Lamphere Federation of Teachers
MFT&SRP #1614
August 2003

Negotiations--The LFT bargaining team met with the administration on August 18th and 19th. We have not reached a tentative agreement as yet. Another bargaining session is scheduled for later this week. Look for further updates on the LFT website, http://www.lft1614.org.

No Child Left Behind--The AFT and NEA have jointly  produced a publication that helps explain the "highly qualified" teaching requirements. The document can be downloaded from the Teacher Quality website at:

                    http://www.aft.org/edissues/downloads/ESEANEAAFT.pdf

Laborfest--Union members are invited to attend the world's largest indoor labor picnic at Ford Field on Saturday, September 13th. Admission is free. The MFT&SRP are hosting an informational booth. LFT members are asked to help by volunteering some time to man the booth. Flyers will be available that show where parking will be available without charge. Tickets for the Tiger game that evening will be available for $5 at Laborfest.

Benefits of Union Membership--Unions have made life better for all of America's workers by helping to pass laws ending child labor, establishing the eight hour work day, protecting workers safety and health and helping create Social Security, unemployment insurance and minimum wage.  Unions help to give teachers a voice in improving the quality of education and better wages and benefits. The collective bargaining agreement helps to protect teacher rights and academic freedom in the workplace.  In 2002, median weekly earnings for full-time union wage and salary workers were $740, compared with $587 for their nonunion counterparts, a 26% difference. 69% of union workers have a guaranteed (defined benefit) pension as compared with 14% of nonunion workers, a 55% difference. Statistics show states in which more people are union members are states with higher wages, better benefits and better schools. While unions are just one factor affecting the quality of living, the pattern indicates that when workers have a voice at work, the community also benefits. Michigan is one of the ten strongest union states. The source for most of this information is the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

E-Mail Contact--When sending Dave Wrobel e-mail please make sure that you use this address: wrobeld1@lamphere.k12.mi.us or his home e-mail account which is dave_wrobel@hotmail.com.

LFT Elections--Elections for LFT building reps, vice-presidents, treasurer and secretary will be held in October.

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Schram, LFT Vice-President

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