Politics tops conference agendas

With the crucial 2000 elections fast approaching, politics and the importance of union political action topped the agenda of two key AFT conferences in March. "So much is at stake, and we have a tough fight ahead," Lorretta Johnson, who heads the Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel (PSRP) program and policy council, told the almost 1,000 attendees at the opening session of the PSRP conference in Washington, D.C.

Delivering this year's keynote address, AFT executive vice president Nat LaCour discussed the major goals that the AFT's Futures II committee has outlined for the union. He focused in particular on a recommendation to "build a more vibrant political voice for our members and all working families," noting that "the principal issue we need to be aware of is improving education" when working for candidates at all levels.

Even in a session that featured high-ranking officials from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education and Transportation explaining some of the education-related programs they direct, the importance of who controls the White House and the U.S. Congress became evident. Each of the officials talked about important programs in their departments--such as school nutrition, school bus safety and school modernization--that must get approval and funding from Congress each year. In the case of school construction and renovation, for example, the Republican majority in Congress has turned down President Clinton's proposals year after year.

For the first time this year, the AFT's educational issues department organized a preconference ER&D program. ER&D (Educational Research and Dissemination) has been around for 20 years now, and classroom paraprofessionals have been involved in the training for almost a decade. Recent efforts have extended to professional development for nonclassroom staff, as well.

Women, family issues

Meanwhile, politics also dominated the AFT Women's Issues Conference in Chicago. More than 170 participants gathered for plenary sessions and workshops that focused strongly on politics, as well as gender-equity issues, generational issues and more.

"We want politics and politicians to address the real issues facing" our members, including public education, AFT executive vice president Nat LaCour told conference participants. Union members must tell political candidates that "if you do that, we will be with you regardless of your party label. If you work against our concerns, we will work against you."

Other featured speakers at the Women's Issues Conference included Carmen Tafolla, a writer, poet, entertainer and speaker on multicultural issues; Seventh U.S. District Court of Appeals Judge Ann Claire Williams; Center for Women Policy Studies president Leslie Wolfe; president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women Jane Smith; and Coalition of Labor Union Women president Gloria Johnson.

The AFT gathering set the stage for the AFL-CIO's "Working Women Conference 2000," also in Chicago, which was designed to help women mobilize and organize around work and family issues.

Audiotapes of the Women's Issues Conference are available through the AFT human rights and community relations department, 202/879-4434.

V.I. Schools prompt 'state of emergency'

The AFT proposed creating a coalition of unions, community groups, churches and civic organizations to support the schools. Gov. Turnbull agreed to join the two AFT locals in a campaign to seek such support for repairing school buildings and dealing with the impending teacher shortage. He also committed to identifying funding that could be used to improve teacher salaries.

Local launches parent program

Helping parents help their children succeed in school is a role that teachers are uniquely qualified to fill, United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) president Brenda Mitchell says. "Parents want to help, but many don't know where to start. That's where teachers can help."

This spring, UTNO launched two initiatives, a television ad campaign and a newsletter, that it hopes will help parents and teachers see each other as partners in a child's education. "One thing I always hear from teachers is that they wish more parents were involved in their children's education," Mitchell says. Further, national polls show that parents want to be more involved, she says. The UTNO Parent Program (UPP) will help facilitate what both teachers and parents want, Mitchell says.

Television ads run by the AFT affiliate urge parents to remember to check their children's homework; and the union's quarterly newsletter, ParentLinks, will provide parents with background information on local education issues and tips on topics such as communicating with their child's teacher.

Pre-K teacher and UTNO executive council member Valerie Prier has seen how parents react when teachers reach out to them. "Any extra help or advice you give parents is always appreciated," she says. "We want parents to look at UTNO as a resource that can help them with the education of their children."

A Florida judge recently threw out the nation's first statewide voucher program, calling vouchers incompatible with the state constitution and its guarantee of a high-quality system of public schools.

Not only does Florida's constitution mandate provision for the education of all children, it "also prescribes how the State is to carry out this education mandate...through a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high-quality system of education," Circuit Judge L. Ralph Smith Jr. wrote, quoting from the state constitution and adding emphasis in his judgment.

Smith ordered a year-end shutdown of the voucher program, a plan spearheaded by Gov. Jeb Bush as an alternative for students in schools the state has deemed failing. Currently, only about 50 children in Pensacola attend private schools through the voucher program, now in its first year.

Judge Smith's decision reaffirms "the important principle in the Florida constitution that public funds should be used for public--not private--schools," AFT president Sandra Feldman said following the ruling. "Parents and the public don't want vouchers. They want good public schools. That's where our funds and our efforts should be focused, not on divisive experiments like vouchers."

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001