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As expected, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education rammed through, with very little debate, a new teacher evaluation system heavily skewed toward a Value Added Model on Tuesday. Not that there wasn't objection. As this Associated Press article points out, there were plenty of reasonable objections made by expert teachers and their organizations. The lack of debate was on BESE's side - like obedient children, they did as they were told and approved the new model. Read More

(Baton Rouge – October 7, 2011) Saying that the recent release of letter grades for Louisiana public schools is an exercise in intellectual dishonesty, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan called on the state’s leaders to stop playing politics, engage in an honest dialogue concerning our the health of our schools, our communities, and our families, and then provide the resources needed to provide every child an equal opportunity to succeed. Read More

The 47th annual convention of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers will convene at 2:00 P.M. Sunday, November 20, at Diamond Jacks Resort Hotel in Bossier City, Louisiana. Read More

Services will be held on Friday, September 9, for longtime AFL-CIO President Victor Bussie, who passed away in his sleep on Sunday, September 4. Read More

(Baton Rouge – August 16, 2011) Even though thousands of public employees are wondering how they will be affected by the proposed privatization of a state health insurance plan, Gov. Bobby Jindal and his advisors skipped a League of Women Voters forum on the subject Tuesday. That left only opponents of the privatization scheme, including Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan, to talk about the issue. Read More

Please click here and ask Gov. Jindal to sign SB 6 into law! SB 6 by Sen. Butch Gautreaux (D-Morgan City) deserves to be signed into law on its own merits. But its passage became even more urgent when three bills allowing retirees to return to work without losing their whole retirement benefit were tied to SB 6 in the waning days of the legislative session. Read More

“We understand that Gov. Jindal has drawn a line in the sand with his no new taxes pledge,” Monaghan said. But on one side of this line are cheaper cigarettes, addiction, cancer and death. On the other side is better health. There ought to be no political downside for the governor to allow the extension of this existing tax.” - LFT President Steve Monaghan Click here to tell your senator and representative to override Governor Jindal's veto! Read More

(Baton Rouge – May 25, 2011) As Louisiana faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit, the Legislature has advanced bills that would eliminate Louisiana's corporate and personal income taxes. Another would make it even more difficult to pass budget bills in the House of Representatives. This is apparently being done without significant opposition from the governor’s office. Read More

(Baton Rouge – May 12, 2011) Governor Bobby Jindal and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education should be in no hurry to appoint an interim state superintendent of education, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today. Read More

In a series of press conferences around the state, the Better Choices for a Better Louisiana coalition made a powerful case for raising new revenues for the state, and announced that the coalition will have a lobby day on Wednesday, May 4. Read More

(Baton Rouge – April 9, 2010) As their colleagues around the nation face questions about the value of their salaries and benefits, public employees in Louisiana are campaigning to demonstrate what they mean to their communities. Read More

"Every Day and Every Way, LFT PSRPs Make a Difference" is the theme of the 26th Annual LFT PSRP Conference, to be held April 9, 2011 at the Baton Rouge Marriott Hotel. Read More

It’s getting very serious. This month, Governor Bobby Jindal will reveal his budget proposal, which must somehow accommodate an expected $1.6 billion shortfall in state general fund revenue. Read More

(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. Read More

Just before Thanksgiving, delegates to the LFT’s annual convention heard news that offered some hope in a year that thus far had been dominated by gloomy reports about budget cuts that threaten our colleges, universities and K-12 schools Read More

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. Read More

(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. Read More

Longtime union leader Prentiss “Penny” Ferguson has received the Pioneer Award from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. The award is presented annually to individuals who, over the years, made major contributions to the growth and influence of the LFT. Read More

Addressing some 200 delegates to the 46th annual Louisiana Federation of Teachers convention in Lake Charles on November 22, LFT President Steve Monaghan called upon Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state legislature to make “better choices for a better Louisiana.” In his State of the Union address, Monaghan said that much of the financial crisis facing the state was caused by decisions made over the past few years. Unless better choices are made, he said, the state faces a bleak future. Read More