teachers

  • Teacher Reformers Prepare for Battle over Public Education
    Paul Abowd
    Oct 13 2009 - 10:39pm

    When President Obama laid out a plan to reshape public education this summer, he wasn’t subtle with his symbolism: he was introduced by an eighth-grader from a charter school. Soon after, teachers nationwide met in Los Angeles.

  • D.C. Teachers Resist Attacks on Tenure

    Author(s):
    Paul Abowd

    Excerpt:
    Teachers and D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee haven’t agreed on much during 18 months of contract talks with the Washington Teachers Union (AFT), but there’s consensus on one point: any agreement will affect schools far beyond the capital.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Iraq Teachers Union Under Attack

    Body:
    The Iraq Teachers Union (ITU) has been actively working for greater union and organizing rights under the new Iraqi constitution. But in the last few weeks the government has attempted to seize the union from its members and leaders.

    The government appointed a special body to preside over the union and force it to hold elections. The ITU has had multiple conferences in which union leaders have been elected openly and democratically, the last one in late 2007 to elect a new president.

    The government is demanding that the union hand over the keys to its buildings and offices, as well as its records and membership information. It has told the elected leaders of the ITU to step down or be jailed.

    Expiration Date:
    Sun, 05/31/2009 - 8:59pm

  • Student Labor Week of Action Hits the Streets

    Author(s):
    Matt Abbott, Sameerah Ahmad, and Laura McSpedon

    Excerpt:
    The "Resistance and Recovery" week of action burst with 250 events in early April. As the corporate attack on workers intensifies with the economic crisis, Jobs with Justice and Student Labor Action Project activists took the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination as occasion to push back.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Puerto Rican Teachers: "The Long Way is the Short Way"

    Author(s):
    Mark Brenner

    Excerpt:
    Teachers in Puerto Rico defied a strike ban and embarked on an all-out fight for the life of their union in late February one year ago. The 10-day walk-out set in motion months of turmoil for the 40,000-member Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico. The government decertified the FMPR as punishment for the strike, and the Service Employees attempted a raid. How has their union survived? . . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Chicago Teachers Organize Against Privatization

    Author(s):
    Jackson Potter

    Excerpt:
    As the CEO of Chicago Public Schools heads to Washington to run the nation’s schools policy, a new reform caucus of Chicago teachers is glad to see him go. But with their union in chaos, and city leaders hell-bent on privatizing schools, what’s a teacher to do? . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • D.C. Teachers Resist District’s ‘Slash-and-Burn’ Style

    Author(s):
    Candi Peterson

    Excerpt:
    Unable to cajole or buy support from the Washington Teachers Union, D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee now says her version of education reform can be done with teachers — or to them. Contract talks screeched to a halt this fall when teachers indicated they would vote down a privately funded plan. . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • New Teacher Programs Chip Away at Job Stability

    Author(s):
    Paul Abowd

    Excerpt:
    Graduation rates were climbing to all-time highs in New York City’s alternative schools, where John Powers taught last year, before the Department of Education’s consultants arrived. Citing under-performance, the city closed schools, and chopped some into smaller units, giving them new names. A new nameplate, however, forced the school’s teaching staff to reapply for their jobs. . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • D.C. Teachers Divided on Merit Pay Plan

    Author(s):
    Paul Abowd

    Excerpt:
    The Washington Teachers Union is on a collision course with D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee over her plan to kill job security for teachers in exchange for merit pay—up to $20,000 a year in bonuses—and higher salaries. . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Teachers Strike Stops Classes in Puerto Rico

    Author(s):
    José A. Laguarta Ramírez

    Excerpt:
    Striking members of Puerto Rico’s teachers union, the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR) voted to end their strike March 5. Lasting two weeks, the teachers’ strike paralyzed classes at most of the island’s 1,500 public schools, thanks in large part to the hundreds of thousands of parents who kept their children home from school. . . .

    Available Online:
    Yes