(The following letter will be going out this week to all state representatives. More unions are expected to sign on.)

Dear Honorable State Representative,

     We represent close to 10,000  members who work day in and day out in the Boston Schools. Most of us live in the city. We are proud of our schools, we are proud of our success, and we are proud of the work we do. We represent  teachers, administrators, secretaries, bus monitors, custodians, school police, school plant administrators, clerical workers, and more. We are writing because the legislation being proposed on Beacon Hill will harm, not help, our daily efforts.

     We know our schools are not perfect.  But, at the same time, we know that our schools will improve only if we have a voice in the efforts needed to improve them. The legislation proposed takes away our voice and takes away our collective bargaining. This is a recipe for school failure, not school improvement.

     We ask that in considering this legislation, you vote to restore all collective-bargaining rights listed in the Senate Bill. Restoring our rights means restoring 'just cause' instead of the weaker 'good cause.' Restoring our rights means eliminating the implementation of Horace Mann Schools, which would be allowed to operate without any collective-bargaining provisions. Neither of these two changes, incidentally, will help the state's application for RTTP funds. Neither will improve the quality of education in our schools. They are no more than an attempt to destroy certain collective-bargaining provisions and the ongoing collaborative efforts that have been established  and in effect for more than 40 years.

      Thank you very much. As always, we appreciate your support of and interest in our schools.

      Thank you from Presidents and elected leaders of the Boston Teachers Union, Boston School Police, Boston Administrators and Supervisors, School Custodians,  Steel Workers, Bus Monitors,  Plant Administrators, Boston Administrators Guild         

Before the legislature next month will be a bill that will change educational policy for the foreseeable future. The bill was approved by the Senate in late November and will be taken up by the House of Representatives in early January. We would like you to make a call to your state representative and ask that he or she support a few changes in the Senate's bill. Here are just a few talking points. The Senate bill as it stands now:

1.    Allows the superintendent to require all staff in any 'underperforming' school to reapply for their own positions in the schools. The superintendent can dismiss any teacher or fail to rehire any teacher for good cause. 'Good Cause'-as opposed to 'just cause'-is a step backwards and significantly diminishes our due process protections. There are essentially three levels of 'cause': just cause, good cause, and cause, in order of protection granted, with 'just' being the highest level. Good cause is an inadequate substitute for just cause. The original senate version would have allowed teachers to be fired at will. This is a slight improvement on that, but it is still quite inadequate. Anything less than a just cause provision in this section will be a significant loss. According to the AFT-Mass's interpretation of the bill's language, it appears that other staff, (e.g., paraprofessionals, school secretaries, custodians, and others) have no protection and can be dismissed at will.

2.    Allows school committees throughout the state to establish new in-district charter schools (called Horace Mann Schools). Staff remain part of the local teachers' union and get seniority, salary and benefits (undefined)-but that's all. These schools are otherwise exempt from collective-bargaining agreements, according to the AFT-Mass. There is no limit on these creations. Worst case scenario: The school committee targets a school, closes it, then reopens it as a Horace Mann Charter. And so on-without limitation. This number of Horace Manns needs a cap and these schools need to have collective bargaining protections.

3.    Doubles charter school spending in Boston over a seven-year period, thereby draining an additional $49.5 million from our already-strapped school budget. This will bring the net annual loss in the BPS to $99 million.  Looked at another way, the loss of $99 million amounts to almost $1800 per pupil currently enrolled in our schools.

Please pick up the telephone and call your state representative. If you don't know whom to call, see here . Let him or her know that you reside in the district, you vote, you work in our schools, and that you care about fixing our underperforming schools. But taking away collective-bargaining protections will hurt--not help--these efforts to improve our schools. The best way to do this is to get together a group of people in your building and make the calls as a group effort. You will feel good about it, and each call made is easier than the last. Thank you.

• Tuesday, January 5, 4:30-6:00 p.m., Boston Teachers Union Headquarters, 180 Mt. Vernon St., Dorchester, MA 02125
• Thursday, January 14,  4:00-5:30 p.m., Fenway High School, Media Room, 174 Ipswich St., Boston, MA 02215
• Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010, 4:00-5:30 p.m., Manning School, 130 Louder's Lane, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

• Wednesday December 30, 2009
• 12:00 - 2:00
• BTU Hall

• New BTU Building Reps mtg. 1/7, 4-6
• Kids Holiday Party--12/30
• School Site Council 101--1/11 & 1/14
• SSC Shared Decision Making process--1/25 & 1/28