Teachers to vote on wage freeze, fewer hours Lori Yount
reported in the Sept 18 Wichita
Eagle
Wichita teachers would agree to a two-year salary freeze and
possibly paying health insurance premiums in exchange for fewer
training hours in a tentative contract agreement reached
Thursday between the teachers union and the school district. The
district's almost 4,000 teachers started the school year without
a contract after voting down a tentative agreement for a
one-year contract in August.
"It wasn't about money," said Larry Landwehr, president of
United Teachers of Wichita. "It was about time concerns. With
this, that concern was taken care of." Teachers will vote
electronically within the next two weeks.
If they ratify the agreement, the school board will vote on
it. Thursday's agreement gives teachers a day off on Dec. 22,
which was planned as an in-service training day. Time teachers
spend before school once a week to confer with colleagues
— known as Professional Learning Communities — would
be cut in half next school year, to about 11 hours a
year.
USW Workers Ratify Goodyear Contract
The United Steelworkers (USW) announced that workers
overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year agreement covering some
10,300 union members at seven Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.
plants, including Topeka. The new pact provides job security and
maintains quality, affordable health care for the union members.
The agreement also protects six of the seven plants from closure
during the term of the agreement and provides for minimum
staffing levels.
As part of the deal, Goodyear committed to invest $600
million in capital expenditures in the plants, keeping them up
to date and globally competitive. USW President Leo Gerard said:
"During this difficult economic period, this contract gives our
members job security for the next four years."
United Way is taking appointments this week for the Laid-Off
Workers Center’s October session
United Way of the Plains is taking calls Sept. 21 – 25
to set up appointments for the Laid-Off Workers Center’s
September session. To set up an appointment, individuals must
call United Way’s information number by dialing 2-1-1
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (this is a toll-free number). For
those having difficulties dialing 2-1-1 through their phone
provider, dial the alternative number 1-888-413-4327. The
deadline to call for an appointment for the October session is
Friday, Sept. 25. The center will be open on a monthly basis as
needed beyond October.
Kansas Health Care Premiums Rose 4.2 Times Faster than
Earnings 2000 - 2009 |
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Premiums Rose by 98.8 Percent, while Earnings Rose by
Only 23.3 Percent |
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(Sept 15, 2009).—Family health care premiums rose an
estimated 4.2 times faster than earnings for Kansas’s
workers from 2000 through 2009, according to a report issued by
the consumer health organization Families USA. In that
10-year period, family health insurance premiums rose by 98.8
percent, while median earnings rose by only 23.3
percent.
The Families USA report
for Kansas is an update of its original groundbreaking 2006
report, which was the first of its kind to document these
changes on a state-specific basis. Among the new report’s
key findings are:
- For family health coverage provided through the workplace in
Kansas, the average annual health insurance premium (employer
and worker share of premiums combined) in the 2000-2009 period
rose from $6,237 to $12,397—an increase of $6,160, or 98.8
percent.
- Between 2000 and 2009, the median earnings of Kansas’s
workers rose from $22,351 to $27,565—an increase of
$5,214, or 23.3 percent. MORE
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First Annual Midwest Union Sportsmen's Alliance Clay Shoot
You’re Cordially Invited to participate in this
special event as a sponsor, as an individual shooter, or by
sponsoring a group of four from your organization. Awards will
be given for the highest scoring teams (organizations) and top
individual shooters (Lewis class). First time shooters are
welcome and encouraged to participate. All proceeds from this
event support the USA and TRCP to “help guarantee all of
us a place to hunt, fish and shoot.”
WHEN: FRIDAY, October 23, 2009 Registration 8:00 a.m. sharp!
? Shotgun start 9:30 a.m. Lunch and raffle to follow Please
note: New Shooter Instruction from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.
WHERE: Saddle and Sirloin Shooting Sports 14401 Holmes Road
Kansas City, MO 64145 ? (816) 942-7625
The Union
Sportsmen's Alliance is a project of the AFL-CIO and the
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Project.
Click HERE
to download a flyer with complete details and a registration
form.
http://www.unionsportsmen.org/images/uploads/USA_KSshoot_flyer.pdf
This Week in Labor History
September 21 Mother Jones leads a march of
miners' children through the streets of Charleston, W. Va. -
1913
September 22 Great Steel Strike begins;
350,000 workers demand union recognition. The AFL Iron and Steel
Organizing Committee calls off the strike, their goal unmet, 108
days later - 1919
September 23 A coalition of Knights of Labor
and trade unionists in Chicago launch the United Labor party,
calling for an 8-hour day, government ownership of telegraph and
telephone companies, and monetary and land reform. The party
elects seven state assembly men and one senator - 1886 S
September 24 Canada declares the IWW
(Industrial Workers of the World)illegal - 1918
September 27 International Ladies' Garment
Workers Union begins strike against Triangle Shirtwaist Co. This
would become the "Uprising of the 20,000," resulting in 339 of
352 struck firms—but not Triangle—signing agreements
with the union. The Triangle fire that killed 246 would occur
less than two years later - 1909
In union solidarity,
Stuart Elliott
Webmaster
Kansas
Workbeat
Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
3219 W. Central Wichita Kansas 67203
316-941-4061
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