Bargaining: We have our 12th bargaining session this coming Wednesday, December 18th, 4:45 pm, Erling Johnson Room D at the ESC.. We are hoping for a district response to a number of language items, and the key discussion will be over health insurance and our overall compensation package. We hope you can be there in red to hear the discussion for yourself first hand. We have had over two hundred different members attend these sessions and that support and feedback has been invaluable to our negotiations team. To catch up on the details, visit ahemnegotiationsnews.blogspot.com Hope to see you Wednesday!
District Wide Work to Rule: We are almost six months beyond the date to renew our contract. Sites have engaged in a variety of work actions to draw attention to the air of instability and uncertainty an unsettled contract causes in our schools. Our governing body, the Representative Assembly which is made of up members from each site, decided that if we have not made significant progress in negotiations by mid January, we would urge all of our members to begin "working to rule" on Tuesday, January 21st. We would withdraw our unpaid work and only be at school during our duty day or for activities for which we are paid. We wouldn't take on new projects and change how we structure our day to get things done between the bells. Though this is a difficult action, we need to end the uncertainty and instability an unsettled contract causes in our schools.
Let's Work Out – Sharing the Extra Work We Do with Our Community: Too many members of our neighbors are unaware of the scale of the unpaid, voluntary work teachers do for their students. We invite you and your "homework" to come to Brunswick Zone in Blaine on January 15th. On this anniversary of what used to be a legislatively mandated settlement deadline, we will invite our local residents and the media to see just what teachers really do by taking the work we normally do at home or after hours out into the community. Meet us at the bowling alley whenever your duty day ends with the work you normally take home to do. We'll provide the pizza and pop, you'll provide a real look at the real lives of teachers.
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: On Saturday, the city of Anoka was proclaimed a Yellow Ribbon City for their work supporting military connected families. AHEM is proud to be part of this effort and special thanks go out to Daryl Hathaway for leading the city team, Renee Blue for chairing the education subcommittee, and Amanda Herman for serving on the steering committee. Congratulations to the entire Anoka Yellow Ribbon team for efforts. More info here: http://abcnewspapers.com/2013/12/06/anoka-becoming-yellow-ribbon-city/
Holiday Thank You: This season when the light fades is a good time to look inward and take stock of the blessings in our lives. All of us at AHEM are deeply fortunate to support one of the most amazing groups of educators anywhere. We have the joy of celebrating your successes, defending your boldness, and supporting the bright future you work to create for your students. Thank you for all you do for your students, schools, union, and entire community. Have a safe and rejuvenating winter break!
