Published On: September 8, 2015

We wish each of you a wonderful and exciting Opening Day!

Besides being the first day of the 2015-2016 school year, today is Primary Day. See below for a list of all BTU-endorsed candidates. And if you have some time, please check out the BTU website, which has been given a fresh coat of paint.

What do you do when you have questions about your teaching conditions? You call your field representative, either Caren Carew or Michael McLaughlin. Wondering who your teacher field rep is? Find out here. Caren’s email is ccarew@btu.org; Michael’s is mmclaughlin@btu.org. All paraprofessional and substitute teacher issues go to Josefina Lascano.

What if you have another sort of question? What’s the deal on health insurance? Starting a 403b plan? How do I access the dental program? Am I entitled to my own desk? How about a locked file cabinet if I am an itinerant teacher? How do I get ahold of any BTU staff person? For any of these, see below or call the BTU office at 617-288-2000 and your call will be directed apprpriately.
Glad TB12 had due process protections & a union to
assist

While we were getting ready for the today’s opening of school, we also celebrated the good news in Patriot Nation with the overruling of the four-game suspension for Tom Brady. The victory of our favorite quarterback points to the need for due process in all disciplinary matters.

Seriously, Tom Brady had a lot of help — help that is not afforded to all regular “workers” — not the least of which was his affiliation in the NFL Players Association, whom he thanked on his Facebook page:

“…I also want to thank Judge Berman and his staff for their efforts to resolve this matter over the past five weeks. I am very grateful. My thanks also to the union’s legal team who has fought so hard right along with me…“


Attention Building Reps: January 4 City-Wide PD Votes

If your school or department has not yet reported the results of your vote on how to use the six hours of January 4 professional development, please do so as soon as possible. A building rep should complete this 30-second, four-question survey. This will help us prepare to make the January 4 experience the best it can be for all schools. Please contact Paul with questions.

For Building Reps: Many of the Building Rep Regional Leaders will be at the BTU hall at 4PM and would love to meet reps in their regions if they are able to make it early! Please feel free to stop by early to say hi and meet your regional rep.
Building Rep Conference Registration Now Open!

The Boston Teachers Union invites our Building Representatives and interested members to join us at our 2015 Annual Building Representative’s Conference, as we learn and grow together as an organization. This year’s conference is focused on member to member communication and will have a variety of workshops and skill-building opportunities to help you build membership engagement at your school.  The conference takes place October 23rd to the 25th at the Dedham Hilton hotel. Attendance is free but does require a registration check deposit that will be destroyed upon successful completion of the conference. Please register here today.
Negotiating Season is (Almost) Upon Us. Get Involved Now ~ Deadline to Apply TODAY

The negotiating season for our successor contract is almost upon us, and we are seeking members for a newly-constituted Collective Bargaining Committee which will be appointed and approved by the membership at the regularly-scheduled September 9 membership meeting. THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS TODAY AT 5 PM.

So what does the Collective Bargaining Committee do? See this article in the upcoming Union Teacher, and if interested, please apply. All BTU members are welcome to apply. Experience is not required.

Interested in submitting an item or items to be considered for the BTU Collective Bargaining package? It’s really simple: Go here and let us know what you want us to consider!

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