Colleagues,

Whereas United Faculty of Florida-FSCJ represents 400 faculty members who are residents of the greater Jacksonville area,

And whereas a number of our tens of thousands of students and faculty are members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community,

JoAnn Volk

January 11, 2017

Much of the recent attention on the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has focused on the fate of the 22.5 million people likely to lose insurance through a repeal of Medicaid expansion and the loss of protections and subsidies in the individual insurance market. Overlooked in the declarations of who stands to lose under plans to “repeal and replace” the ACA are those enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans — the primary source of coverage for people under 65.

Winter 2017 Spearhead Newsletter

AFT National President Randi Weingarten joined NTU President John M. Abeigon and NPS staff as part of the National Day of Action!  We had action at schools all across the city!  More pictures to come!

Read the Summer 2016 edition of the PSRP Reporter HERE!

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Douglas Ley, AFT NH  President
Phone: (603) 831-3661

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2:00 P.M. EDT, January 18, 2017

BOW, NH -  AFT-NH President Douglas Ley released the following statement on the nomination of Representative Frank Edelblut as Commissioner of Education.

“Just as AFT on the national level has expressed strong opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, we are gravely concerned about a Commissioner of Education who, when running for governor, supported further diverting much needed funding and resources from our public schools.   Our teachers and school district employees are trained professionals who have dedicated a lifetime to serving NH students. There is no evidence based on Mr. Edelblut’s public record that he either has the experience in education or public service on the local level that demonstrates the requisite knowledge and understanding to lead NH schools and serve more than 180,000 students, our State’s most precious resource.” 

AFT-NH represents approximately 4,000 teachers, school support staff, city and town employees, police officers, library employees, and higher education faculty. AFT-NH is a member of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO and is the state affiliate for the American Federation of Teachers with more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, 43 state affiliates, and more than 1.3 million members.

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The constitutional change referendum passed on January 10, 2017. To view the updated constitution you need to login and go to the Membership menu and down to key documents.

Attached you will find a digital copy of the newsletter. Take time to read it over in order to see all the important union updates, including negotiations. As a reminder, this issue is the last issue that you will also be receiving a paper issue, from this point forward it will be digital only. Happy Reading!

http://unit47.ct.aft.org/files/newsletterjan-feb2017.pdf

On Tuesday, January 10, hundreds packed Reps Hall in the State House for the Senate Commerce Committee public hearing on SB 11, the proposed “right to work” legislation.  From 1 pm into the evening, a long line of witnesses, including Senators, Representatives, labor leaders, and working people (union and non-union) spoke against so-called “right to work” legislation. They pointed out that it would bring no new economic investment to NH, would inject the State into the negotiations process, and was simply an attempt to financially cripple labor unions and thereby weaken their ability to better the working conditions and the lives of those they represent.  And then, at the end of the day, without taking any time to consider evidence presented, the Committee voted 3-2, along strict party lines, to send SB 11 onto the Senate, with a recommendation of “ought to pass.”