Labor-Management Efforts Between Local Teachers Unions and School Districts Recognized with AFT-Saturn/UAW Partnership Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The American Federation of Teachers and Saturn/UAW today presented awards to six AFT locals and their management partners for outstanding joint labor-management programs, ranging from a collective bargaining project for high school students to a teacher mentoring program.  The awards were presented at the AFT’s 2003 QuEST conference where more than 2400 educators gathered to discuss educational issues.

"This year’s AFT-Saturn/UAW winners show that labor-management partnerships make a difference in improving education," said AFT President Sandra Feldman.  "Together unions and management can reach their common goal to provide high-quality public education."

Since 1997, the AFT-Saturn/UAW Partnership award has paid tribute to exemplary models of labor and management collaboration based on trust, teamwork, shared decision-making, training, accountability, quality, and the ability to survive conflict and change.

The 2003 AFT-Saturn/UAW Partnership award recipients are:

Classroom Teachers Association and Palm Beach County School District--West Palm Beach, Fla. The West Palm Beach Peer Assistance and Review (PAR) program utilizes accomplished teachers to assist new and veteran teachers who are experiencing difficulties in their classroom.  Governed by a panel with equal numbers of district and union personnel, PAR teachers report on their progress to achieve the common goal of an effective teacher in every classroom.  The PAR program has succeeded despite several school administration changes and budget cuts.

Douglas County Federation of Teachers and Douglas County School District Re-1--Castle Rock, Colo. Douglas County’s Education, Research & Dissemination (ER&D) Program is a unique labor-management collaboration.  Teachers learn about recent research strategies to help them become better teachers and to improve student achievement.  The program gained widespread recognition when Douglas County ER&D trainers were asked to conduct professional development training throughout the state.

Hamburg Teachers Association and Hamburg Central School District--Hamburg, N.Y. For more than three decades, the local union and school district have collaborated on several programs.  They include the Leadership Forum, the "Article 7" Committee to assess personnel issues, and the Least Restrictive Environment Committee that works to develop a strong educational system for special education students.  Several other community and family-oriented programs have flourished through this partnership, including the Family Support Center, two Parent Resource Centers and the Parent Academy.

Kings Park Classroom Teachers Association and Kings Park School District--Kings Park, N.Y. Kings Park’s highly successful New Teacher Mentoring Program began in 2000.  Administrators and teachers work together by "quilting" new and experienced teachers in a two-year mentoring program.  As a result, the rate of new teachers staying in the profession has increased, and student test scores have risen for Kings Park.

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and Pittsburgh Public Schools--Pittsburgh, Pa. The partnership between the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and the school district goes well beyond the traditional parameters of a collective bargaining relationship.  Since 1981, the partners have worked together on day-to-day instruction, professional development and community involvement, among other programs, to enhance the quality of education in Pittsburgh’s public schools. Most notably, the union and school district co-planned and co-implemented "teachers centers" that became models of successful professional development. This relationship has developed so amiably that for the past 25 years, there has not been a work stoppage or even the threat of one.

United Teachers of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District--Los Angeles, Calif. The Collective Bargaining Education Project teaches students about labor and management rights and responsibilities in the workplace and the role of collective bargaining to resolve issues. Labor and management representatives from the community come into the classroom to participate in role-playing and collective bargaining simulations.  The goal is to enable students to become informed and active members in their workplaces and communities.

"Whether it is building cars or developing young minds, collaboration between labor and management is one of the keys to success," said Mike Herron, chairman of the United Auto Workers, Local 1853.  "Partnerships like these help everyone, not just the teachers and the students, but the whole communities where they live and learn," said Dennis Finn, personnel director for the Saturn Corporation.

A representative from labor and management from each winning program will receive a complimentary trip to Spring Hill, Tenn., for a tour of the Saturn automotive plant in November 2003 to study UAW and Saturn’s model of labor-management collaboration.

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The AFT represents more than 1.3 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals and other school support employees, higher education faculty, nurses and other healthcare workers, and state and local government employees.