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“Fort Bend Federation of Employees is proud to announce it is endorsing the following candidates for the upcoming May 4th election for the Trustee positions on the Board of Trustees for the Fort Bend Independent School District, Monica Riley for Position 7and Lily Lam for Position 5.”
 
“Over 85 members of the Fort Bend AFT Teachers Union attended the candidate screening, and Monica Riley and Lily Lam clearly demonstrated their grasp of the issues and challenges currently facing Teachers, Paraprofessionals, Counselors and Bus Drivers in the Fort Bend ISD.”
 
“We know they will do an excellent job serving the students of the Fort Bend ISD, and encourage everyone to vote for them.”
 
Fort Bend AFT Local 6198 has over 1700 members, there are 65,000 members of AFT in the state of Texas, and 1.7 million nationwide.
 
For more information contact;
 
Karrie Washenfelder, President
Fort Bend Federation of Employees, AFT Local 6198
12621 W. Airport Blvd. Suite 400 Sugar Land TX 77478
281–240–1865

Introducing Your New Union President

I am humbled, honored and excited to introduce myself to you as your new President of Fort Bend AFT. Our leader of 17 years, Karrie Washenfelder, has decided to retire and under the Constitution of the Fort Bend American Federation of Teachers, Article 5, Section 3, as Vice President I have the honor and privilege to take on the task of leading this organization and continuing the great work that had been part of this Union. I am excited that we can continue the good work Karrie started and look forward to working hard to increase benefits, services and opportunities for our member.

Fort Bend AFT Officer/Executive Board Elections

 
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Fort Bend AFT #6198
12621 West Airport Blvd.
Suite #400
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
 
January 17, 2020
 
To: Fort Bend AFT Members,
 
Subject: Announcement of Fort Bend AFT 2020 Executive Board Members and Executive Officers Election
 
All the Fort Bend AFT Executive Board and Officer positions are up for election in May of 2020.  Filing opens on Wednesday, January 1, 2020.  Nomination forms are attached and can be picked up at the Fort Bend AFT General Meeting on February 18, 2020.
 
The last day to file in writing is Tuesday, February 18, 2020.  The term of office for all positions is three years.  Fort Bend AFT is a democratic organization and governed by a democratically elected Executive Board and Executive Officers. 
 
Feel free to contact the Fort Bend AFT office or email myt77423@gmail.com (Marilyn Taylor) for more information.  Nomination forms may be emailed to aftfbelection@gmail.com or delivered to the Fort Bend Union Office.  
 
2020 FORT BEND AFT ELECTION NEWS AND TIMELINE
 
January 1, 2020: Nominations open
 
February 18, 2020: Last day for written nominations to be accepted by the Election Committee.
General Membership Meeting
 
February 26, 2020: Letter mailed to all nominees confirming candidacy. Uncontested seats may be approved by acclimation.
 
March 17, 2020: Candidates’ Debate (Candidate Forum)
 
April 3, 2020: Ballots are mailed to membership with instructions to vote via US mail
 
May 1, 2020: Ballots are counted by the Election Committee members
Membership meeting 
Count Ballots & Finalize Election Results
 
If your address has changed, please notify us as soon as possible.  We will be sending out ballots to your home address as per AFL/CIO and Federal Union Election Guidelines.  If we do not have current address we will not be able to send you an official ballot and thus we would miss the chance to participate in the election process.
 
Thank you for your participation in this democratic process and we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming meeting.
 
The Fort Bend AFT Elections Committee
Chair: Marilyn Taylor              281-330-8347       myt77423@gmail.com
JoAnn Pratt Sonya Letcher
Helen Rushin Stephanie Cobb
Stephanie Glaze Judy Harper
 
 
List of Executive Officers and Board Positions Available
 
Elected Officers
 
President
Executive Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
 
Executive Board Members
At Large 1
At Large 2
At Large 3
At Large 4
At Large 5
 
 
Deadline for filing is February 18, 2020 in writing to the Elections Committee.
 

You Are Needed On March 11. Action Matters!

   

Fort Bend AFT and Texas AFT invite all educators, support professionals, and community partners to join us in Austin on the first Monday of spring break, March 11, for the 2019 Texas AFT March to the Capitol. It is our turn to educate the legislature about our priorities and tell them to do what’s right.

What unions do

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

A torrent of censorship

Nearly 250 years since our country’s founding, some Americans are still attempting to restrict others’ basic freedoms. In Florida and elsewhere, censoring books is part of larger efforts to exert greater control over and undermine education.

Voting for democracy and a better life

In the leadup to the midterm elections, pundits predicted a red wave, even a tsunami, based on polls, historical precedent, and steep gas and grocery prices. But I had my doubts. I spent the weeks before the elections talking to voters and traveling on the AFT Votes bus, rolling through a dozen states with more than 50 stops. In a year when kitchen table issues, democracy and our freedoms were on the ballot, many people told me that the elections came down to a choice between, on the one side, election deniers and extremists stoking fear, and on the other, problem-solvers working to help the country move forward. Many races were close, but Americans turned the tide from a red wave to a swell of support for progress and problem-solvers. Read the full column here.

Sharing more pathways to student debt relief

As the landscape of student debt shifts, and more and more opportunities allow borrowers to have their debt relieved, the AFT is using every avenue to ensure that the word is out. In affiliate meetings, telephone town halls, media coverage and social media, the union is spreading the news, and at a student debt clinic at AFT headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 31, AFT President Randi Weingarten vowed to reach as many people as possible with information that could save them tens—and sometimes hundreds—of thousands of dollars.

Celebrating student loan relief

“It was like waking up and learning you won the lottery.” That’s just one of the comments flooding the AFT offices from members who are elated to be free of student debt at last. After relentless advocacy, including an AFT lawsuit against former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that was so broken is finally doing what it is supposed to do: delivering relief from student debt for thousands of borrowers. So far, $6.2 billion in student debt has been forgiven for 100,000 public service workers like teachers, nurses and professors.

The AFT calls for freedom to teach

AFT President Randi Weingarten today delivered a major address on the crisis hollowing out the teaching profession—massive disinvestment in public education and deprofessionalization. In her speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., she called for reinvestment and freedom to teach. It was followed by two panels featuring education leaders who laid out pragmatic solutions.