Education
Few issues strike home for working families as much as education for their children. To be equipped for life, every child needs and deserves high-quality education that is available to all—from early childhood through college. For schools to work, educators must have the support and resources they need to succeed and school buildings must be well-equipped and well-maintained. Our schools must serve all children, and comprehensive services and supports must be in place for students with the greatest needs. All students should have access to higher education and assistance paying for it so they are not barred from college or saddled with impossible debt when they leave.
Public schools and public school teachers have been under attack in recent years—from widespread efforts to shift public school funding to private school voucher programs, to attempts to privatize public schools, to moves by governors and state legislators to take bargaining rights from teachers and other school personnel. These attacks are designed to serve the 1 percent—CEOs who can profit from privatized systems and the wealthiest families—at the expense of the 99 percent of students who deserve the best.
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The Broadway Presbyterian Church was packed on Wednesday morning as GWC-UAW Local 2110, the union of Columbia University’s graduate workers and teaching assistants, held a forum about their campaign.
On Thursday, organized labor in digital media counted a major victory.
Two weeks ago, long-time Teamster Local 813 member Eber Garcia Vasquez was deported. The Teamsters are continuing to work with his attorney and advocates to expedite his Green Card application so he can return to the U.S. and be reunited with his family.
On Wednesday evening, the NYC CLC hosted our first Community Board 101 training. Community boards play an important role in our city, providing a space for neighborhood concerns and priorities to be addressed within communities; however, many citizens know little about them.
This November, New Yorkers will be asked whether or not to hold a Convention to amend our state’s constitution. Important labor protections like collective bargaining, prevailing wage, workers' compensation, and public pensions would be on the chopping block.
Each Labor Day, Ruth Milkman and Stephanie Luce of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies release their annual State of the Unions. The report includes a comprehensive profile of organized labor at the city, state, and national level.