Fred Glass is the communications director with the California Federation of Teachers.


Schools and Communities First! Vote YES on Proposition 15

For California workers, their families and friends, a vote for Prop 15 on this November’s state ballot should be a no-brainer.  For more than 40 years the state of California has been robbed of billions of dollars a year by a corporate tax loophole.  Unlike in virtually every other state in the country, here commercial […]

CFT launches one-stop-shop website for “Vergara” trial

The Vergara suit seeks to challenge five important California statutes that relate to teacher protections from unfair layoffs and dismissal.

The new website is a one-stop shop for information on the court case. It features updates from the stand, information on the trial's backers, pertinent research debunking the plaintiffs’ claims, videos and press clips. It will be updated daily as the state and teacher advocates proceed with their witnesses.

 

Standing Up for Real Accreditation at CCSF

Fred Glass

Earlier this summer the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) decided, in a shocking move, to terminate accreditation for City College of San Francisco, effective July 2014.

CCSF is the main pathway for the Bay Area working class to public higher education.  This beloved institution supplies more trained workers to local businesses than any other source, and has enabled hundreds of thousands of students to achieve their educational and career goals over the years.

In Memoriam: Former CFT President Raoul Teilhet

Fred Glass

It is with deep sorrow that the California Federation of Teachers announces the passing of former CFT president Raoul Teilhet.

Raoul Teilhet, a Pasadena high school history teacher who believed collective bargaining offered the path to dignity and respect for public school employees before laws existed allowing it, and served as president of the California Federation of Teachers in successful pursuit of that goal, died of complications from Parkinson’s Disease on June 5 in Los Angeles.  He was 79.

Labor History Month Celebrates Workers’ Contributions

Fred Glass

One of California’s best-kept secrets is that May is Labor History Month.  Signed into law as AB 2269 (Swanson) in 2012 by Governor Jerry Brown, its purpose is to encourage schools “to commemorate this month with appropriate educational exercises that make pupils aware of the role the labor movement has played in shaping California and the United States.”

That role is the making and defense of the middle class.  Unions have been, and remain, by far the most important engine in creating the American Dream, homeownership for the millions, and a better life for each generation.  Most of the middle class arrived in that economic neighborhood when working people got together, formed unions, and wrested a fair share of what they produced from their employers.  In other words, it was by acting like a working class that most of our families became middle class.

Our Egypt

The images are eerily familiar. Yesterday more than 30,000 workers, students, and supporters sought to defend their democratic rights in the streets. Today the crowds got larger. But instead of the streets of Cairo the mass protests bringing society to a halt are taking place in Madison, Wisconsin.

The epicenter is the state capital, where right wing millionaire Governor Scott Walker last week arrogantly proclaimed he was going to pass legislation to destroy the right of public workers to bargain collectively. Following the “look over there!” strategy designed by conservative think tanks and funded by billionaires, Walker attempted to pin the blame for Wisconsin’s state budget deficit on public employees.