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Today in labor history, April 15, 1916: The American Federation of Teachers is founded in Chicago. In its first four years, the union chartered 174 locals. Today, the AFT has more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide and more than 1.6 million members.
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Working Families Launch ‘We Rise’ Campaign to Train and Organize Immigrant Workers -
The AFL-CIO will launch on Tuesday a national immigration training plan, “We Rise!” (¡Adelante!). It is designed to reach, mobilize and organize immigrant workers in their workplaces and in their communities. The three-day kick-off event in Washington, D.C., will include trainings, workshops and strategy sessions designed to empower immigrants and their allies to lead campaigns that will enhance the rights of all workers. The event will include more than 200 union members, leaders and staff from 23 unions, and activists and community leaders from 26 states across the nation.
This practical, hands-on training will provide labor union members, activists and leaders with all the tools necessary to realize the promise of the recent executive actions on immigration to improve standards for all working people and strengthen communities where our members work and live. Participants will be trained to assist as many eligible workers as possible to gain rights on the job by applying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs and to encourage qualified legal permanent residents to become U.S. citizens.
The specific objectives of the training sessions are:
- Build a shared understanding of what immigration implementation means for workers and the labor movement.
- Identify the strategies, tools and resources necessary for successful implementation.
- Generate a field plan for immigration implementation.
- Create a national network of engaged unions and community partners.
- Launch the We Rise! Initiative.
Scheduled to join the AFL-CIO in the training is a diverse array of organizations, including: the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, AFSCME, AFT, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Clean Carwash Campaign, Dream Team Los Angeles, Education Austin, Farmworker Justice, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Laborers (LIUNA), National Day Laborer Organizing Network, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Not1More, NPNA, the Orange County Labor Federation, PICO, Puente, the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW)/AFSCME Local 3930, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and United We Dream.
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If you want to know why the AFT is dedicated to fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, and protecting the progress that’s been made through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs, all you need to do is read these stories.
11 Entities Protesting Indiana’s New LGBT Discrimination Law
In the wake of Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) signing a law that essentially allows discrimination against gay and lesbian people in the state, companies are starting to consider pulling their business from the state.
Momentum growing
The National Priorities Project has put together a chart titled “Competing Visions” that looks at the 2016 budget proposals from President Obama, the House Budget Committee, the Senate Budget Committee and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Guess which ones align with what Americans say are their priorities?
Lawrence Mishel and Rep. Jan Schakowsky also write about the issue on the Economic Policy Institute blog.
npr:
When it comes to kids and exercise, schools need to step up and focus more on quality as well as quantity. And, says Dr. Gregory D. Myer they need to promote activities that develop motor skills, socialization and fun.
Meyer is one of the authors of a recent paper and commentary on children and exercise. He’s also director of the Human Performance Lab and director of research at the Division of Sports Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Like others, Meyer notes that when it’s time to trim the budget, PE, art and music classes are often the first to go. While he’s certainly distressed by those cuts, he and his co-authors also seek to question the “current dogma that is currently focused on the quantitative rather than qualitative aspects of physical activity” programs for youth.
Learning To Move, Moving To Learn: The Benefits Of P.E.
Illustration credit: LA Johnson/NPR
(Source: NPR)
‘Cheese sandwich’ policies don’t satisfy hungry kids
Given the economic pressures on working families, good school nutrition is more important than ever. Serving healthier meals is vital for our kids.
Many school meal programs, however, struggle to pay for healthier food and more wholesome preparation. In a recent survey of AFT members, 42.9 percent of food service workers said they expected school meal costs to exceed revenues.
This predicament has led to “cheese sandwich,” “alternate meal” and “unpaid balance” policies in school districts nationwide. These policies apply when a student has surpassed some threshold—five unpaid meals or a negative balance of $12, for example—or when a child lacks documentation to qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
When that happens, children must forgo the school’s hot, nutritious lunch and instead receive an alternate meal, one that is often less substantive, less nutritious and cold, such as a cheese sandwich and milk. They even may be asked to return a hot meal that has already been set on their tray, ready to be eaten.
“Cheese sandwich” policies pit children’s health against schools’ bottom lines. And who loses that contest? Our kids.
To begin addressing this nationwide debacle, the AFT has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sharing AFT members’ thoughts and recommendations, and proposing ways to eliminate ad hoc solutions.