The work of an education union does not begin and end at school board and committee meetings. Educators’ ability to speak their minds freely depends on laws spelling out the rights implied by the term “academic freedom.” Louisiana teachers and school employees might be able to negotiate contracts in one district, but not in another.

The ability of classified employees to work enough hours to qualify for health care or retirement benefits may depend on statewide laws if a local school district administration is unable or unwilling to provide those hours. And the enemies of public education have always attempted to undermine us through legislative action.

In order to bring the perspective of the classroom into the legislature, Red River United makes sure legislators hear from K-12 teachers and classified employees on the issues that concern us. It matters to legislators when Red River United members talk with them, because lawmakers know they represent the collective voice of more than 2,700 educators in Caddo and Bossier Parishes. And that voice is multiplied still further, since the Red River United, affiliated with the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO, also brings the weight of the organized labor movement to bear in its legislative efforts.

With term limits, legislators often are just becoming conversant with educational issues when they are termed out. The role of Red River United as institutional memory in the Capitol is critical for helping lawmakers and their staff to understand what is important and what isn’t, what works and what doesn’t in public education, based on the actual accumulated experiences of educators.

In addition, Red River United works with our national union to involve members in AFT’s Activists for Congressional Education (ACE) program to inform members of Congress, who act on federal legislation affecting public education. On the state level, ACE has LEGs (Legislative Education Groups). These members work to educate other members of our union on state legislative issues, distribute literature and convene informational meetings, work closely with Red River United and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers to monitor state legislative activities, and mobilize members in the building to communicate with local state legislators.

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We invite you to join our ACE/LEGs Committee (Activists for Congressional Education/Legislative Education Groups) to visit with local state legislators to let them know how the recent legislation has impacted teachers and school employees.

“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead

ACE/LEGs along with COPE (Committee on Political Education) will work diligently and proactively to educate the members of the state legislature in advance of the issues coming to a vote; educate them on the issues that impact our members; and let them know we hold them accountable.

In the past, “AFT president Randi Weingarten called on elected and school officials to do school reform ‘with us, not to us,’ and urged teachers, [school employees], and their unions to ‘be the engines of real change in education, providing the ideas and the people that can get the job done.’”  This is still relevant today.

Contact us immediately if you want to be included in this proactive approach to legislation.

ACE – our Activists for Congressional Education – is a nationwide grassroots campaign to enlist AFT members in each congressional district to build relationships with their representatives in congress and have influence on the issues that matter to us.

LEGs – our Legislative Education Groups – is a member-to-member education and mobilization project. The goal of LEGs is to develop a rapid response to policy-making decisions affecting our members at the state and federal levels.

COPE – our Committee on Political Education — is the political action committee. COPE enables our organization to engage the membership in both creating our political agenda and in supporting candidates who will champion our legislative agenda. COPE also informs members about the performance of elected officials and information on how our legislators voted on issues of importance to public school employees.

 
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Red River United (RRU) has a Committee on Political Education (C.O.P.E.).  The C.O.P.E. Committee is composed of members of RRU.  The committee sends candidates a questionnaire and then interviews candidates.  Endorsements are made when the committee feels that the candidate supports the same goals, concerns, and ideology as the Federation.  C.O.P.E submits its recommendations to the RRU Executive Board for approval.

Below is a list of criteria that the RRU’s Executive Board approved, that the committee follows during the endorsement process:

1. Incumbency rule — those incumbents whose record has been in support of RRU’s program and who initiated contact with RRU for consideration of endorsement.  RRU wants to stand by candidates who have supported us in the past and pledge their continued support in the future.
2. Opposition to incumbent — those incumbents whose record is overwhelmingly in opposition to RRU’s program.  RRU is always looking for “replacements” for candidates who consistently do not support education.  We will support an opponent only if that opponent’s platform supports our ideology.
3. No endorsement — contest in which there is no incumbent involved or in which both candidates support RRU’s program.
4. Endorse or Find Favorable — Only candidates that do not conflict with the position of any of RRU’s ideology.

If you are interested in becoming a part of C.O.P.E., please email us at redriverunited[@]redriverunited.org, or contact us by phone at 318-424-4579.

You cannot be fired or disciplined for joining a union. Click the button to join now.