Odds and Ends

Labor Day is coming! DSEA members are encouraged to participate in the annual Labor Day parade in downtown Wilmington. Labor Day is in honor of American Labor and like all your other weekends would not exist without the Labor Movement. So, if you are a DSEA member please join us at 15th and King Street (this is our starting position in the parade line up) at 9:30 AM on Labor Day. This is a fun activity, bring your spouses and children to walk with us and hundreds of other Labor families from the area.
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New Teacher Orientations have been taking place around the state. As teachers are welcomed into school districts to take on their new roles, they are also recruited by DSEA and welcomed into the union. The DSEA locals do a great job, often getting 100% of new hires signed into the union.
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The teachers in Capital School District will come under Fair Share rules this year. That means that teachers who choose not to be members will pay a fee for the services they receive under the contract. In Locals without Fair Share, the loyal dues paying members pay to sustain the organization that negotiates contracts for compensation and working conditions enjoyed by all, including the non-members. That will no longer be the case in Capital, congratulations to that Local.
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At the federal level the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is moving forward. US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, will announce a plan in September to allow flexibility around some of the NCLB requirements. However, this will be in exchange for undisclosed commitments to reform.
This action prompted National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel to comment:“What we need now is teacher-led and student-focused comprehensive reform instead of making states jump through more hoops. The Administration should be leading efforts that support all students and schools by providing real relief from parts of the law that everyone acknowledges simply don’t work.”