September Back to School Edition of Newsletter.

State education Commissioner Jeff Riley hopes to bring elementary school students back into classrooms full time as early as April.

Power is back up for many and it is starting to thaw across the state.That being said, thousands of members across the Gulf Coast are still without potable water and are in need of help to recover from the storm.

Our AFL-CIO Gulf Coast Area Labor Feberation has compiled lots of resources available and it is updated daily. You can find the list here: bit.ly/GulfCoastResources

Resources include bottle water and food distribution sites, contact information for union residential construction services, aid links, legal resources, and anything else we can find.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR WINTER STORM RELIEF

• FEMA Assistance

• What is it? How do I apply?: https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program
• ¿Qué es? ¿Cómo aplico?: https://www.fema.gov/es/assistance/individual/program 

• SNAP Assistance

• Important Information for SNAP Recipients: https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/Home 
• Información importante para los destinatarios de SNAP: https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/Home?lang=es_ES 

• Texas Health & Human Services

• Receiving Disaster Assistance: https://hhs.texas.gov/services/financial/disaster-assistance/receiving-disaster-assistance 
• Cómo se obtiene la ayuda en casos de desastre: https://hhs.texas.gov/es/servicios/finanzas/ayuda-para-victimas-de-desastre/como-se-obtiene-la-ayuda-en-casos-de-desastre 
•  

• 2-1-1

• Disaster Assistance Questions & Help with SNAP
• Preguntas sobre Asistencia por Desastre y Ayuda con SNAP

• 3-1-1

• To submit a Service Request for Potholes on the Streets, Fallen Trees, and Traffic Signs not Working
• Para enviar una Solicitud de Servicio para Baches en las Calles, Árboles Caídos y Señales de Tráfico que no Funcionan

We hope this is helpful to you and your family.

"...War!" this declaration has been made by many government leaders, including our Governor. The impacts of Coronavirus have many parallels to World War II and the Vietnam War. Some include the current economic cycle, the expansion of government and the debate of civil liberties, and the rising death tolls national leaders have compared to war figures.  And last but not least, the equivalent of frontline employees and frontline soldiers who put themselves at risk for the good of others.

While some may debate the use of "war" to describe the current times, the severe effects of the Coronavirus are certain.  Therefore, we all have a responsibility to act in the best interest of Maryland's recovery, especially those in a position of authority and serving as Heads of State Agencies making decisions that affect citizens' lives.

Frontline soldiers are the first line of defense in this war, and the best strategy is to reinforce the frontline. This is done by providing them the resources and support necessary to perform their duties and maintain morale. Morale wins wars!!

CLICK TO READ 

Join AFT-Maryland for a presentation on
Understanding Workers' Comp
and Maryland Presumptive Language on COVID-19.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021
from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
via Zoom Webinar.

CLICK FOR 

February 20, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

A rather surprising event occurred this past week, when on Thursday in the Education Committee, chairman Rick Ladd (R-Haverhill) moved to retain HB 20.  The committee quickly voted unanimously to retain the bill, meaning that HB 20, the education “voucher” bill, will not come to the floor of the House in 2021. 

What happened to HB 20 in the House Education Committee?

Why this sudden turn of events?  It began with a wholesale revision of the bill via an amendment presented to the committee on Wednesday, Feb. 17.  This Republican amendment placed an income cap on eligibility (approx. $100,000 for a family of four) and provided some financial assistance to local school districts losing students to private schools and home-schooling.  The joke, however, was that the amendment explicitly repealed these provisions in 2026, thereby returning to giving away public funds to any family regardless of income or need and providing no State assistance to property taxpayers in districts losing State funds to “vouchers.”  In other words, it was a shell-game, aimed at simply delaying the looting of public funds via a massive giveaway accompanied a huge downshifting of costs onto local property taxpayers.

The 8-year-old son of one of our members provides a reminder of why we need health care workers.

Over the last few months, JFT has been working with our state affiliate, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, to broaden vaccine eligibility to include teachers and school employees. Today, the Governor announced that he would do just that: On Monday, all teachers and school employees will be able to start receiving the vaccine.