From AFT Healthcare-Maryland: In the wake of community outrage around the potential closure of Western Maryland Hospital Center (WMHC)  we are pleased that the Department of Health and

In the wake of community outrage around the potential closure of Western Maryland Hospital Center (WMHC)  we are pleased that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) is no longer interested in pursuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) which is a first step to the privatization of the facility.

Thousands of FREE BOOKS

for Beaverton kids on Saturday, June 4th!!  

Great news! The Oregon School Employees Association and OSEA Beaverton Chapter 48 are partnering with First Book to bring 20,000 brand new books to children in Beaverton, OR.  We have brand new books for all kids, from age 0-18! 

RSVP for our Book Sorting Party on Friday, June 3rd!  

July 7, 2016.  The law that gutted civil service, Act 150, went into effect on July 1, 2016, although some changes won't be implemented right away.    Here is a link to a set of FAQs about the changes. 

FAQs on Civil Service Changes

There was also a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform where DOA officials (Cate Zueske and Stacey Rolston) described the implementation of Act 150.  Below is a link to the video (it's about 2 hours).

Public Hearing Video, Wisconsin Eye

Through the signing of an Executive Order Thursday, Governor John Bel Edwards established an advisory council on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) - the new, bipartisan law that recently reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Louisiana Association of Educators President Debbie Meaux and Louisiana Federation of Teachers Chief of Staff Marcus Fontenot joined the governor as he made the order official.

Educating. Organizing. Mobilizing. That’s how Detroit Federation of Teachers members have spent the last few weeks. And our work is making a difference. Let’s stand together and keep our union strong.

Eau Claire, WI: Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution of no confidence in UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents.  Members of AFT local 6481, United Faculty and Academic Staff of UW-Eau Claire, collected signatures from one-third of campus faculty to call for a special meeting of all faculty on the resolution, the first such meeting at the university in nearly fifty years.  The resolution, which passed by a landslide margin of 227-98, is the latest in a wave of no confidence resolutions across the UW System, a nationally unprecedented event.

AFT-NJ generously contributed an ad and scholarship to this year's Hall of Fame Dinner.  

This ad was accidentally left out of this year's ad journal, but we still wanted the members to see it!

Thank you again to our colleages at AFT-NJ!

Colleagues,

The NPS has announced their intention to change over from the State Health Benefits plan to a “NPS only plan” through AETNA for all Newark Public School Employees.  The district claims that this change will allow them to save $9.8 million over the next 16 months. While we hesitate to trust any claim made by the district, if this is accurate, it would free up money that could prevent layoffs, etc, and this savings could mean members would be contributing less per month to their health benefits.