollo educacional de Chile Samuel Soto Aguilar Director Denmark Danish union of teachers Hans Ole Frostholm general secretary Georgia educators and scientists free trade union of georgia Manana Gurchumelidze president education labour relations CouncilDepartment of education/limpopo province Zwoitwaho C. Nevhutalu superintendent general of education education labour relations CouncilDepartment of education/Western Cape Ron Swartz superintendent Spain federación de enseñanza CC.oo., f.e.CC.oo. José Campos Trujillo ** general secretary Rosario Rizo international secretary Pedro Gonzalez higher education secretary United Kingdom Commonwealth secretariat Roli DegazonJohnson advisor national association of schoolmasters union of Women teachers Amanda Haehner national president Jennifer Moses national official, equality and training national union of teachers John Dixon assistant secretary, Coordination and Communications Zimbabwe progressive teachers union of Zimbabwe Raymond Majongwe general secretary Zimbabwe teachers' association Richard Gundane national secretary general ________ * education international vice president ** education international executive board member Nugzar Machavariani vice president Marina Alugishvili international affairs Coordinator Germany gewerkschaft erziehung und Wissenschaft Ulrich Thöne ** president Manfred Brinkman international secretary Ghana ghana national association of teachers Irene Duncan Adanusa * general secretary Ireland association of secondary teachers, ireland Patricia Wroe president teachers' union of ireland Tim O'Meara president Peter MacMenamin general secretary Israel israel teachers union Joseph Wasserman general secretary Gad Diai general secretary Deputy Gabriella Tseilon Member of the executive Board Ran Lerner Consultant to the general secretary Kenya Kenya national union of teachers Francis Ng'ang'a general secretary Kuwait Kuwait teachers' society Aydh Al Sahli Member of Board Ghazi Al Enezi Member of Board Netherlands general education union Walter Dresscher president Norway union of education norway Haldis Holst ** executive Board Member Lajla Blom head of international Department Palestine general union of palestinian teachers Hazem Qumsieh international secretary Philippines public services labor independent Confederation Annie Geron general secretary Dante B. Arienza Deputy general secretary Elmer Risonar executive Board Member South Africa education labour relations Council Dhaya Govender general secretary Michelle Milne secretariat education labour relations Council, south african Democratic teachers' union Matseliso E. Dipholo vice president Nomfundo N. Mkhulisi vice president of gender and hiv/aiDs education labour relations Councilnational professional teachers organization Henry Hendricks executive Director education labour relations Council, national teachers union Eliam M. Biyela executive Director education labour relations CouncilCape teachers professional association John H. Jeftha president education labour relations CouncilDepartment of education/KwaZulunatal province Reginald C. Lubisi superintendent general of education education labour relations CouncilDepartment of education/northWest province Hubert M. Mweli superintendent general of education Welcome 7 Worker migration creates `brain drain' abroad forum highlights growing concern of labor groups Cortese noted that the dramatic Migration of professionals increase in migration in recent across countries may be helping years is having an impact on just address nursing and teaching about every constituency within shortages in some places, but it is the AFT. The migration of creating a tremendous "brain teachers, nurses and other drain" in the Philippines and professionals is an "emerging some other developing counissue for our union," Cortese told tries. That was a primary the forum, which was organized assertion of the presenters at a by the AFT international affairs special preconvention forum on Annie Geron department and attended by the migration held Thursday, July 10. convention's international guests as well as This worker migration is "taking an AFT leaders and divisional staff. incredible and valuable resource from There are about 8 million Filipino migrant regions of the world that can ill afford to workers throughout the world, Annie Geron, lose them," said Shannon Lederer, an general secretary of the Public Services assistant director in the AFT international Labor Independent Confederation in the affairs department. Philippines, told the forum. Meanwhile, the AFT executive vice president Antonia country is unable to fill vacancies for doctors, nurses and educators, she says. "Our government has a policy of exporting labor." Many Filipinos working overseas send money home to their families. Migration brought more than $14 billion into the Philippine economy in 2007, Geron added. About 10 percent of the current teaching force in Baltimore is from the Philippines, Lederer pointed out. About onethird of the new nurses that hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the United States are hiring today come from abroadthe largest percentage from the Philippines, she added. Not surprisingly, the loss of welleducated nurses and educators who are migrating to countries like the United States for higher pay is having a negative effect on access to and the quality of education and healthcare in the Philippines. Much of the growth in the number of migrant professionals is the result of aggressive tactics used by recruitment firms, she said, which make money by requiring a fee from teachers who are recruited and hired. Roli DegazonJohnson, an education adviser to the Londonbased Commonwealth Secretariat, says countries that are part of the British Commonwealth have come together to create a teacher recruitment protocol that is designed to "balance the right of teachers to migrate internationally with the need to protect those countries' education systems." Most of the teachers, nurses and other workers who have come to the United Kingdom hail from Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa, DegazonJohnson reported. The Philippines, followed by India and China, is the primary source of migrant nurses, noted Joni Ketter, associate director of the AFT Healthcare division. Some organizations, such as Public Services International, are attempting to address the migrant issue by providing information designed both to protect the rights of these workers and to help them make an informed decision when they are being recruited to leave their home countries to work abroad. Meet the authors Writers featured at convention events Delegates Will have a ChanCe to hear from nationally acclaimed writers on laborrelated topics during the aft convention. on saturday, july 12, former New York Times investigative reporter and pulitzer prizewinner David Cay johnston will be the featured speaker at the aft public employees breakfast. johnston will talk about issues raised in his newest book, Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill), which explains how tax dollars meant for local services are diverted to billionaires. johnston's book will be available for purchase at the breakfast, which begins at 7:45 a.m. in room 301304 at navy pier. tickets to the aft public employees breakfast can be purchased in advance at the aft registration counters in the exhibit hall. on sunday morning, july 13, the educators' chapter of the jewish labor Committee will host a breakfast featuring philip Dine, author of How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence. Dine's book will be available for purchase at the breakfast, to be held 7:30 a.m.9:30 a.m. in room 307308 at navy pier. tickets will be available for sale in the exhibit hall at the jlC booth and "at the door." also on sunday, New York Times national labor reporter steven greenhouse and biographer richard D. Kahlenberg will be the featured presenters at a brownbag lunch discussion. greenhouse wrote The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker, and Kahlenberg is author of Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy, the biography of the former aft president. the program will be held from 1 p.m.2 p.m. in room 309312 at navy pier, and both authors will be signing books after the program. the Daily summary is prepared by the aft communications department: Kris Kemmerer, director; Trish Gorman, consulting editor; Laura Baker and Jane Feller, copy editors; Adrienne Coles, Roger Glass, Daniel Gursky, Annette Licitra, Barbara McKenna, Mike Rose and Kathy Walsh, staff writers; Dave Berver and Barbara Tobias, aft online staff; Charles Glendinning, art director; Pam Wolfe, graphic designer, Sharon Francour and Sharon Wright, production coordinators; Shawnitra Hawkins, production assistant. photography by Lee Balgemann, Michael Campbell and Russ Curtis. illustrations by William Coulter. 8 Welcome
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