[GLC] Teachers Unions and a Living Wage

[DAVID GREENE]

Dear friends,

Wrote this recently and wanted your thoughts.
Be well,

David Greene



Why Adult Education Teachers and Staff Need a Union?

          For many who work in the field, the answer is clear.   Better pay, 
benefits, job security and working conditions top many lists of grievances 
of literacy program workers.   Organizations and committees have been formed 
in the past that advocated organization and bargaining contracts, but though 
many of these efforts have faded, the needs obviously persist.     Unions 
have been organized to defend workers and to win benefits, but also to 
improve work and the quality of service.   Unionized service workers besides 
fighting for their needs, have been advocates for better quality services 
and greater responsiveness to the community.   In many cases, unions and 
organized workers have effectively fought for social change.   Unionized 
workers in many ways have represented the communities that need services.

	It is shameful that the field of adult education is not taken seriously at 
any level of government and that the field is poorly funded and 
disrespected.  Literacy and adult education students are considered 'losers' 
by too many politicians and too much of the public.   Prejudices
abound and teachers and other staff in these programs are also considered 
failures.   The field often spends its time begging for little grants and 
inadequate funds, when this education is an important and potentially 
critical community and national need.   The response by administrators to 
this perennial struggle to stabilize funds is to consider unionization of 
staff as impossible, and
an interference in the delivery of service.  As a result, teachers are 
underpaid and disrespected
again and again.   They often stay a few years, at best, then leave for a 
"real" job.

	The decision about unionization must be made by teachers and other staff.  
Unions can
work to insure better pay, benefits (including pensions, sick leave, 
vacations, quality health insurance, etc.), working conditions, worker 
rights, program funding and the quality of services.
I have been an adult education teacher in New York City for the past twenty 
years and I love this
work and my students, but I did not plan to be an adult education teacher.  
If I had not had the protections and benefits of a union contract, I would 
doubtless be working elsewhere.  Though I have been an active part of the 
fight for adult education and for teacher's rights and a union, the
salary and benefits have helped me continue in the field.   For so many 
wonderful and idealistic teachers, they are forced to leave to support a 
family or even pay rent in New York City.

	Teachers in adult education need unions and they need stable incomes and 
benefits.   We also need to be organized to defend our rights and to fight 
for the quality of education that we know is needed.    I work for the 
Department of Education, but I am not beholden to that institution, but 
rather to the quality of life and the development of quality education for 
the working class students and teachers of adult education.

	In this system, programs, whether CBO's, Libraries, CUNY, CWE or DOE are in 
competition for limited funds.   They basically fight each other for crumbs 
to try to stabilize their own jobs and programs.  Students and teachers need 
to be organized to insure that their interests are protected
and improved.   As an active member of the United Federation of Teachers, 
Adult Education Chapter and someone who continues to fight for education for 
leadership, I want to encourage teachers in all sectors of the literacy 
community to organize and unionize.   Let me know if there is any way we can 
support your efforts.
										by David Greene

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Unions.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 24576 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/glc/attachments/20070525/9e773d18/Unions-0001.doc