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About the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers
Who is the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers (EBRFT)?
- EBRFT is YOU!
- EBRFT is an autonomous organization made up of teachers, paraprofessionals, and secretaries (no administrators) who work in East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools
- You determine the organizations policies and practices… member run and member driven
- Members determine who the officers will be, what policies and practices the local will enact
- when collective bargaining comes to our parish members will determine what should and should not be in the agreement negotiated between EBRFT and the Parish School Board
- EBRFT is an affiliate of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the AFL-CIO.
- EBRFT and its affiliate organizations represent and advocate for teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries before the school board, in all parish work sites, in the legislature and in Congress.
What has EBRFT done for Public Education and Educators in East Baton Rouge Parish?
The East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers is the largest teacher organization in the parish. It is by no accident that the Federation has achieved this status. It has been years of aggressive organizing and issues based advocacy. The Federations advocacy has often been bold, and has challenged the conscience of the community. In so doing, the Federation is the recognized voice of educators in East Baton Rouge.
Accomplishments of EBRFT:
- Worked to defeat major legislative attacks on teacher sabbatical, sick leave and tenure, voucher bills, and will continue to fight these kinds of attacks
- Filed suit after the firing of a tenured teacher and overturned the results to the tenure hearing. The teacher is currently working for the EBRPSS
- Had the salary schedule compressed from 44 years to 20 years
- Petitioned the board to increase the longevity bonus from $250 to $1000
- Worked legislatively with the LFT to get raises for teachers and support workers from the state
- Active in all school board elections to elect Federation friendly candidates
- Effectively pushed for Zero Tolerance policy in regard to serious acts of violence on school campuses
- Filed suit on behalf of Librarians and Counselors when the school district refused them savings from Gayle pay. It was settled out of court in the Federations favor
- Worked to bring about duty free lunch and a planning period for all Elementary teachers
- Cultivates productive relations between city government and the EBRPSS.
- Worked with EBRPSS in getting the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers Education Research and Dissemination Program accepted in issuing of approved CLU credits for Teacher Professional Development
- Working in the community with churches and civic organizations to help improve parental involvement in our public schools
- Committed to improving professional relationships between teachers, staff, and administration.
- Successfully processed and advanced employee grievances, such as:
- A new teacher was formally reprimanded for testing improperly, when in actuality the teacher was improperly trained by the administration. The grievance was won, and the letter of reprimand was removed from the employees file
- A teacher was paid $12,000 less than what she was owed. It was brought to the systems attention, and was denied. The Federation petitioned on behalf of the employee, and the teacher has been awarded the $12,000
- A tenured teacher was given an unsatisfactory evaluation with no substantial documentation from administration, and was recommended to be moved from a 10 month position to a 9 month position. The Federation grieved, the evaluation was removed from the employees file, and the teacher is teaching in a 10 month position in EBRPSS
With all our accomplishments much remains to be done. At the top of that list will be collective bargaining and negotiated contracts for teachers and school employees. Our professional collective future will rely heavily on our collective strength. It’s time for everyone to get involved and stand up and be counted. Become a member of EBRFT! The time for sitting on the sidelines and letting others carry the burden of furthering our public education agenda is over. “Strength in numbers” is not an empty phrase. If we are going to be as effective as we can be and get what we all deserve, we must stand up and be counted.
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