Nine Things I Learned at the IFT Convention

by Nancy Tauchman, President, District 123, Oak Lawn-Hometown

1. It is an interesting and informative event.
   
2. Some Resolutions Adopted:
   • IFT supports compulsory all-day kindergarten.
   • IFT commends and supports AFT evaluation process of presidential candidates and recommends that AFT give full consideration to IFT’s favorite son, Barack Obama.
   • IFT advocates adequate funding of public education and will hold all candidates endorsed by the IFT accountable.
   • IFT will research and plan for the refocus on the issue of merit/performance based compensation and assist those locals who are dealing with the concept at the bargaining table.
   • IFT will monitor the ISBE implementation of Part 226 - Special Education Rules - which deals with case load and class size.
   • IFT seeks legislation that would protect the rights of paraprofessionals when school districts consolidate.
   • IFT supports legislation requiring Illinois to make the necessary contributions to pension funds without jeopardizing those benefits that are already in place.
   • IFT urges the AFT to continue its focus on NCLB’s flawed accountability system and that underfunding is NCLB’s primary fault.

3. Margaret Blackshere, former IFT Political Action Director and president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, is retiring. She was awarded the first IFT Lifetime Labor Achievement award.

4. IFT President Jim Doughtery is retiring.

5. Constitutional Amendments Approved:

a. Addition of Secretary-Treasurer position

b. A change in term lengths for elected officers from two to three years

c. A change in the frequency of the convention from two years to three years

6. By-Laws Approved:

a. Eliminate chief-of-staff position (Ray Mackey is retiring.) and employ an executive assistant.

b. Set a dues structure for the next 4 years because of the change in the convention cycle ($10,10,10,9 for full –time members)

7. Governor Blagojevich spoke to the delegation about his commitment to education and education funding. He speaks with great passion. He is a politician.

8. We saw a video message from Senator Obama.

9. From a “Legal Issues” workshop presented by Barbara Hillman, a lawyer from the labor firm of Cornfield and Feldman.

a. Put everything you can think of in the contract.

b. Always file a grievance or send a letter of protest when we think the administration or school board is doing something wrong.

c. Put everything in writing.

d. There is nothing in the school code or the law that gives a school board the right to expect teachers to attend events/meetings outside the school day without pay.

I’m sorry now that I never attended the convention before this one.

  AFT Local 943
  15521 South 70th Court
  Orland Park, Illinois 60462
  (708) 633-0943
  (708) 633-0944 (Fax)

  Kathy Setlak, president

  IFT Field Staff
  Tonia Havard-Dew                           Deneen Pajeau