Useful Links

BTU Member Benefits | Labor | Legislative and Political News |
Education Research, Reform and Advocacy | Health and Safety

BTU Member Benefits

BTU Health and Welfare Fund
https://ecommerce.issisystems.com/isite340/eremit.dll/34001/cm.asp?name=...

City of Boston Retirement Board
http://www.cityofboston.gov/retirement/ret_options.asp

Massachusetts State Retirement Board
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2topic&L=3&L0=Home&L1=State+Government&L2=...

Boston Public Schools: Health Insurance
http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/node/229

Labor

American Federation of Teachers
The national parent organization of our local union
http://www.aft.org

American Federation of Teachers — Massachusetts
The state parent organization of our local union
http://www.aftma.net

Massachusetts Teachers Association
The other major union representing educators in the state
http://www.massteacher.org

Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Statewide organization that promote the interests of workers in the Commonwealth
http://www.massaflcio.org

Greater Boston Labor Council
151 unions representing over 90,000 members in the greater Boston area
http://www.gbclc.com

National Education Association
The other major national teachers union
http://www.nea.org/

Massachusetss Jobs with Justice
A coalition of labor and community organizations working together to build unity and support for the struggles of working people.
http://www.massjwj.net

Legislative and Political News

Blue Mass Group
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/
Reality-based commentary on politics and policy in Massachusetts and around the nation

Mass Budget and Policy Center
http://www.massbudget.org/
Provides independent research and analysis of state budget and tax policies

One Massachuetts
www.onema.org
A network of people and organizations dedicated to rebuilding public confidence in our capacity to work together, through our government, to expand economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in Massachusetts.

Education Research, Reform and Advocacy

Citizens for Public Schools
Works to promote, preserve and protect public schools and public education.
http://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/

FairTest
Works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial
http://www.fairtest.org

Mass2020
Works to expand educational and economic opportunities for children and families across Massachusetts
http://www.mass2020.org/

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
http://www.doe.mass.edu/

The National Report Card: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The official website for results from NAEP
http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy
The Rennie Center conducts independent research to promote public discourse on educational improvement and inform policy discussions by key decision makers and opinion leaders. Research efforts culminate in the publication of reports and policy briefs, which are broadly disseminated to policy stakeholders in the public, private, nonprofit and media sectors.
http://www.renniecenter.org/

Health and Safety

MassCOSH Healthy Schools Initiative
"The MassCOSH Healthy Schools Initiative seeks to improve health and environmental conditions for students and school staff through advocacy, education and technical assistance. Through the Healthy Schools Hotline, MassCOSH also provides support, resources and referrals to members of the school community."
http://www.masscosh.org/node/118

Healthy Schools Task Force
The Health Schools Task Force meets quarterly to review results from the environmental inspections and to make policy recommendations for prioritizing repairs that can affect health; IPM (integrated pest management), green cleaning, and programs that link school and home asthma management and environmental improvements. An Environmental Committee (EC) sub-committee meets regularly to work more directly with schools on these issues.

Read the HSTF newsletter.

Massachusetts Public Health Association
The Massachusetts Healthy Schools Website is a resource for promoting healthy indoor air environments and environmentally sustainable school buildings in Massachusetts.
http://www.mphaweb.org/HealthySchools.htm

Boston Urban Asthma Coalition
The Boston Urban Asthma Coalition's Healthy Public Schools Committee is composed of parents, school staff, community members, public health and environmental advocates who seek to reduce asthma triggers in the school environment.
http://www.buac.org/healthy_schools.html

Commonwealth of MA
www.mass.gov/agr/ipm