Friday, September 20, 2013

Negotiations, CAT, Part Timers & Q-Comp, Book Controversy, Schedules

Negotiations: We held our 7th bargaining session on Wednesday. Over 80 members joined us to see the process first hand, continuing the trend of increasing attendance each time. Basically, things moved around, but little moved forward. For more info, visit www.ahemnegotiationsnews.blogspot.com

Contract Action Team (CAT): The next CAT meeting is Wednesday, September 25th, 4:45 pm at the AHEM Office. This group helps take action to achieve a fair contract settlement – they plan things from the root beer float tailgating before the last bargaining session to messages that help members understand complicated contract issues. Hope you can join the team!

Book Selection Controversy: You may have heard some controversy regarding the choice of the book "Eleanor & Park" for the high school "Rock the Book" summer reading program.  We at AHEM proudly stand by the professional judgement of our librarians. Here is an eloquent commentary that describes some of the many reasons we trust our colleagues in this matter: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/09/18/223738674/true-love-book-fights-and-why-ugly-stories-matter 

Part Timers and Q-Comp: We are getting a lot of questions and concerns about how part time members work with Q-Comp, particularly regarding pro-ration of incentives and workload. We have heard many valid points and will be discussing them at our Q-Comp Steering Committee meeting next week. If you are a part timer and want to weigh in, email us at ahem@anoka.k12.mn.us.

Good Question: Is my schedule right? This is a good time of the year to deal with schedule issues. If you have a concern that you may not be getting the right time for lunch, prep, travel, duties, etc. please call the office at 763.421.9110 and ask for David. He'll check out your situation and make sure we nip any errors in the bud.