AFT musings 1

Post date: Jul 13, 2018 12:10:17 AM

Down in Pittsburgh for the AFT convention. Attended a workshop on National Board Certification and was excited to learn that the program has been adjusted to make it more "user friendly." I will be talking about this in my opening day remarks. Best line of the convention so far was by Mary Catherine Ricker - "teachers do not need to ask permission to take charge of their profession." That's really how the the NBPTS got it's start. A group of teachers wanted to define excellence on their terms and create a nationally recognized, rigorous set of standards that teachers could all aspire to. They did it and the label "Nationally Board Certified is recognized as the gold standard in education.

This is even more important to keep in mind in this era of relentless attacks on unions. The wealthy and powerful want us to believe that we need to ask them for their permission to earn a decent living, to aspire to a solid middle class life. That's why they are working to destroy unions. A recent NY Times article noted new research that shows unions have been a powerful force to reduce income inequality. The author, Susan Dynarski notes "Thanks to the new research, evidence going back nearly a century now shows that unions have formed a critical counterweight to the power of companies. They increase the earnings of the lowest skilled and sharply reduce inequality. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/business/labor-unions-income-inequality.html

Together we bargain, divided we beg!