We hope you have had a nice holiday weekend. On Labor Day it is appropriate to recall that the term organized labor at one time did not have the 'baggage' some have bestowed upon it. We should be proud of our history. Organized labor, after all, has been in the forefront--if not the cause--of many lasting, progressive initiatives that are part of the great social fabric of our country: the 40-hour week, child labor laws, sick leave, vacation time, overtime pay, health insurance, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, job safety, minimum wage, and pension plans. Some say that organized labor's time is past. Make no mistake: Take away organized labor and the right to collectively bargain over the aforementioned, and all of these initiatives will--sadly--disappear. So, yes, we are proud of organized labor.

The opening of school is upon us. The first two days are non-student days. BTU members get all but :30 of the first day for room preparation, and administration gets all but :30 of the 2nd day for PD. Your union building representative will conduct a :30 meeting on Wednesday to go over contractual and benefit information you will find helpful.

On Wednesday, September 9th, we will hold our regularly-scheduled BTU membership meeting, which begins at 4:00 PM. 

• We have gotten a few calls suggesting that the mileage reimbursement is gone, i.e., that some departments cannot afford to pay for mileage this year. This is not true. If you are assigned two or more schools in a given day, you are entitled to collect mileage (see FIN-02) .
• We have gotten other calls suggesting that cluster substitutes and provisionally contracted teachers are one and the same--this being said to some teachers who have been told they were cluster subs when they in fact MAY be entitled to receive a contract as provisional teachers. There is a huge difference between the two designations. Call the office for more information.
• We have a contractual agreement in place that requires the school department to provide essential supplies and equipment to SPED teachers in Early Childhood, MH, Autistic, DDC, and physically handicapped programs.

In the past several school years, the school department has been far too lax in promptly addressing complaints of class-size violations. In some cases, it seems the school department believes it can simply purchase a way to exceed the limit but do nothing to actually reduce the size of a given class to bring it into compliance with the clear limits set by our contract.

The contract states: In the event the maximum class size is exceeded, the building administrator and the classroom teacher will discuss in good faith appropriate educational solutions.  These might include the assignment of a Paraprofessional to assist the teacher, a reduction in the teacher's non-teaching duties, insuring the teacher an overall average class size that is no more than 85% of the maximum, and similar measures. Ultimately, the classroom teacher may insist that the class-size maximum be enforced.

This means that every teacher has a right, after considering the proposed alternatives in good faith, to insist on adherence to the class-size limits. Intimidation, coercion or retaliation against any teacher for insisting on adherence to the contract is unlawful. Therefore, we want to remind everyone whose class size is over the limit in the 2009 - 2010 school year to take the following steps:

1. Notify BTU immediately by going to the BTU website and filing your class-size violation , i.e. the particular class and the number of students that report to your class.
2. Record the duration for which your number of assigned class size exceeds the limit and keep the record in your possession.
3. Retain class lists and enrollment data that will assist us if we need to resolve disputes with Court Street over the actual number assigned to you.
4. Update BTU of any pertinent changes in your class size as the year progresses.
5. Write in the "Comment" section whether you prefer to enforce the contract, receive a stipend/Para or wait for financial compensation.
   
   It is important that we hear from you as early as possible of any class-size violation. Compensation is based on the day that the grievance is filed. 

• Listing of All Endorsed City Council Candidates
• Preliminary Election , September 22
• Felix G. Arroyo House Party on September 16th.

We are proud to announce our support of Mr. Felix G. Arroyo , who has stood tall, alongside the BTU, in opposition to the proposals to take off the cap on charter school expansion. Mr. Arroyo is running for one of the two open seats on City Council.

We have also endorsed incumbent Councilors, Steven J. Murphy and John R. Connolly , for the other two slots.

We have not endorsed anyone yet for the 4th opening.

In addition, we have endorsed all of the other incumbent district city councilors:

• District 1. Salvatore LaMattina
• District 2. Bill Linehan
• District 3. Maureen E. Feeney
• District 4. Charles C. Yancey
• District 5. Rob Consalvo
• District 6. John M. Tobin, Jr.
• District 7: Chuck Turner
• District 8: Michael P. Ross (President)
• District 9: Mark S. Ciommo

All new BTU members --teachers, paraprofessionals, and substitute teachers--are invited to a reception for new employees at the Blarney Stone in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester on Friday, 10/2, from 3 PM onward. The BTU membership began hosting this event five years ago, and it's a great time to meet new friends. Invitations will go out shortly.

Every once in a while the BTU is asked to seek corporate membership in an organization that will give our members discounts. We have been so asked to do so at Zip Car, and we have. We offer t his as a service to our members and not as an endorsement of the product. We calculate that if our members are going to participate anyway, we might as well save them money. So we have joined Zip Car.

New members can join here and use promo code "BOSZ4BSAVE" to start with $25 in free driving.  Current Zipcar members who are not yet enrolled in the Boston Teacher's Union plan (or another Zipcar for Business plan) can simply call 1-866-4ZIPCAR and ask to have their personal account added to the Boston Teacher's Union affiliated Zipcar for Business plan.  For information regarding the discounted pricing afforded by the plan, simply visit here . This is a new promo code. If you use the code provided last week, it, too, will now be honored.