Volume 1, Issue 9
May, 2008
SCOPE FOR PSRP’S
McAllen AFT, 1500 Dove, McAllen, TX, 78504
Telephone—682-1143, Fax—631-0190, Cell—607-0193
Stories contributed by McAllen AFT PSRP’s
THOUSANDS MORE SAY
‘I WANT TO JOIN A UNION’
Membership is up 311,000 across America.
The labor movement's organizing efforts are reaching thousands of new workers eager for the benefits and protections of union membership, according to data released Jan. 25 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The annual report on union membership shows that unions added 311,000 members nationally in 2007, increasing the total number of union members to 15.7 million. It is the largest single-year increase since 1979. Public sector workers had a union membership rate nearly five times that of private sector employees—35.9 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.
Union members now account for 12.1 per-cent of employed wage and salary workers. The 2007 increase signals a positive trend in union growth.
Union membership had declined from 12.5 percent in 2005 to 12 percent in 2006. More Americans have gotten the message that unions raise pay—even in typically low-wage occupations. That's certainly the message in "Unions and Upward Mobility for Low-Wage Workers" by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
"When workers have a voice at work, they can dramatically increase their wages and benefits, even in what are traditionally badly paying jobs," says John Schmitt, a senior economist at the center and one of the study's authors.
The report, which analyzes 15 of the lowest paying jobs in the United States, including those of janitors and groundskeepers, found that union workers earned about 16 percent more than their nonunion counterparts.
Source: AFT Publications.
School Secretaries keep the whole show humming.
Secretaries and other administrative professionals are the lights, the cameras and the action. They light up their schools every day, keep an eye out for every child and never stop doing. They make a school's success possible. Yet too often, administrative professionals remain underestimated and overlooked.
Secretaries are the hub of a school, streamlining its operations. They usually have many jobs rolled into one: payroll, enrollment, technology, logistics, phones, parents, forms, deliveries and supplies, as well as covering for absent colleagues and mobilizing help in a crisis.
"Many think all we do is answer the telephone, and that is the farthest thing from the truth," says Huey Moore, a secretary at Keidan Special Education Center and a member of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. "Teachers, para professionals, school administrators—they all depend on us."
Ambassadors and role models
As the most visible representatives of a school, secretaries are directors of first impressions." They strengthen the image their school projects to the community. And of course, they are important role models. "The office sets the tone of the building, so that's your professional responsibility," says Rosalind Kennedy, a secretary at James Edmonson Elementary School in Detroit and also a member of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. "Every staff member is setting the tone—not just teachers—and creating an educational experience for the students."
Rewards, recognition, respect
Aside from the obvious issue of compensation, school secretaries mainly want respect. In a recent AFT survey, about 70 percent of clerical members said that the school administrator knew a great deal about their jobs, and 62 percent felt the administrator greatly respected their work.
Many principals send flowers during Administrative Professionals Week, the last full week in April. "That always feels wonderful," says Jones. "But just saying, ‘Good job. Thank you. We couldn't have done it without you,' also helps."
One of the highest marks of respect is listening. "They do listen to us and hear our concerns," says Denise Carpenter, a classified school registrar and administrative assistant who belongs to the TOTEM Association of Educational Support Personnel in Anchorage, Alaska. "Three or four times a year, they get all the registrars and administrative assistants together and ask for our concerns. If they keep us in the loop on things, then we can do a better job."
But just as a high mark of respect is listening, a low mark is overlooking secretaries and even stealing credit from them. Secretaries do a lot of the work of assistant principals, says Ann Harper on AFT Voices, an online forum for AFT members. A retired teacher and member of the Fort Bend (Texas) Employee Federation, Harper says secretaries' duties there include paperwork for student discipline, school maintenance and repair requests, budgets, curriculum, assigning and keeping track of keys, and coordinating substitute teachers.
The benefits of a union
In New York City, Charlene Jones is a prime example of how a union is only as good as its members, and how every active member benefits everybody else. Jones really started participating in the UFT about 10 years ago. Since then, she's been able to get ergonomic chairs by advocating for better equipment; secure overtime pay for staff who were being asked to work late without compensation; help match newly licensed secretaries with available jobs; and coach secretaries through the dos and don'ts of their duties.
Some administrators don't get it, though, and in those cases the union can help. Kennedy worked for more than a dozen years before needing union representation to file a grievance for the first time. Sometimes the union can help in a way you may not think of. And then there's the bottom line.
Besides basic wages, many local unions have bargained pay differentials for clerical employees who obtain professional certificates. One such AFT affiliate is TOTEM, which also negotiated a no-cost health insurance option, longevity pay, pensions and retirement healthcare for support staff.
All in all, secretaries who have both the respect of their school community and the support of their union do feel appreciated.
Source: PSRP Reporter
In New York City, Charlene Jones is a prime example of how a union is only as good as its members, and how every active member benefits everybody else. Jones really started participating in the UFT about 10 years ago. Since then, she's been able to get ergonomic chairs by advocating for better equipment; secure overtime pay for staff who were being asked to work late without compensation; help match newly licensed secretaries with available jobs; and coach secretaries through the dos and don'ts of their duties.
Some administrators don't get it, though, and in those cases the union can help. Kennedy worked for more than a dozen years before needing union representation to file a grievance for the first time. Sometimes the union can help in a way you may not think of. And then there's the bottom line.
Besides basic wages, many local unions have bargained pay differentials for clerical employees who obtain professional certificates. One such AFT affiliate is TOTEM, which also negotiated a no-cost health insurance option, longevity pay, pensions and retirement healthcare for support staff.
All in all, secretaries who have both the respect of their school community and the support of their union do feel appreciated.
Source: PSRP Reporter
Tuition Exemption for Paraprofessionals
To get an application:
Parmesan Catfish
Ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 lbs. catfish fillets
3 Tbsps. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt (optional), or to taste
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
waxed paper
1 Tbsp. virgin olive oil
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Instructions:
Combine buttermilk and half the Parmesan in a bowl. Dust catfish with flour, salt and pepper to taste. Dip both sides of fish in buttermilk mixture. Combine breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan on a piece of waxed paper.
Dredge both sides of fillets in breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté garlic 1 minute. Discard garlic and sauté catfish 4-5 minutes or until golden. Turn and sauté another 3-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Combine buttermilk and half the Parmesan in a bowl. Dust catfish with flour, salt and pepper to taste. Dip both sides of fish in buttermilk mixture. Combine breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan on a piece of waxed paper.
Dredge both sides of fillets in breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Sauté garlic 1 minute. Discard garlic and sauté catfish 4-5 minutes or until golden. Turn and sauté another 3-4 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 10 mins.
Servings: 4
Servings: 4
