American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, AFL-CIO

Join the Union

AFTNJ’s objective is to promote state wide organization and unionization of public and private school teachers, paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; other workers organized in conformity with More »

Prekindergarten – 12

From the state’s largest school district to small privates, AFTNJ stands up for New Jersey’s students. Our members teach early childhood education to prepare kids for school, special education and every topic More »

Higher Education

The American Federation of Teachers New Jersey is the largest higher education union in the state, representing full and part-time faculty, all levels of administrative, professional and supervisory staff, graduate workers, and More »

AFTNJ Activism

AFTNJ members advocate for education and stand up for social justice. More »

Invitation for coverage: Newark Teachers endorse Baraka for Mayor and his plan for education

March 09, 2014

Contact: Nat T. Bender 908-377-0393, nbender@aftnj.org

The Newark Teachers Union will formally endorse Councilman Ras Baraka’s campaign for Mayor and announce support for his ‘Blueprint to Achieve Excellence in Newark Schools. Baraka’s education plan provides a framework for cooperation and collaboration that would give teacher-led initiatives an opportunity to improve student performance. Who wins the fiercely contested race for Newark mayor may very well depend on who can mobilize the strongest ground operation to reach out to voters throughout the campaign and up to election day. Based on the NTU endorsement, the Essex-West Hudson Central Labor Council is setting up labor outreach headquarters at Newark Teachers Union headquarters for Baraka.

WHO:
Joseph Del Grosso, NTU President
Ras Baraka, Councilman, Mayoral Candidate
Thomas P. Giblin, Essex-West Hudson Central Labor Council President

WHERE: 1019 Broad Street, Newark

WHEN: Monday, March 10, 2014

TIME: 2:00 PM

Newark Teachers Endorse Baraka for Newark Mayor and ‘Blueprint to Achieve Excellence’

March 10, 2014

Call former teacher ‘Education Mayor’ with innovative ideas to help residents

NEWARK, New Jersey – “Ras Baraka is an accomplished educator with a strong sense of community who will make a great mayor for Newark,” said Newark Teachers Union (NTU) President Joseph Del Grosso announcing the local’s endorsement of the former teacher and his education plan. “Baraka has been a visionary leader and we support his plan to move Newark Public Schools and the city forward in a thoughtful and coordinated manner.”

Del Grosso pointed to Baraka’s innovative record of championing vital services such as extended day childcare and dentistry as Principal of Central High School to address critical student needs in addition to improving academics. “Baraka’s collaboration with community to support education is what we need and his plan is based on years of experience working with students and families.”

Baraka has been a central figure in organizing community support for the public school system, calling for a return to local control of the state-run district and opposing a plan to close schools. “I will fully represent the interests of Newark’s children, families and educators and advocate for community input into decisions that impact our schools and neighborhoods,” said Baraka. “To enable all of our children to succeed, my plan calls for organizing our city’s institutions, resources, policies, and leaders to develop all of our neighborhoods, support our families, nurture the development of our children and create a climate outside of our schools that helps to transform learning within them,” he said.

With NTU’s endorsement, the union’s Broad Street offices will serve as AFL-CIO headquarters for the campaign, according to Essex-West Hudson Center Labor Council President Thomas P. Giblin. Many unions are supporting the candidate and current Councilman because they recognize that Baraka has a comprehensive bottom-up strategy towards economic growth and focus on creating living wage jobs. “Baraka strongly supported Newark’s new earned sick day ordinance, voting to approve one of the best bills in the nation and a model that we are working to replicate statewide,” said Giblin. The AFL-CIO operation means union workers on the ground to support Baraka’s bid and community outreach through NJ Workers Voices.

[END]

The Newark Teachers Union is an American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO local of more than 4,500 teachers, aides and clerks.

How Did College Education Become So Ridiculously Expensive?

March 10, 2014

America wasn’t always riddled with student loan debt. Here’s the twisted truth behind what caused the cost of higher education to skyrocket.

By Bill Zimmerman

The following is an exerpt from The Student Loan Swindle: Why It Happened – Who’s To Blame – How The Vistims Can Be Saved. Written by Bill ZImmerman, the book explores the origins and depth of our now $1 trillion national student debt bubble, and calls for a national campaign of civil disobedience as the only means to a fair resolution of the crisis at hand. Chapter 3 of the book, “How Did College Tuition Become So Expensive,” is reprinted here in its entirety, by permission of the author.

The student loan crisis is a new phenomenon. Despite its huge impact, as recently as the late 1980s there was no student loan crisis. Then, middle and working class students suffered from cutbacks and had difficulty financing their educations, but overall, while the system of paying for college was beginning to break down, it had not yet become the disaster it is today. The crisis came because in later years the cost of getting a higher education rose many times faster than the overall cost of living. To make matters worse, wages were stagnant and the real purchasing power of working Americans was in decline.

More>>

State’s ‘One Newark’ Plan May be Facing Tough Audience in Trenton

March 10, 2014

By John Mooney

Some legislators have already made displeasure known — critics, union members, community organizers to be on hand

The controversial One Newark plan for reorganizing New Jersey’s largest school district has not been short of public forums, with local meetings around the city sparking acrimonious debate for months.

Now the plan that calls for the closing and consolidation of a half-dozen schools and the potential layoff of hundreds of teachers will get its formal hearing in Trenton — and maybe before no more sympathetic an audience.

The legislature’s Joint Committee on the Public Schools will host a hearing on Tuesday morning to hear testimony on the One Newark plan.

It will be the committee’s first meeting of the new session, with the chief order of business to name officers and various subcommittees.

More>>

Perth Amboy acting superintendent focused on getting learning back on track

March 10, 2014

By Suzanne Russell

PERTH AMBOY — Acting Superintendent of Schools Vivian Rodriguez takes a calm approach in making sure the district focuses on getting work done.

The calmness she displays in her management and personal approach may be one of the reasons she was asked back to the district after being on sabbatical for several months.

And her calmness appears to be a welcomed change from the upheaval the district has been through over the last three years during disputes between the board and the school superintendent who was put on paid administrative leave last fall.

“She’s sincere in how she goes about things. She’s not reactive. She thinks about what she says and she’s very organized and very diligent in how she follows through,” Board of Education President Obdulia Gonzalez said.

“Dr. Rodriguez is fair in her assessment. She’s not quick or slow to make a decision,” said Diane Crawford, president of Perth Amboy Federation/American Federation of Teachers. “She has had a very open door.”

More>>

Billionaire backed education groups battle teachers unions in state races

March 10, 2014

Rachel Baye, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY

Three weeks before Tennessee’s August 2012 primary election, state Rep. John DeBerry Jr.’s Memphis-area district was flooded with $52,000 worth of get-out-the-vote efforts supporting the then-nine-term incumbent. Six days later, another $52,000 in materials appeared.

By Election Day, the Tennessee affiliate of StudentsFirst, the education-focused organization behind the influx of support, had spent more than $109,000 backing DeBerry, a rare Democrat who supports voucher programs and charter schools. The state branch of the American Federation for Children, another education group, spent another $33,000.

DeBerry faced another Democrat, state Rep. Jeanne Richardson, whose district was eliminated through redistricting.

DeBerry won.

“I couldn’t counter it,” Richardson said of the funds StudentsFirst introduced late in the race. “I had to raise money by calling people. There wasn’t enough time left.”

StudentsFirst — created by former Washington, D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee — is leading a new wave of “education reform” organizations, funded largely by wealthy donors, that are challenging teachers’ unions and supporting mostly conservative candidates up and down the ticket in dozens of states.

More>>

Rutgers president reaffirms selection of Condoleezza Rice as commencement speaker

March 08, 2014

By Keith Sergeant

[...]

Robert Boikess, a Rutgers professor in the chemistry and chemical biology department who introduced the resolution at the faculty council’s Feb. 28 meeting, called it “unfortunate’’ that Barchi made the argument about free speech.

“The issue,’’ Boikess said, “is not that she shouldn’t speak at the university. In fact, I think lots of people would love to hear what she had to say and debate and so forth. The issue has to do with the symbolism of being a commencement speaker and receiving an honorary degree, which if you read what the university says about that, it involves a certain amount of moral values that mirror the moral values of the university. And given that a lot of people feel she wasn’t strong in that (moral values) area, there is a concern about her giving the commencement (address) and (receiving an) honorary degree.

“It’s not a free speech issue. Nobody said she shouldn’t be invited to the university to speak.’’

More>>

What’s Really Behind Education Policy in Newark?

March 08, 2014

By Andrew Elrod, Truthout

Ever since Newark Public Schools (NPS) Superintendent Cami Anderson’s December announcement of her district’s turnaround program, “One Newark,” parents and teachers have faced growing uncertainty about the future of their district. The program proposes to turn Newark Public School buildings over to charter management organizations, combine several high school campuses and implement an open enrollment program to allow for district-wide “choice.”

As NPS prepares to shed a third of its 38,000 students over the next three years, the causes of its decline have been called into question. Unlike many centers of post-industrial depression, the population in Newark actually grew during the last census. The district claims that parents are the force behind its declining enrollment numbers, citing the all-powerful explanation of “choice,” but the Newark Teachers Union (NTU), together with a New Jersey state senator, has offered an alternative interpretation. Rather than market imperatives necessitating layoffs and downsizing, they allege that district policy is shifting larger numbers of students into charter schools, penalizing public schools teachers for the demographics of their students, and, according to a congressional investigation, preparing public assets for sale to for-profit companies.

“We got two different things going on in Newark,” said Bruce Baker, a professor at Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education, in reference to the expansion of charter seats under Superintendent Anderson and the projected enrollment decline in the district. “They are coupled, but its a little unclear how they’re coupled.”
Beginning this year with an attempt to disregard seniority rights in district staffing decisions and a plan to replace 700 existing teachers, a total number reported by NTU president Joseph Del Grosso, the projected enrollment decline has put the district on a three-year downsizing program.

More>>