Teacher Associations

Address: AFT Convention

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:49:52 -0500

Al Shanker begins by highlighting the AFT's growth and success since the last convention. He then discusses the upcoming presidential election between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale and details why he is optimistic for a democratic win. He further argues for the AFT and labor's involvement in Mondale's campaign. Next, Shanker turns to education reform, stating that the AFT has led the discussion on innovative school reform while the NEA has remained traditional in its responses to bad reports of school status. read more »

AFT 61st Annual Convention

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:47:09 -0500

Al Shanker hits on a few major topics in this speech. He begins by talking about the success AFT and the labor movement had in organizing to help Jimmy Carter win the presidency. He mentions the meetings he has had with the new administration that give him hope for funding and enforcement of educational issues and laws like the 1973 Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which deals with improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged. read more »

AFT Convention: Keynote Address

jruss — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:16:49 -0500

This document is comprised of two speeches. The first is the keynote address at the 1990 AFT convention. Al Shanker discusses what has been accomplished in the two years since the previous convention. He comments on the growth of the union, noting how they now represent professional teachers, paraprofessionals, school-related workers, health care workers, and city and local employees. read more »

AFT Convention: “The State of our Union”

jruss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:07:00 -0500

Al Shanker discusses the various political and legal events underway that might affect teachers and AFT''s lobbying actions to influence their outcomes. He briefly mentions several items like a pending court case dealing with the right of employees at parochial schools to organize and the establishment of a separate Department of Education. He highlights in more detail three of the AFT''s main political campaigns: Proposition 13 which dealt with property taxes, labor law reform, and tuition tax credits. read more »

Commonwealth Magazine: “What Schools Should—and Shouldn't—Learn From Markets”

jruss — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:49:41 -0500

In this article from the Commonwealth Club of California's publication, Al Shanker discusses the need for schools to develop incentive systems that work to motivate both students and teachers. He sees lessons in corporate capitalism and in foreign education systems. He argues that gaining entrance into college should be more difficult and that employers should consider high school performance in hiring decisions. This would encourage students to work harder. read more »

Compass Interview

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:44:58 -0500

Excerpts from an interview with Al Shanker are reproduced here. He comments on a variety of educational issues including school vouchers, tuition tax credits, employment offices that indirectly encourage high school drop-outs, teachers' unions, the creation of a separate federal Department of Education, and privatization of education.

Forum: “Where Albert Shanker Stands”

jruss — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:24:19 -0500

In this interview, Al Shanker answers questions about a number of topics including teacher shortage; teacher recruitment; teacher pay; use of technology in teaching; focus on developing students' critical thinking skills; teachers' involvement in unions, politics, and strikes; working with the Reagan administration; and merit pay.

Institute for Educational Policy Studies: “Teacher Unions: Past, Present and Future Influence”

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

Al Shanker discusses the history and development of teachers' unions in the United States. He traces the changing focus of teachers' unions from collective bargaining to larger questions of education policy to an expanded approach to politics. Shanker argues that teachers should pay attention to energy, trade, and commerce policies, for instance, because these policies affect the taxes which fund the public schools. Shanker believes that interest and involvement in the larger political picture will help put teachers in a position to enhance public opinion of education. read more »

Instructor: “Futrell & Shanker Face Off”

jruss — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:22:13 -0500

NEA president Mary Futrell and Al Shanker discuss a wide variety of education topics including the need to focus on elementary schools to ensure that students learn basic skills and are not promoted without gaining literacy; the potential for a merger between NEA and AFT; teacher salaries and teacher recruitment; teacher evaluation and teacher standards; professionalization of teaching; and restructuring the educational system.

International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions (IFFTU) Speech

jruss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:07:00 -0500

Al Shanker shares with the International Federation of Free Teachers'' Unions the various challenges facing educators in the United States and the programs the AFT has established to try to face them. One challenge he mentions are the changing demographics in America. Another is federal funding for public schools and the various federal education laws to which public schools must adhere. In order to deal with these issues, the AFT has partnered with other labor unions through the AFL-CIO to increase its political leverage and with other community groups that share common goals and interests. read more »

Interview with Ed Muzik

jruss — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:19:08 -0500

The interviewer, Ed Muzik, first asks Al Shanker to discuss his background. Shanker gives a brief biography and then goes into the organization of the AFT, citing the benefits of unionization to the teachers. In addition to concrete benefits such as wage increases and breaks from work, Shanker discusses the benefits of professionalization that unionizing gave teachers. Muzik then asks Shanker about the unionization of higher education professionals. Shanker challenges various concerns to organizing by higher education workers such as a feared loss of academic freedom. read more »

Marjorie Kovler Lecture Series, University of Chicago

jruss — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:49:41 -0500

Al Shanker begins with his personal history and the changes in schools and the educational system he has witnessed. He also discusses the history of teachers' unions. He acknowledges the problems present in schools, and he says that teachers need three things: higher salaries, smaller classes, and more time during the day to grade work and to interact with colleagues. Shanker states, however, that teachers probably will not receive these because of the high cost and not enough personnel. Shanker then addresses what students need. read more »

Meet the Press

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

Al Shanker takes questions from a panel of interviewers on topics including merit pay, teacher recruitment and retention, President Reagan's record on education, federal funding for education, AFT political endorsements, affirmative action and racial quotas, teacher education and examination, and incentives.

New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) Address

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:18:42 -0500

Al Shanker urges another New York teachers' union to accept the merger proposal before them to join his New York teachers' union. He discusses some of the compromises reached between the two groups on administrative and structural details. Ultimately, though, he argues that such details are unimportant to most teachers and most people. What is important, he asserts, is that together, the two groups can forcefully address the problems facing the education system in New York. He calls for cooperation and unity and strongly encourages them to accept the merger.

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT): "Keep the Clock"

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:29:52 -0500

In this speech, Al Shanker addresses the difficult budget situation facing New York at the time. He talks about various bills in the legislature that might help the economic situation. He also talks about the NYSUT's organization and strength. He praises the staff, and he urges the members to remain loyal to the NYSUT rather than go over to the NEA. He states that a consolidated union will be more effective.

NPR Options in Education, “Teacher Power”

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

Al Shanker and James Harris, president of the NEA, are interviewed by moderator John Merrow. They discuss the differences between their organizations and the possibility for merger. Some of the differences they discuss are secret ballot elections, affiliations with the AFL-CIO and CAPE (Coalition of Public Employees), quotas and affirmative action, and problems in the educational system. The vigorous debate reaches no consensus.

NPR Options in Education, “The Great Debate III”

jruss — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:31:03 -0400

John Merrow interviews Al Shanker and NEA Executive Director Terry Herndon. They begin by discussing discipline in schools and corporal punishment. Then, Merrow asks the union leaders about standardized tests for students and about evaluative examinations for teachers. The debate then turns to tenure. Herndon and Shanker both advocate strongly for tenure while Merrow questions its purpose. Next the leaders discuss affirmative action and quotas, especially focusing on a court case, Bakke v. read more »

NPR Options in Education, “The Great Debate”

jruss — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:31:03 -0400

In this debate moderated by John Merrow, Al Shanker and the NEA's Terry Herndon discuss a number of topics. The differences between the two organizations are dissected including the AFT's affiliation with the AFL-CIO and NEA's desire to remain separate from other labor groups; the NEA's use of racial quotas in its administration; and the use of secret ballots in the two organizations. Next, the two leaders discuss membership campaigns in New York, California, and Florida, where the NEA and AFT were competing for members. read more »

On Dan Sanders and Paraprofessional and School-Related Personnel (PSRP)

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

Al Shanker comments on Dan Sanders, an official retiring from the NYSUT (New York State United Teachers). Shanker talks about Sanders's efforts during the merger of NYSTA (New York State Teachers Association) and UTNY (United Teachers of New York) to form NYSUT. He also commends Sanders's position as editor of the union's newspaper and his role in fighting vouchers. He also speaks of his personal friendship with Sanders, his colleague and neighbor. Next, Shanker answers questions about Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel (PSRP). He speaks about why they should join AFT, and he envisions a new school model in which PSRPs would play a larger and more egalitarian role than currently. In this new school of the future, Shanker argues, PSRPs would benefit from union representation even more.

Point of View: “Incentives and Reforms: The Views and Insights of Albert Shanker”

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

Al Shanker comments briefly on a number of topics including teacher unions, standards, incentives, why school choice is the wrong solution, prayer in schools, President George H.W. Bush's America 2000 plan, and national testing. Shanker encourages more rigorous standards to improve academic achievement.

Rochester Teacher Association Leadership Conference

jruss — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:49:41 -0500

Al Shanker applauds the Rochester Teacher Association for its efforts to collaborate with school administration to reform education. He tells the members that they are embarking on new territory and that there are no easy answers he or anyone else can provide them. He compares it to the campaign to unionize teachers in the 1960s. Shanker also addresses whether collaborating with administration is really the role of a union. He asserts it is because the interests of its members are still in mind, and only teachers have the expertise to begin to tackle this problem. read more »

Today Show with Barbara Walters

jruss — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:10:05 -0500

Barbara Walters interviews Al Shanker and James Harris, president of the National Education Association (NEA) about a bill under consideration in Congress that would give teachers the right to bargain collectively. Harris and Shanker answer Walters's questions, explaining what the bill, if passed, would mean in practice.

United University Professors (UUP) Bargaining Election Workshop

jruss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:07:00 -0500

Al Shanker urges members of the United University Professors (UUP) of the SUNY (State University of New York) campuses to affiliate with AFT rather than with NEA. The major benefit he cites is the fact that AFT is already established in the state whereas the NEA would have to build the organization from the ground up. He discusses recent events in collective bargaining legislation, including an agency fee law in New York that greatly increased the UUP's bargaining power.