As we get closer to the start of the next school year, we wanted to send a second summer bulletin to share timely information, articles and opportunities:
While our contract expires at the end of this month, the current conditions apply until the negotiation and ratification of a successor agreement. We have made progress on a few of our major topics, but we have several more to go and will continue to meet regularly through the fall to continue our negotiations. During the fall and winter, we will hold contract campaign activities as necessary, and we’ll share more details and updates with you at our monthly membership meetings.
Please save the date: our first membership meeting of the year will be Wednesday, September 12 beginning at 4:30 pm. Our first guest for this school year will be Interim Superintendent Laura Perille. Hope to see you there!
The monthly meetings take place on the second Wednesday of each month and are open to all members. Please remember to bring your membership card to the meetings. If you do not receive your card by September 1, please call the office at 617-288-2000 or check your status at members.btu.org.
Despite the Supreme Court decision on Janus, our members are choosing to stick with the BTU. Numerous reports on the importance of unions continue to demonstrate how everyone, not just union members, benefits from strong union membership, as in this New York Times op-ed: Why You Should Care About Unions (Even if you’re not in one). Meanwhile, DeVos-funded groups continue to target teachers.
One of critical campaigns in which our union is taking a lead is through school funding adovcacy. We have not stopped our advocacy at both the State House — for changing the 25-year-old funding formula as well as for full charter reimbursments — and at City Hall as we continue to advocate for new local revenue sources through our PILOT payments campaign. See the full PILOT report that the BTU co-authored.
BTU members joined the PILOT Action Group coalition at the packed City Council hearing on Thursday, August 2 to advocate for “Payments in Lieu of Taxes” that hospitals and universities should be paying to the city. Wealthy university and hospitals owe the city close to $50 million in unfulfilled PILOT payments.
Lastly, don’t forget — the Teacher Summer Institute and the EL Symposium are both coming up next week. It’s not too late to register! Please see below for more details. Also, in regards to Professional Development hours and classroom setup on September 4 and 5, respectively, the total for each day is six hours, including a half hour lunch break. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the office or contact your Field Rep or BTU staff member!
See you next week at the TSI!