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THE VOICE OF THE UNION September b October 2014 California Volume 68, Number 1 CALIFORNIA TeacherFEDERATION OF TEACHERS, AFT, AFL-CIO TOM TORLAKSON A teacher for State Superintendent of Public instruction PAGE 8 CFT appeals General Election Accreditation Vergara ruling November 4 agency on trial In defense of teacher rights Public education needs your vote Fairness and transparency at issue PAGE 3 PAGE 8 PAGE 14 California In this issue All-Union News 03 Community College 14 Teacher Pre-K/K-12 12 University 15 Classified 13 Local Wire 16 UpFront Joshua Pechthalt, CFT President November 4 is our opportunity to elect an ally and defeat a self-appointed reformer he CFT’s priorities in the Novem- beachhead in California as part of local, state and national levels, we can Tber 4 General Election are straight- their national efforts to promote never rely on them, or the courts, to forward: Reelect Tom Torlakson merit pay, expand charter schools and protect our interests or advance our Superintendent of Public Instruction, weaken teacher unions. In the final issues. The only force we can rely on “We have to approach elect Betty Yee for State Controller and weeks of the campaign, Tuck will is the power of our organized mem- this election as if pass Propositions 45 and 47. pump large amounts of money into bers and the alliances we build with In the remaining weeks before the television, radio and direct mailings our labor and community partners. the future of public election, we need all of our mem- attacking Torlakson and his connec- In the coming months, the CFT education depends on bers to get involved with their local tion to California’s education unions. will be working with our locals to unions and their central labor coun- On the national stage, the far-right reach out to our members across the it, because it does.” cils. We have to approach this election Republican Party seeks control of state. Fair share payers are especially as if the future of public education the Senate, which would stymie our invited to step up to full union mem- depends on it, because it does. efforts to move immigration reform, bership. Certainly joining a union It is critical we reelect Tom Tor- secure healthcare reform, protect a is essential for protecting members’ lakson as Superintendent of Public woman’s right to choose or expand rights and advocating for salary and Instruction, who has oversight of Cal- worker and union rights. In the event benefits. But education unions must ifornia’s K-12 public education and of an opening on the Supreme Court, be the catalyst for creating a demo- deeply influences the national debate the Senate would then block the pres- cratic, bottom up vision of quality on education reform. Torlakson was a ident’s appointment of a moderate or public education. teacher and coach for many years. liberal to the court. There is no magic bullet to make Superintendent Torlakson has been Adding to the grim outlook is a this happen. It will require commit- a consistent opponent of the market continued assault on public sector ment, training, patience and one-on- reforms being promoted by the fed- workers, including our members, one interaction with our colleagues. A eral government. He has stood up by the courts. The Harris v. Quinn number of our locals are already lead- against the well-funded, anti-teacher, Supreme Court ruling is the first ing the way. Now we need to broaden anti-public education narrative. shot across the bow attacking union and deepen that work and build the Torlakson’s opponent, Marshall fair share, while the Vergara lawsuit kind of real power that can win vic- Tuck, a product of corporate Amer- is aimed directly at teacher seniority tories no matter which politician gets ica, has no classroom experience. Self- and due process rights in California. elected to office. appointed education reformers like This scenario underscores the fact Tuck, Michelle Rhee, Eli Broad, David that while we work to elect the best Welsh and others hope to secure a and most progressive leaders at the ON THE COVER The California Federation of Teachers is an affiliate CaliforniaTeacher (ISSN 0410-3556) is published Direct letters or other editorial submissions to the < of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. The four times a year in September/October, November/ editor. Letters must not exceed 200 words and must Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom CFT represents faculty and classified workers in public December, February/March and April/May by the include your name, address, and phone number. Letters Torlakson, a teacher himself, has stood and private schools and colleges, from early childhood California Federation of Teachers, 2550 N. Hollywood will be edited for clarity and length. up against the well-funded, anti-teacher, Way, Suite 400, Burbank, CA 91505, and mailed to all through higher education. The CFT is committed to EDITORIAL OFFICE anti-public education rhetoric. He filed an raising the standards of the profession and to securing CFT members and agency fee payers. Annual subscription California Federation of Teachers, 1330 Broadway, appeal against Vergara v. California and the conditions essential to provide the best service to price: $3 (included in membership dues). For others: said, “Teachers are not the problem in our Suite 1601, Oakland, California 94612 California’s students. $10 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Burbank and Telephone 510-523-5238 Fax 510-523-5262 schools, they are the solution.” PRESIDENT Joshua Pechthalt additional mailing offices. Email [email protected] SECRETARY TREASURER Jeffery M. Freitas Postmaster: Send address corrections to California PHOTO BY BOB RIHA, JR Publications Director and Editor Jane Hundertmark Teacher, 2550 N. Hollywood Way, Suite 400, Burbank, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT L. Lacy Barnes Contributors this issue: Kenneth Burt, Fred Glass, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Velma J.Butler, Cathy Campbell, CA 91505. Emily Gordon, Kendra Harris, Sharon Hendricks, Elaine Alex Caputo-Pearl, Robert Chacanaca, Kimberly Claytor, California Teacher is a member of the International Johnson, Jim Mahler, Joshua Pechthalt, Paula A. Phillips, Melinda Dart, Betty Forrester, Ray Gaer, Miki Goral, Labor Communications Association and the AFT Com- Mindy Pines, Ron Rapp, Gary Ravani, Al Hernandez- Carolyn Ishida, Kathy Jasper, Dennis Kelly,Tim Killikelly, municators Network. It is printed by union workers at Santana, Bob Samuels, Jessica Ulstad, Ed Wang, Jim Mahler, Elaine Merriweather, David Mielke, Pacific Standard Press in Sacramento using soy-based Laura Watson, Sandra Weese, Steve Weingarten, Dean Murakami, Paula A. Phillips, Gary Ravani, inks on Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper that Rosanna Wiebe, Emily Wilson Francisco Rodriguez, Bob Samuels, Linda Sneed, contains 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. Graphic Design Kajun Design, Graphic Artists Guild Joanne Waddell, Carl Williams, Kent Wong, David Yancey ® 977-M Cert no. SW-COC-001530 cft.org CFT @CFTunion IBT 853 2 CALIFORNIA TEACHER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 CFT President Josh Pechthalt around the union… spoke at a press event before closing arguments began in the Vergara v. California lawsuit. All-Union News November 4 is our opportunity to elect an ally French language school staffs choose AFT as their union and defeat a self-appointed reformer Workers at three Bay Area private schools gain a stronger voice in the workplace WHEN MATH TEACHER Cheryl tive, upbeat tone. We foresee more LaBrecque joined the staff of the collaboration and cooperation,” says French American International SHARON BEALS LaBrecque. School in San Francisco in 1999, the Two other French immersion preK-12 school was small and “things schools, K-12 Lycée Français in San worked better.” Staff members “had Francisco and preK-8 Ecole Bilingüe a closer relationship with adminis- in Berkeley, learned about CFT from tration,” she says. Since then, it has their counterparts at the French become “more corporate, more top- American International School and down, more about money.” agreed the Federation was a great fit. Administrators unilaterally The Lycée bargaining unit of 150 changed work hours, scheduled more certificated, classified and non-man- mandatory meetings, increased class agement administrative staff voted size, retaliated against people for overwhelmingly to affiliate with speaking up and terminated employ- AFT on March 6. Math and cinema ees with many years of experience. teacher Miguel Concy said, “We knew Salaries failed to keep up with the we needed a more powerful alliance.” cost of living. On May 19, Ecole Bilingüe’s 58 pre- “We belonged to an independent Math teacher Cheryl LaBrecque and her fellow educators at the French American International viously unrepresented teachers and association,” says LaBrecque, “but School in San Francisco found the Federation to be the best fit when they needed more clout. assistants voted for AFT. This school weren’t taken seriously. We had no clout. We needed to level the play- school’s approximately 130 bargain- “We needed to level the playing field with a strong union ing field with a strong union …better ing unit members voted in favor of representation, stronger advocacy… affiliating with the Federation. After …better representation, stronger advocacy…the expertise the expertise and resources a larger considerable research, LaBrecque says and resources a larger organization like CFT could offer.” organization like CFT could offer.” she and her colleagues saw CFT as — Cheryl LaBrecque, French American International School On May 19, the educators chose AFT the “best fit” because they knew their as their bargaining agent because, says autonomy would be respected. “We the Bay Area. They believed the dues year, the educators look forward to LaBrecque, “We wanted more direct want to make our own decisions in structure was very reasonable. having a say in their workplace, said support without having to do all the consultation with CFT, but not have Since joining CFT, the teachers feel third grade teacher Marion Tobie.

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