As we approach the end of the year, with winter break right around the corner, we want to take a moment to thank you for your tireless devotion to your students. Louisiana’s teachers and school employees, our members, are some of the most hard working and selfless people on the planet, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your well-being to be an effective educator. That is why we come together to fight for dignity and professionalism for teachers and support staff in schools. We want to make sure that your love for your students isn’t overshadowed by the day-to-day minutia of tiresome meetings, paperwork, and uninspiring curriculum. You are a creative and dynamic educator and you should be treated as such. Thank you for coming together with your colleagues so that together we can fight for this profession and our students. Whether you are counting down the days until break, or you can’t believe how much you still need to do before the end of the year (or both), now is a time to look back at some of our collective highlights. MORE

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Rooted School New Orleans Board voted on October 26, 2022 to enter into collective bargaining with The Rooted Union of Staff & Teachers (TRUST), a chapter of United Teachers of New Orleans, AFT Local 527 (UTNO). Rooted becomes the fifth school in New Orleans today to have union recognition for its staff and teachers. MORE

On October 10, 2022, two representatives from the Louisiana Department of Education testified before the Louisiana Senate Education Committee. They were questioned about the issues teachers and districts faced with the rollout of the new electronic Special Education Reporting (eSER) system. Thomas Lambert, Assistant Superintendent Office of Assessments, Accountability, & Analytics and Meredith Jordan, Executive Director of Diverse Learners largely focused on issues of human error and "the deep learning curve." They said the issue was teachers who couldn't figure out the new system, even though it was "more intuitive and looks like a modern web solution." MORE

NEW ORLEANS, LA – On Thursday, Oct. 20, representatives from Benjamin Franklin High School and the United Teachers of New Orleans, AFT Local 527, came together to sign a newly negotiated salary schedule for teachers. The agreement is the result of months of cooperative and constructive negotiations and will result in significant pay increases across the board for school personnel, including non-teaching staff. MORE