This month is also Haitian Heritage Month!
As shared in the Boston Patch: “Boston is home to one of the largest populations of Haitian immigrants in the United States and became the first City to celebrate May as Haitian Heritage Month in 1998.” We wish all a happy Haitian Flag Day in addition to celebrating Haitian Heritage Month. If you’re interested in joining the BTU Haitian Educators Committee, please contact committee chair, Bianca Pierre. The next meeting is May 18 at 5 p.m.Our next membership meeting is TOMORROW, Wednesday, May 12 at 4:30 p.m. Please see the tentative agenda. As usual, please register in advance. Quick reminders for registering:
- Please remember that you must register at least one hour in advance, or you will not receive a link.
- Each link is unique and cannot be shared.
- Links are sent after your registration and membership status are verified – please do not register multiple times if you do not immediately receive a link.
- Remember to include your exact BPS ID# in order to expedite approvals. If you are retired or don’t have an ID# for another reason, please enter “000000″.
- Please make sure that you have updated your Zoom account with the latest update before the meeting in order to avoid complications with your link.
May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! Please see resources from AFT and the AFT AAPI Task Force and learn more about how to support AAPIA workers from Asian Pacific Labor Alliance’s (APALA) new Labor Toolkit on Anti-Asian Racism. Additionally, APALA has published “Asian American Workers Rising: APALA’s Struggle to Transform the Labor Movement”, featuring an excerpt by BTU President Jessica Tang. Be sure to check out this important work celebrating the thirty-year anniversary of APALA. As MCAS testing approaches, some parents are opting their children out of the test. BTU supports your right as a citizen to advocate against MCAS outside of work, but not as part of your official BPS duties. Know your rights – read this one-pageroutlining your options should you choose to speak out against MCAS. If you are interested in taking further action and getting more involved, please contact political organizer Roberto Jiménez-Rivera.
In addition to our Union Election (mail-in ballots should be arriving in your mailboxes soon), Building Rep elections will be taking place in May as well. 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.
We have received some concerns from educators about air filtration in their classrooms. Please remember, for optimal air exchanges, it’s important to keep your air purifier on (as close to the center of your room as possible), open at least one window at least four inches wide and a door open – or two windows open if you can’t keep your door open – and keep your fans directing air out.
Lastly, we are deeply saddened to share that BTU administrative assistant Jeannie Turner unexpectedly lost her son, Bryan Turner, last week. We are holding Jeannie, her family and friends in our hearts. Please see details at the end of the bulletin. Jeannie will be out of the office for at least another week as we all mourn this terrible tragedy.
Reminder: 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.