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YOUR REWARD
Pre-Retirement
Workshop
March 19, DSEA Office in Newark, 8am-noon
Must pre-register with this form: Print
out and send in this form.
DSEA Celebration Banquet and Representative
Assembly
March 11 and 12, Dover Downes Conference Center
Diversity
Exchange: Learning from One Another
March
26, 2011
8am-4pm
Delaware State University, Dover, DE, MLK Student CenterSidebar Heading
ESP
Conference
April 16, 2011
Save the date.
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YOUR VOICE
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Although we are not
in Wisconsin's shoes, we must remain vigilant
We
are very fortunate here in Delaware to have an administration that
supports collective bargaining rights for employees. We are also
fortunate that we are not engaged in a budget fight, but are able to put
forward our ideas and work together with the administration, legislators
and our Coalition partners to find solutions to potential budget
problems.
Governor Markell wants to find $3.2 million in savings this year from
employee benefits, and $100 million over the next five years. He
has agreed to a series of meetings to hear our ideas on finding
solutions that won't hurt state workers. The group meets weekly and each
has proposed areas of savings. Talks continue! Here in Delaware, we will do
our part to find savings in employee benefits.
Read our reponse to Governor's desire to find
$3.2 million in savings ($100 million over next five years) in state's
employee costs. This was a response sent to the News Journal from the leaders of the Coalition of State
Workers United for a Better Delaware. It appeared Feb. 17, 2011.
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YOUR RIGHTS
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All
eyes on Wisconsin, though workers face battles over right
to collectively bargain and have a voice
The NEA family has come out in force to support our members and
colleagues in Wisconsin,
as well as those in Idaho,
Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee. Other states are
facing unprecedented threats as well.
Update from the
NEA/WEAC communications team on the ground in Madison (., 2-21-11)
--The Senate Democrats continue to stand up to Gov. Scott Walker so that
there is no quorum in the state Senate and a vote cannot be taken on the
Governor's union-busting legislation.
This protest is about public sector employees retaining a voice in their
profession and Wisconsin's future. The proposed legislation strips away
worker rights and destroys the collaborative partnerships that have been
established between labor and management in Wisconsin. It's not about pay
and benefits, pensions and health care. It's about worker rights.
--What
is happening right now in Wisconsin is historic. Tens of thousands of
citizens - unprecedented numbers - are gathering and speaking out to show
their support for the state's public servants. They want to voice support
for the third grade teacher who stays late to help a student
with math - for the nurses who work every day to care for patients -
for the firefighters who keep us safe -- and for the snow plow drivers
who plow streets through the night so their neighbors can get to work in
the morning. These public workers are on the front-lines everyday to
support us - and they should have a say in their profession.
--The
people of Wisconsin are asking the Governor and legislature to hear them
out - and work with them to find bipartisan solutions that will address
Wisconsin's challenges. Silencing the voices of public sector employees
by busting up their unions is not going to help Wisconsin move
forward - and it will only divide the people of this state.
WEAC
(the Wisconsin Education Association Council - the NEA affiliate) has
stood firm for collective bargaining, while agreeing to the changes
proposed by Governor Walker and offering to meet with him.
Demonstrations continue.
WEAC president Mary Bell urged members who had class on Monday (some
schools do not take Presidents Day) to go to class. She urged other
members with no school to continue to participate in demonstrations and
local activities in their town. NEA provided additional staff support in
Madison.
Best Facebook
page for Wisconsin updates?
Check
out Protect Wisconsin Families
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YOUR ASSOCIATION
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While
the nation seems to have its eyes and ears on Wisconsin, attacks are
happening all across the country
In
Indiana, ISTA is
holding a press conference tomorrow, Tuesday. Through ads and media
relations, ISTA is taking to the airwaves and putting the voice of their
members into the media this week. NEA
Vice President Lily Eskelsen is on her way to
Indianapolis to speak at the rally.
Ohio has a
rally planned for Tuesday afternoon. Last Wednesday, nearly 5,000
educators in Ohio rallied with other public service employees to oppose
Senate Bill 5which is designed to repeal the states 27-year-old collective
bargaining law. Several members also testified at a legislative
hearing appealing to lawmakers to oppose SB5. Members turned out at
the State Capitol to demonstrate their belief that in a tough economy, we
must focus on the essentials and that nothing is more important than
giving our children a quality education that prepares them for good jobs.
Best Facebook page for Ohio:
Check out Stand
Up for Ohio
Idaho
educators are working with parents, students, and others in their
community to defeat harmful education reform proposals pushed by Idaho's
Superintendent of Education Tom Luna. Luna introduced two pieces of
legislation. The first provides every Idaho ninth grader with a laptop by
increasing class sizes. A second would silence the voice of educators by
restricting collective bargaining. Parents, students, and educators have
bombarded Idaho legislators with calls and emails. Parents held a rally
recently in front of the Capitol in Boise that was attended by more than
300 students and educators to protest increasing class sizes.
In
Tennessee, the Senate
Education Committee passed a bill last week 6-3 to prohibit school
districts from negotiating with their local associations.
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YOUR VOICE
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What
can you do?
NEA is asking members to wear red on Tuesdays throughout the spring, and
to pledge your support to members in other states at the Education
Votes web site to sign a petition of support .
Help us build
our DSEA organizing network
If
you are on Facebook, please go to www.facebook.com/dseafan
and click "Like." We have only a few hundred members and friends
who have done so, yet approx. 15,000 views are recorded on our page. With
more "likes," we'll be able to more effectively use our
Facebook page for communication and organizing this spring if we need to.
We post updates regularly here, so it's a good place to see what's
happening around the country, as well as here in Delaware with our
Coalition.
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YOUR
COMMUNITY
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Add your
support. It's about public sector employees retaining a voice in their
profession and their state's future.
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