By Doug Cunningham

At its July convention the 1.4 million member American Federation of Teachers is expected to make history by being the first major U.S. union to simultaneously elect women to the top three leadership posts. Randi Weingarten, Antonia Cortese and Lorretta Johnson are expected to take over as President, Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Vice-President.

By Doug Cunningham

Part-time faculty trying to get their first union contract at Wayne State University in Detroit will pack the school’s Board of Governors' meeting today. Brian Pfeifer is with the Union of Part-Time Faculty – AFT.

[Pfeifer]: "We have a lot of support from the campus community and for us out there and a lot of people are watching this. Thus far we have had well over 1,600 letters sent to the president - President Reid - on campus. We have been sending letters to the Board of Governors on campus. Due to this pressure and due to the massive support we have from labor and community, as well as the students, we feel that this is going to win us a decent contract."

By Doug Cunningham

Ed McElroy is retiring as president of the American Federation of Teachers. He's decided not to run again. He will be replaced by Randi Weingarten, who currently heads New York City’s United Federation of Teachers. The AFT has 1.4 million members and is the second largest teachers' union in America, after the National Education Association.

By Doug Cunningham

At Detroit’s Wayne State University, 900 part-time adjunct faculty members are in the midst of negotiations on their first collective bargaining contract. Amanda Hiber is a spokesperson for the American Federation of Teachers-affiliated union representing the part-time faculty.

[Hiber]: "Probably the biggest issue is low pay. We also receive no benefits, no insurance, no participation in the retirement program, no sick pay. And we also pretty much have no job security from semester to semester."

Talks are making some progress but key economic issues are still to be resolved. Hiber says there’s more at stake with this first contract, though, than just dollars.

By Doug Cunningham

New Jersey unions gained 3,000 new members this week as Rutgers University administrative staff joined the American Federation of Teachers and 1100 casino dealers at Bally’s joined the UAW. Gov. Corzine visited the Rutgers campus to support the union drive. Employers fought to keep workers from joining unions. State and local elected officials supported the organizing drives.

By Doug Cunningham

Good, middle-class jobs for New York City residents. That’s the goal as labor unions, industry and government came together for a recent conference called Creating Futures, sponsored by the United Federation of Teachers. It’s an effort to coordinate funding, worker friendly legislation, education and economic development to make sure the estimated 750,000 jobs created in the next twenty years are living wage jobs.

By Doug Cunningham

Boston teachers have been warned not to stage a one day strike. A judge in the Boston area upheld an injunction against the strike issued by the state Labor Relations Commission. The 8,000 member teachers union is considering a symbolic one day strike to highlight their concerns over salaries, health care, class size and other unresolved issues in contract negotiations. A strike would be illegal and would close Boston schools.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg laid out an ambitious plan to lift up the school system, but is the teachers union on board? Jesse Russell has more:

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten only learned of Mayor Michael Bloomberg school reform plan hours before he gave his yearly state of the city address. In it he outlined a plan that includes a much more rigorous evaluation system for teachers seeking tenure:

[Bloomberg]: We must do a better job of keeping teachers who are effective instructors and we must continue to give them the support that they need. At the same time we must also make sure that ineffective teachers are not awarded the privilege of tenure and the near life time job security that comes with it.

By Doug Cunningham

Detroit teachers have voted to end their strike after more than 2 weeks of resistance to concessions demanded by the school district. Defying a court injunction the teachers stayed on strike until their union- the Detroit Federation of Teachers - reached a tentative agreement The school district wanted a five and a half percent pay cut over two years. The teachers wanted a raise after going for years without one. The new contract calls for a one year wage freeze, followed by a one percent raise the second year and a 2.5 percent raise in the third. Teachers also agreed to pay ten percent of their health care costs. Teachers voted to return to classrooms today while a contract ratification vote is held.

By Doug Cunningham

The Detroit Federation of Teachers says talks are continuing with the school district in an effort to resolve a strike that started August 28th. A Detroit area judge issued a strike-breaking injunction that imposes fines on teachers of one days pay for each day on strike. The Detroit teachers are fighting major concessions in wages and increased health care costs. So far the Detroit Federation of Teachers is defying the strike-breaking court injunction.

By Doug Cunningham

The Detroit Federation of Teachers says talks are continuing with the school district in an effort to resolve a strike that started August 28th. A Detroit area judge issued a strike-breaking injunction that imposes fines on teachers of one days pay for each day on strike. The Detroit teachers are fighting major concessions in wages and increased health care costs. So far the Detroit Federation of Teachers is defying the strike-breaking court injunction.

By Doug Cunningham

Rachel Santos is a California teacher interviewed by ABC's John Stossel for that controversial education story that teachers say was just an attack on public education and on unions.

[Rachel Santos] : "It was just a stab in the back. It was nothin' but taking people out of context and creating lies basically. Clearly he had control of this - editorial control - and he could do whatever he wanted with it and he chose his own agenda."

Teachers are vigorously protesting what they say is Disney hatchet job on school teachers and their unions.

By Doug Cunningham

Members of the United Federation of Teachers are protesting a report on ABC's 20/20 program by John Stossel that the union says unfairly attacked teachers. Hundreds of teachers are rallying at ABC headquarters in New York and ABC affiliates in Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit. The UFT is also protesting the ABC story in Rhode Island and in Ohio. A letter protesting the story is being sent to Disney CEO Robert Iger. It's signed by two dozen winners of Disney's American teachers Award. ABC is owned by Disney. Thousands of New York teachers have signed petitions denouncing the Stossel report, which heavily criticized public education and took an anti-union tone.

By Doug Cunningham

New York City teachers will strike November first if they don't have a contract by then. The United Federation of Teachers is staging a rally at City Hall today to send a strong message to Mayor Bloomberg that enough is enough and a contract must be reached now. It's illegal for teachers to strike in New York and if that strike happens the union will likely face big fines. But teachers and their families in New York have been without a contract since June of 2004 and they're determined to win a new one. If contract talks with Mayor Bloomberg in October aren't fruitful, the United Federation of teachers will consider striking and also endorsing Fernando Ferrer for mayor.

By JoAnne Powers

America labor is mourning the death late Sunday night of Sandra Feldman - former president of the American Federation of Teachers. Feldman began her career in education as a second grade teacher in New York City. Feldman
was president of the city's United Federation of teachers for 11 years before moving to the presidency of the 1.3 million member national union in 1997. Dick Iunuzzi of the New York State United Teachers.

[Dick Iunuzzi] : "The passing of Sandy Feldman is a great loss to the labor movement. She was a courageous fighter in the civil rights movement, the labor movement and a real champion of the rights of underprivileged children. She was a fighter to the ned, even in her fight against breast cancer and she will be sorely missed."

By Jesse Russell

The United Federation of Teachers have taken a step into territory rarely tred by organized labor - the so-called blogosphere. The UFT has launched EdWize.org a site that describes itself as a place union members, educators and others can express opinions "in an effort to establish an agora of informed commentary on public education and labor issues." Its a big step for a labor union as organized labor has been slow to take advantage of burdgeoning internet technologies. The site has already created quite a buzz in the city with a write-u

By Jesse Russell

Nearly 2000 teachers, students and community leaders throughout the country gathered at schools yesterday to bring attention to what they call Wal-Mart's failing record. Led by the organization WakeUpWalmart rallies were held in 20 states and 30 cities. One such rally was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Hawley Elementary School. The United Food and Commercial Workers were joined by the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and various community groups. Peter Blewett is a member of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of Directors; he explains why holding Wal-Mart responsible is important for his school system:

By Doug Cunningham

The California Federation of teachers is battling several ballot initiatives that would cut the education budget, make it much harder for unions to spend money on politics and force teachers to wait five years for tenure. California federation of teachers President Mary Bergen says all working families should unite in this political struggle because union teachers have much in common with all working families.

[Mary Begren 1] : "We all look fort security of employment, we look for good benefits, we all look for secure pensions. So in terms of bread and butter issues there's a lot of overlay."

By Doug Cunningham

University of Wisconsin academic employee Robert Stone is battling the University of Wisconsin over what he and the American Federation of teachers Local 223 says is discrimination against him for using the Family Medical Leave Act. More shocking, the AFT's David Nack says, is that supervisors at UW tampered with Stone's personnel records.

[David Nack] : "If the response to that is they go and alter your personnel file we're really living in really what amounts to a police state mentality anyway, because you can't be sure what is being manufactured about your record or what is being altered about your record. So that's pretty scary stuff."

By Doug Cunningham

New York City's United Federation of Teachers is joining forces with ACORN and New York State United Teachers to launch the biggest union organizing drive in New York in decades. It's an effort to unionize 52,000 home day care providers throughout New York state. UFT President President Randi Weingarten.

[Randi Weingarten] : "This is a really important campaign to not just organize the unorganized but to take a group of workers who provide an essential service to our youngest children, help make that service better and give the workers a better piece of the economic pie."