43. EXTERNAL ORGANIZING

Transcription

1 . EXTERNAL ORGANIZING WHEREAS, our members and the communities in which they live want the opportunity to achieve the American dream, including higher wages; a voice and respect in the workplace and in our democracy; quality healthcare; retirement security; great, safe and welcoming public schools; affordable higher education; a vibrant democracy; and the freedom to live safely and free from bigotry and hate; and WHEREAS, unions enable working people to achieve that which is impossible for people to achieve alone; and WHEREAS, we are in a time like no other, where forces funded by individuals who want to defund and destabilize organized labor work toward their goal of massive disinvestment in public services, quality healthcare and public schools, while simultaneously an activist spirit is spreading across the country, as the teacher walkouts and student movements for safety demonstrate; and WHEREAS, the challenges posed by our opponents incessant attempts to silence employees and restrict unions require that we bring a renewed aggressiveness and new creativity to developing pathways to membership in the American Federation of Teachers, to ensure every potential member has a voice and dignity at work; and WHEREAS, our original jurisdiction in K- schools, beginning with our founding locals in Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia, created not only an enduring legacy of fighting for and caring for our members and the communities we serve but also a foundation for assisting educators in states with no collective bargaining educators who have inspired us with their activism to further strengthen their local unions in order to have the power to stand up for their professions, their students and their schools; and WHEREAS, the AFT is now one of the world s largest healthcare unions, growing at a rapid pace, and AFT Nurses and Health Professionals is a proven leader in the fight for guaranteed healthcare for all, for safe staffing levels for nurses and patients, and against the corporatization of patient care. Our members lead these efforts at home and in disaster-stricken areas to provide healthcare for those in need; and WHEREAS, the AFT is the largest union for higher education workers in the country, fighting for the investment our students and colleges and universities need, the opportunity to attain advanced degrees without the crippling debt that now affects so many, and the economic stability and academic freedom educators require. That is why we are working to ensure that contingent faculty, and full-time tenure-track faculty, nontenure-track faculty and graduate teaching/research assistants, have a union so they have a voice in decision-making and can stand up for high standards of academic quality and academic freedom; and

2 WHEREAS, organizing paraprofessionals and school-related personnel is a historically defining feature of the AFT, and PSRP organizing across the country remains an important part of the work we do to strengthen our union; and WHEREAS, unions are the pathway for working people to create jobs with higher wages, a voice and respect in the workplace, quality healthcare, retirement security and a stronger democracy; and WHEREAS, we recognize the moral obligation to help build unions in places where there is no statutory basis for collective bargaining, and we are proud of our unprecedented efforts to organize among prek- teachers and PSRPs in states with political structures extremely hostile to working families; and WHEREAS, we organize in order to grow and support all of the union s constituencies (and those they serve), and we will continue to extend our reach: RESOLVED, that the following remain primary and immutable priorities for the American Federation of Teachers: to organize and expand the number of unionized workers in this country, to gain and deepen the membership of the AFT, and to build our union's power and extend our reach; and RESOLVED, that the AFT commits to double down on strategic organizing opportunities that increase our membership among nurses and healthcare professionals, growing out and beyond geographic areas where AFT membership in healthcare is already substantial; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue organizing all workers at research institutions, colleges and universities, and expand the use of alternative models of organization for contingent faculty, to reflect the increasingly itinerant nature of their work, and will continue to build and protect the rights of graduate teaching and research assistants to collectively bargain; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will grow its membership using creative pathways outside of existing structures, with a focus on developing leadership and increasing activism in support of our values and priorities, and that within these new structures, we will provide opportunities to participate in the union s many benefits, communities and advocacy efforts; and RESOLVED, that the AFT s original jurisdiction in K- public schools will continue to inform our work into the future, including our continued commitment to organize in nonbargaining states and to ensure that prek- educators have a voice and are empowered to address the needs of their profession and the students and communities they serve in every state and territory of the United States; and RESOLVED, that in all sectors covered by AFT constituencies, the AFT will develop deeper relationships and

3 connection with independent unions that share our values of creating great public schools for all students; advocating for affordable, accessible and high-quality healthcare; defending democracy and pluralism; working against discrimination, hatred and bigotry; and pushing for economic opportunity for all. Submitted by: AFT Executive Council Precluded by Referred to. THE FUTURE OF OUR UNION 0 0 WHEREAS, America s once-robust middle class has been hollowed out over many decades by automation, globalization and steep declines in union density. The Great Recession dealt another massive blow, ushering in a decade of stagnant wages, the erosion of retirement security and the defunding of essential public services. By 0, as the American Federation of Teachers commemorated our 0th anniversary, income in the United States was more concentrated at the top than at any time since our founding in. Unfortunately, the 0 elections exacerbated this as well as enabling the mainstreaming of polarization and bigotry, at a level not seen in decades. Instead of rectifying the systemic factors that reinforce this inequality, many state and federal officials did the opposite: enacting deep tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and decimating public services; funding public education and higher education well below pre-recession levels in the majority of states; and undermining labor unions; and WHEREAS, well-funded conservative activists have worked on parallel and intersecting tracks to increase their economic and political power. The same people the Kochs, the DeVoses, and their corporate allies are going after public education, the right to vote and labor unions because these are the foundations of opportunity for kids and families in this country; and the Citizens United ruling allows these moneyed interests to fund their assaults out of seemingly endless coffers. Twenty-nine states still provide less total school funding per student than in 00, before the recession hit. With the Supreme Court s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, the 0 presidential election was the first in 0 years without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. And now with Janus v. AFSCME Council, docketed by the court two weeks after Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed, this far-right cabal of billionaires hopes that the end of public sector unionism and activism is within their grasp; and

4 0 0 WHEREAS, their attacks are being met with a huge appetite to mobilize and fight back, including efforts by AFT affiliates to actively engage their unions members in order to not just survive but also to thrive in the post-janus era; and WHEREAS, the AFT fights for educational and economic opportunity, and for justice and democracy. Our fights for good jobs that pay a living wage, a voice and a secure retirement; great neighborhood public schools and affordable college; healthcare as a right so nobody is one illness away from bankruptcy; and for a strong and vibrant democracy and against bigotry are enduring; and WHEREAS, while the values of our union endure, the strategies and structures may have to change. This is a moment to rethink the future. We know that through unions, we can do together what individuals cannot achieve on their own. But with changes in demographics, technology and globalization, we must consider how the AFT can anticipate and adapt to challenges and changes and, ultimately, seize the future: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will look at our union s structure and strategies top to bottom and bottom to top with an eye toward making necessary changes for the 00 convention. This process should enable the AFT president, in consultation with the executive council, to establish a Futures process, which must include input from rank-and-file members and from elected leaders at all levels of the union. This process will culminate with a report and action plan to be considered by the delegates to the 00 AFT convention. Submitted by: AFT Executive Council Precluded by Referred to. BUILDING UNION POWER WHEREAS, our union, the middle class and all working people have been under a coordinated, vicious attack for at least a generation by powerful corporate interests and the privileged wealthy who want to silence our voices in the workplace and destroy our influence on the public policies and decisions that determine the health and vitality of our families and our communities; and WHEREAS, more and more Americans are fed up with President Donald Trump and others who follow his cynical strategy of promising policies to help the middle class but delivering the same old system that keeps our economy and our politics rigged in favor of the superrich and corporate interests; and

5 WHEREAS, despite the hostile political environment and constant challenges, American Federation of Teachers members and leaders on both the local and national levels have repeatedly stood together, fought back and prevailed over those who reject our values of fairness, social justice and a voice for everyone in our American democracy: We are at the forefront of the fight against austerity policies that defund public education and public services; We have blocked efforts in many states (Texas, Kansas, etc.) to abolish payroll deduction of membership dues; and in states without payroll deduction, we have designed and implemented alternative methods to receive payments and make sure our local affiliates have the resources needed to provide full representation; We have stood together to defeat union-busting attacks on our members collective bargaining rights; Our affiliates, supported by the national union, have pushed aggressively through member engagement campaigns and other efforts to maintain and increase membership density acting on our commitment to majority unionism; For years, we have fought school closures and takeovers in Central Falls, R.I.; Chicago; Philadelphia; and Detroit. And now, we continue those fights notably in Puerto Rico that would undermine access to public education and threaten the future of neighborhoods that would be left without a public school as the anchor of community life; and Our members consistently make good on our collective promise to care, to fight back and to show up even when they get arrested for taking our fight to the streets; and WHEREAS, in this moment, AFT members are again rising up to reclaim their piece of the American dream. Their calls for fairness, just compensation and investment in public education and the children it serves, as well as support for healthcare and public services essential to the vitality of every community, are resonating with Americans everywhere. This spring, nearly every week seemed to bring a new example of this, as activism led to teacher and support staff walkouts in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona. Our members are saying enough is enough; and WHEREAS, these walkouts have once again proved the truth of a principle we all embrace that when we rise up and stand together to demand that elected leaders and other powerful interests simply do what s right and fair, our members answer that call, our neighbors and those we serve stand with us, and our community allies will join our fight; and WHEREAS, this moment is our chance to move our ideas into action. And our ideas the values we share can be the catalyst that

6 will turn this extraordinary moment into a lasting movement for change; and WHEREAS, our history has taught us that none of us can do this alone. Our AFT rallying cry has been: We Care, We Fight, We Show Up. That s simply a statement of our willingness to take a stand and act on it; and WHEREAS, we do not act alone our union is the vehicle for our activism and our actions. To have the greatest impact, our members need their local union. And our affiliates need their national union to boost their power and amplify their voices: RESOLVED, that the activism and mobilization of our members teachers and paraprofessionals standing up for adequate funding for public education; state and local government employees fighting for essential public services; college faculty and adjunct instructors campaigning for fair compensation, student debt relief and affordable higher education for all; and nurses and health professionals calling for safe patient care practices and access to affordable quality healthcare for all have captured the imagination of the country, and we will continue our organizing efforts to strengthen our local and state affiliates so they may carry forward the fight to make sure the values we share are reflected in public policies and in the allocation of public resources; and RESOLVED, that, to help sustain the effort by teachers and school staff across the country to increase support for public education, we will redouble our efforts to secure the resources and autonomy we need to help children succeed and to defeat attempts to defund and privatize our public schools; and RESOLVED, that we will renew our commitment to majority unionism and pledge to step up our efforts to build our internal structure and strengthen our member engagement; and RESOLVED, that, by strengthening our internal organizing structures, we will show one another and the students, patients and communities we serve that we have the power to help our members build better lives for their families and lift up entire communities, while securing the freedom to have a decent wage, a voice at work and clout in our politics; and RESOLVED, that member engagement and solidarity are essential to building our power and exercising it at the bargaining table or at the ballot box recognizing that neither members nor local affiliates can achieve their full potential acting alone, on their own; and RESOLVED, that the national union must continue to play a central role to help locals build strength through member engagement and expand their core group of activists so that we

7 0 0 can continue to move our ideas into action in our workplaces, in our communities, in the public policy arena and in electoral politics; and RESOLVED, that we will defend and advance our union, public education and the right to vote, even as our billionaire opponents try to undermine these foundations of democracy because we know these are the vehicles through which working people gain both opportunity and freedom; and RESOLVED, that, though we know our fight will continue to be tough as we remain under constant attack from billionairebacked lawsuits like Janus v. AFSCME; by union-busting legislation written and paid for by the Koch brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council and politicians who do their bidding; by those willing to spend unlimited and ungodly amounts of money to divide us and drive wedges between us and the communities we serve we remain committed to persevering and defeating our enemies through an active, growing and engaged membership who know that they ARE the union, who see themselves in the mission and advocacy of our union, and who are organized to make their voices heard; and RESOLVED, that we are committed to sustain the solidarity and power of the national American Federation of Teachers and all of its affiliates so that through our union we will continue to accomplish together what none of us could do alone. Submitted by: Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, Local ; Houston Federation of Teachers, Local Precluded by Referred to. SUPPORTING TEACHERS AND SUPPORT STAFF S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PRIVACY AND ASSOCIATION IN THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT AND JUDICIAL WATCH WHEREAS, public school teachers and support staff have a right to privacy, political association and free speech. Under the Trump administration, those rights are more vulnerable than ever; and WHEREAS, right-wing watchdog group Judicial Watch filed a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request for the s of Martin Luther King Middle School (Berkeley, Calif.) staff mentioning specific teachers, political organizations and politically identified movements: Felarca, BAMN, By All Means Necessary and antifa. They have also requested teacher Yvette Felarca s personnel file; and

8 0 0 0 WHEREAS, Judicial Watch is associated with the alt-right and their publications, such as Steve Bannon and Breitbart News. It is best known for having supported racist attacks against former President Barack Obama, demanding that he publicize his birth certificate, and for suing Hillary and Bill Clinton numerous times; and WHEREAS, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) agreed to comply with the CPRA by demanding King Middle School staff mine through and turn over any s containing the aforementioned terms, or BUSD would search their s for them; and WHEREAS, Judicial Watch s targeting of specific BUSD employees and political groups violates teachers and staff members civil liberties: freedom of speech, freedom of association, reasonable right to privacy and academic freedom of all school workers. Judicial Watch s CPRA request comes with the possibility of teacher and staff internal communications being publicized on alt-right websites and publications for the purposes of dangerous right-wing trolling, harassment and threats; and WHEREAS, King Middle School employees filed a lawsuit to block the release of s to Judicial Watch, and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers filed an amicus brief in support. Federal Judge Vince Chhabria issued a temporary restraining order against BUSD on Nov., 0, and blocked BUSD from turning over s and documents until after a hearing on May, 0. There is a strong likelihood that the case will go to trial sometime in the next six months: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will support the Berkeley Federation of Teachers and the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees members lawsuit and the BFT s amicus brief in support of Martin Luther King Middle School teachers and staff by sending a letter of support to Judge Vince Chhabria. We encourage local and state chapters to protect school employees against political targeting and the violation of their civil liberties. Submitted by: Berkeley Federation of Teachers, Local Precluded by Referred to. NATIONAL CAMPAIGN OF LABOR ACTION WHEREAS, the Teacher Spring of massive and militant strike action has been a source of inspiration to public school teachers and school support staff across the country; and WHEREAS, strike waves in Republican-dominated states have highlighted the national crisis of education funding that has been clobbering public school employees, driving out excellent teachers

9 0 0 and school support personnel. Public school students and their families desperately want our schools to live up to the promises of public schools that were first established out of Radical Reconstruction, and the promise of Brown v. Board of Education to equal quality education for all. Massive infusions of state and federal funding are a fundamental condition to making that happen; and WHEREAS, tens of thousands of public school employees have valiantly placed themselves on the line to fight for the future of our schools and they are winning. West Virginia increased state funding for raises, for seniority and to defeat charter school privatization. Oklahoma and Arizona teachers strikes restored hundreds of millions of dollars in state education funding and raises; and WHEREAS, their courage inspires and challenges teachers and school employees to match their militancy on a national scale. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association represent the vast majority of public school educators. They should be working together, and with our state unions and locals, to follow suit: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will join with the National Education Association to build on the great victories in West Virginia and Oklahoma, and the struggles breaking out in Arizona and other states, to launch a national campaign of labor action, including strike action where practicable, to: Save public education; Fight to improve teachers standard of living and work conditions; and Fight for union rights. Submitted by: Berkeley Federation of Teachers, Local Precluded by Referred to. SUPPORTING STRIKING TEACHERS WHEREAS, American Federation of Teachers active and retired members have spent their professional lives building a strong union, fighting for respect for educators, and for a strong and well-funded public education system from pre-k to higher education; and WHEREAS, teachers in many states have gone out on strike, not only for decent wages, but for increased funding for their schools and their students:

10 RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge its affiliates to declare a day of solidarity for our striking comrades, and have teachers all across the United States show support for the teaching profession and school-related personnel, for students, and for proper funding for our public schools. Red for Ed. Submitted by: United University Professions, Local Precluded by Referred to. UNION REPRESENTATION AND RIGHTS FOR AFT PROJECT EMPLOYEES 0 WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers is a union of workers dedicated to promoting fairness, community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism; and WHEREAS, much of the AFT workforce consists of project staff, temporary organizers hired for the length of individual external organizing campaigns; and WHEREAS, some of these project staff are unrepresented or underrepresented by a collective bargaining unit themselves; and WHEREAS, the current categorization of the AFT s external organizing campaigns as projects perpetuates an environment of confusion regarding union membership or affiliation among the AFT s project employees, and that decreases the perceived job security of these employees; and WHEREAS, the AFT is an employer and is required by labor law to respect the collective bargaining rights and protections of its employees who are members of unions; and WHEREAS, as a union, the AFT should support the unionizing rights of all workers everywhere: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will provide a welcome environment for its temporary employees to organize themselves; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will not stand in the way of unionization efforts by any staff, and will recognize any union organized by temporary staff; and RESOLVED, that any project staff hired by the AFT should be given the option to be considered part of the staff bargaining unit; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will undertake an unbiased review of the structure of its external organizing campaigns, which 0

11 0 0 promotes the lengthy and disproportionate use of temporary hiring practices; and RESOLVED, that the AFT should make available information regarding its temporary hiring practices, including, but not limited to, the number of temporary hires, the projects that temporary hires work on, the organizational structure for hiring and dismissal of these employees, the duration of employment, the likelihood of full-time employment after temporary hiring, the number of projects these employees work on as temporary staff before they receive full-time positions, and information about how many temporary hires never receive full-time positions; and RESOLVED, that AFT staff will provide information to AFT project staff located in each state so they are made aware of access to union representation; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will respect the union rights of project organizers who are currently members of collective bargaining units, including the right of any member of a professional union under its employ, to invoke Weingarten rights without fear of retaliation. Submitted by: AFT-Oregon Precluded by Referred to 0. INCREASING THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE AFT BUDGET WHEREAS, the engagement of union members hinges on their ability to access useful and relevant information about the union that represents them; and WHEREAS, harnessing the trust of workers is critical for member retention; and WHEREAS, transparency is necessary for maintaining that trust; and WHEREAS, the American Federation of Teachers revenues are essentially derived from members contributions; and WHEREAS, the AFT s annual financial statements have been made available online for consultation by the public; and WHEREAS, a union s budget captures its priorities and actions for the coming year, thereby defining its entire efforts for the period; and WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section, of the union s bylaws specifies that the budget shall be prepared and adopted annually by the executive council and shall be subject to subsequent revision when

12 0 0 needed, and fails to set a rule for member access to budget information: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will support financial transparency all the way from the local level up to the national federation; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will promote an enhancement of the AFT s financial disclosure and transparency rules; and RESOLVED, that the AFT s budget will be made available for consultation by the AFT members, no later than 0 days after its adoption by the executive council; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will require that approved revisions to the budget exceeding percent of its original size be made available for consultation by the union s members; and RESOLVED, that the AFT will ask that budget meeting action items, especially voting session action items, be made available to the members. Submitted by: AFT-Oregon Precluded by Referred to. RESIST THE TRUMP ATTACK ON UNIONS FOLLOWING CONFIRMATION OF JUSTICE GORSUCH: A CALL FOR MASS MOBILIZATION AND INTERNAL REVITALIZATION OF AFT LOCALS WHEREAS, on April, 0, the United States Senate, after a rules change voted in by the Republican majority, confirmed President Donald Trump s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, an extremist conservative judge whose record suggests that he will rule in favor of corporations and against unions and workers; and WHEREAS, on Feb., 0, the Center for Individual Rights, the anti-union law firm that recruited teachers to be plaintiffs in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case, filed a new case, Yohn v. California Teachers Association, calling for the state of California to overrule settled law and invalidate state statutes that allow public sector unions to collect fair share agency fees for representing nonmembers in their bargaining units; and WHEREAS, the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 0 left the Supreme Court equally divided in Friedrichs, thereby affirming the decision of the th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recognizing that settled law allowed public sector unions to collect fair share agency fees; and

13 WHEREAS, the anti-union National Right to Work Foundation and Liberty Justice Center backed a group of Illinois public employees to bring the case Janus v. AFSCME Council, also calling for the invalidation of the collection of fair share fees by public sector unions; and WHEREAS, Janus has moved quickly through the federal court system, with a decision invalidating the collection of fair share fees expected to be delivered by June 0; and WHEREAS, teachers unions have been a particular target of antiunion lawsuits because teachers unions are among the strongest forces in organized labor, and K- education has the highest union density of any employment sector; and WHEREAS, the loss of unions ability to collect fair share fees is designed to deliver a crippling blow to the labor movement and to public sector unions in particular because organized labor, strongest in the public sector, is still the largest organized movement in the United States with the power to resist the Trump agenda of increasing economic inequality, racism, misogyny, bigotry and anti-immigrant hatred; and WHEREAS, the mass public campaigns mounted by supporters of other progressive legal decisions for example, the right to marriage equality have demonstrated the power of mass action to support breakthroughs in judicial thought; and the international mobilizations since the Trump election have demonstrated a potential for mass resistance: RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will launch a strong campaign to educate and mobilize its members and the public about the far-right s heinous attack on the unions representing workers who provide public services; and RESOLVED, that the AFT calls on its member locals to approach the Janus decision as an imperative to revitalize their unions from the ground up, urging locals to conduct internal campaigns to increase union membership and enlist current members to make a public commitment to remain dues-paying union members even in the event of a negative decision in Janus so that all AFT locals emerge from this year with deepened member adhesion and greater capacity to advocate collectively for the public good. Submitted by: New York State United Teachers Precluded by Referred to

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