We hope you all had a nice weekend and were able to stay cool in the heat. This morning, we would like to start by acknowledging that today, May 25, marks one year since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin. Today’s anniversary is a heavy one, and we are thinking of George’s family and the families of the countless Black people who have lost their lives to racial violence and at the hands of law enforcement.
We, as educators serving predominantly Black, Latinx, AAPI, and indigenous students, have a duty to confront and undo our own internalized prejudices and bias, and to fight to transform the systems that perpetuate and enforce them. On Friday, we learned more at the BPS Equity Roundtable about plans to reform the presence of police in schools, due in part to our advocacy and that of many student, parent and civil rights organizations. We will be following up and meeting with both BPS and the impacted BPS school police union leaders to ensure that even through these reforms, there is racial equity for the staff impacted and policies implemented. We also launched our BTU Ethnic Studies Week of Action yesterday. Ensuring all students feel safe and supported in our schools and have culturally relevant curriculum that reflects and honors the racial diversity in America’s history and current society is key to combating racism, prejudice and the school to prison pipeline.
Please be sure to check out our Political Action updates for the week. Everyone should have received a special action bulletin last Thursday. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to send a letter to your legislator! Our At-Large City Council Candidate forum is tonight, beginning at 6:00 p.m., and our Mayoral Candidates Forumis on Thursday.
This has been a challenging year. Come unwind with us at the BTU End of Year celebration on June 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year, instead of having our event at the BTU hall, we will be hosting the party at Franklin Park. The theme is “collective care,” with chair massages as well as gentle yoga and mindfulness sessions led by BTU member/coach Nikki McCaster! Remember, you must register in advance by June 1.For planning and safety purposes, registration is required for all BTU members and their guests in order to attend the event.
Today is the last chance to securely mail in your ballot for the BTU election! Please mail your ballot in TODAY to be sure it is received in time. Our union elections occur every two years and are critical to the democracy of our union. We encourage all members to participate in this year’s BTU election. See here for more information on how to vote by mail or in person, as well as for in-person voting protocols. Please remember that mail-in ballots must be *received* by June 1 (please disregard date in May issue of BTU newspaper).
A reminder that in addition to our union election, Building Rep elections will be taking place in May, as well as the Jan 3 PD vote. Once you have conducted your election, please fill out the 2021-22 Building Rep Election form. As a reminder, please see the guidelines from the BR Handbook on rules and regulations to follow as these votes are cast. Please remember that those running for Building Rep should not be facilitating the vote. Voting for Building Reps can take place either or in-person or electronically like last spring. If you have any questions, please reach out to an organizer. Additionally, in order to receive a 2021 Building Rep stipend, we need to have a W9 form on file. If you were a rep last year and sent one to us, you do not need to send another one. Please click here to get the form and forward it to a BTU admin staff member.
As AAPI Heritage Month comes to a close, U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division and U.S. DOE Office for Civil Rights released this fact sheet about confronting COVID-19 related harassment in schools. Please share widely with your networks! The fact sheets are also available in other languages.
Reminder: We now have two new BTU member benefits! Please see information on new financial benefits and accessing the prepaid legal benefit online.
Don’t forget: Do we have your correct mailing address on file? It is important to us that we are able to reach all of our members by phone, mail or email. Please check here to make sure we have your correct information.