News

(Baton Rouge – March 14, 2011) The $24.9 billion state budget proposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal places more of the responsibility for funding public services on middle-class tax payers and working families, while continuing to give big advantages to large corporations and the energy industry.

Recently, Gov. Bobby Jindal issued a press release announcing a legislative plan that would, among other things, impose a sunset on fund dedications adopted by the legislature.

In a letter to the editor that is appearing around the state, LFT President Steve Monaghan gives a nod of approval to the concept, saying that the idea should be applied to the state's 441 tax exemptions as well.

After all, if it is a good idea to periodically review fund dedications to see if they are serving their purpose, isn't the same true of tax exemptions?

(Baton Rouge – February 17, 2011) Governor Bobby Jindal’s announcement that he will seek even more tax breaks, adding to the more than 440 already in place, is an example of the poor choices that have contributed to Louisiana's current fiscal crisis, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

“Just one day after announcing that education funding will be frozen for another year, the governor now says that he wants to add to the more than $7 billion in tax loopholes that are starving the services Louisiana families depend on,” said Monaghan.

At its first meeting of the New Year, the Louisiana Teachers Retirement System Board of Supervisors welcomed two new members with strong ties to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

There was no shortage of resolve and determination when AFT affiliates from 37 state federations, including Louisiana, gathered in Washington, D.C., Jan. 7-9 for the new year's first order of business: crafting a comprehensive plan to defend vital public services—and the professionals who deliver them—from no-holds-barred attacks in today's perilous, divisive economic and political landscape.

Because the outgoing Jefferson Parish School Board could not convene a quorum before the end of 2010, the fate of a collective bargaining agreement with the parish’s 3,000 school support staff rests with a newly elected board. The issue could be decided at a meeting scheduled for January 6 at 5:00 P.M.

Congratulations to the St. Martin Federation of Teachers and School Employees, the newest member of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers family. The St. Martin Federation was presented with its official charter at the Federation’s 46th annual convention in Lake Charles on November 21.

Efforts to derail the collective bargaining agreement for school employees in Jefferson Parish were thwarted on Friday when a district judge refused to grant a restraining order that would have halted the process.

(Kenner, LA – December 9, 2010) In a historic vote Wednesday night, the Jefferson Parish School Board granted collective bargaining rights to the district’s 3,000 paraprofessionals and school related personnel. The 5-3 vote marked the greatest expansion of bargaining rights in the parish since teachers won a collective bargaining agreement in 1977.

Taking dead aim at conventional wisdom, two keynote speakers at the LFT’s 46th annual convention made the case that Louisiana needs more money in order to fund vital services, and that voters will support raising revenues if they believe the money will be spent wisely.

Since both of those messages contradict Gov. Bobby Jindal’s hard-line demand for budget cuts, the stage is set for confrontation when the legislature convenes in April.