News

On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.

Strever’s sentences are punctuated with laughs when she recounts the story to

Paraprofessionals and school-related personnel are often overlooked because of their support roles. They are the last ones hired and often the first ones fired when budgets get tight. This certainly seems true right now as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in education funds, effective July 1, which has hamstrung summer school programs, hindered English language support, halted professional development this summer, and left before- and after-school programs in limbo for the coming school year.

Paraprofessionals are key employees in all these programs. For example, in Alabama

Join Locals 1825 and1826 on April 20 at 4 p.m as we march in solidarity to voice our concerns and tell our policymakers that the state of the Territory's education IS NOT up to standards. Click here to view press release and see how you can join the cause.

Local 1825 is partnering with the V.I. Department of Education and V.I. Department of Health to educate its members, students and community on vaccination efficacy. Please join us every second Wednesday at 6 p.m. to get updates and voice your concerns regarding vaccination in our schools. Click here to join the conversation. 

Meeting ID: 853 9498 3350       

Password: 453440

IT'S TIME FOR SOME ACTION!

A day of Action informational demonstration is planned for April 20 at 4 p.m. We’re asking members to join President Jones and Local 1825’s Executive  Board on the front line at Emancipation Garden as we march to Government House to show solidarity, as well as voice our growing concerns about our public school system. Local 1826 will do the same in St. Croix. Flyers will be provided to members via e-mail and at the rally.

In AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest New York Times  column, she describes what it is exactly that unions do. Though unions are the most popular they have been in decades, anti-union sentiment still thrives in red states and across the nation. “Several years ago, The Atlantic ran a story whose headline made even me, a labor leader, scratch my head: ‘Union Membership: Very Sexy,’” Weingarten writes in the column. “The gist was that higher wages, health benefits and job security—all associated with union membership—boost one’s chances of getting married. Belonging to a union doesn’t actually guarantee happily ever after, but it does help working people have a better life in the here and now.” Click through to read the full column.

"This couldn't have been such a great success without the input and assistance of our board, supporters and most importantly, the members of Local 1825," Jones said as the event concluded. "Our members are

Local 1825 is partnering with the V.I. Department of Education and V.I. Department of Health to educate its members, students and community on vaccination efficacy. Please join us every second Wednesday at 6 p.m. to get updates and voice your concerns regarding vaccination in our schools. Click here to join the conversation. 

Meeting ID: 853 9498 3350       

Password: 453440