Delegates attending the AFT's 77th convention, held in Las Vegas from July 15-18, approved a new political fund, honored those from the AFT family and all unions who perished on Sept. 11, took up issues of concern to PSRPs--and did their best to have some fun in the blistering desert heat.

A record crowd of almost 4,000 delegates--and hundreds of guests--survived record-breaking temperatures and avoided the lure of the slots and the tables so as to pack crucial and important business into four days.

Absent big-name political speakers and a host local, this year's convention focused more on substantive policy issues, some affecting the entire AFT membership, others dealing with pressing concerns of the union's PSRP division. This year's convention featured a rotating convention committee chairmanship that allowed long-time PSRP leader Lorretta Johnson to make history by chairing the July 15 opening session--the first PSRP leader to have such an honor. Johnson, president of both the Baltimore Teachers Union paraprofessional chapter and AFT Maryland and chair of the AFT PSRP program and policy council, told a packed convention hall about the challenges the PSRP division faces, among them the impact of the new Title I law on paraprofessionals and other staff, funding cuts and efforts to privatize school services.

While the AFT has no locals in Las Vegas, the union affiliated a major statewide classified organization, the Nevada Classified School Employees Association (NCSEA), earlier this year. It didn't take long for one of the convention speakers to make an NCSEA connection. Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller noted that his mother, a cafeteria manager in Carson City, is a member of the new affiliate. "We ate a lot of leftovers," he joked. "She only knew how to cook for 500 or more." Later in the convention, NCSEA president Mike Campbell, a head custodian in Virginia City, brought greetings to the AFT visitors to his state and told them how much his union has already benefited from the new partnership. "We are proud and honored to be part of the AFT family," he said.

AFT's current officers--President Sandra Feldman, Secretary-Treasurer Edward J. McElroy and Executive Vice President Nat LaCour--were all re-elected during the convention. Feldman used her keynote address to call on schools to offer an extended year of kindergarten ("Kindergarten-Plus," she called it) to disadvantaged youngsters to help them close the achievement gap. Congress should fund initiatives during the summers before and after the traditional kindergarten year to give students an extra academic boost, she said.

Feldman also urged the delegates to pass a proposed constitutional amendment to establish a new "Solidarity Fund" to boost AFT political action across the states. The delegates agreed, approving a $1 per member per month dues increase--two-thirds of which go to the Solidarity Fund. Over the next two years, the increase will generate a projected $12.5 million dollars; almost $5 million will be returned to state federations to set up their own similar funds.
 

Remembering Sept. 11

Delegates commemorated the events of Sept. 11, in which 45 AFT members were killed, in a session that included a powerful video about the victims, heroes and aftermath. New York City paraprofessionals Margaret Espinoza and Julia Martinez (featured in previous issues of Reporter) were on hand to talk about their experiences in leading two wheelchair-bound students to safety from the chaos of Lower Manhattan.

Resolutions debated and approved at the convention address priority issues for the PSRP division. Among them was one on "monitoring the potential for harmful outcomes of education reforms and creative school funding initiatives." The resolution points out that some initiatives designed to raise standards and improve student achievement can have unforeseen implications for staff. Examples might include school secretaries' workloads, which could easily become greater when district bureaucracies are decentralized; paraprofessionals who don't receive adequate training in new reading programs; or food service workers competing for customers with junk food dispensed by vending machines installed in schools. The resolution calls on the AFT to develop guidelines to help locals fully assess the impact of reform initiatives on all work and all workers.

Lorretta Johnson spoke in favor of a resolution submitted by her local that calls for "monitoring and controlling the misassignment of paraprofessionals as substitute teachers," an especially troublesome issue for Title I programs. "We don't want to substitute, we don't ask to substitute, and we shouldn't lose our jobs over it," she said. In addition to pointing out the problems with the abuse of paras as subs, the resolution lays out strict guidelines to prevent such misassignment and to appropriately compensate those who do end up serving as subs.

Among other resolutions, one dealt with the illegal purchase and use of "nonconforming vans" to transport students. Another called for the inclusion of PSRPs in developing and implementing school and campus emergency plans. The nonconforming vans--small passenger vehicles that carry eight to 15 people--are a problem because they aren't as safe as traditional school buses. Between 1993 and 1999, there were 71 noncollision van rollovers, causing 71 fatalities. The resolution urges the AFT and its affiliates, along with transportation industry associations, to support efforts to close legal loopholes that allow automobile dealers to sell such vans to schools.

PSRP convention delegates also had a chance to meet and greet at a well-attended divisional meeting. The main topic of discussion? The possibility of a name change to replace the current PSRP label. A consultant who has been working with the AFT nationally on "branding," which involves the logos, colors, names and other elements that make up an organization's identity, spoke at the meeting. Dozens of delegates voiced their opinions on the issue, and it was clear that there is no consensus on a new name at this time. During the convention, delegates voted to approve a name change for three other AFT divisions--healthcare, public employees and higher education.