On July 1, 2019, AASD became Local 134 of AFSA.  Over 550 AASD Members and Retired Members are now members of the national organization/union for school district administrators/managers/supervisors, as well as the national and local labor council (AFL-CIO).

AASD has existed as a professional organization for over 80 years.  In 2009, AASD was certified as a Union and became the exclusive representative for principals, vice principals, central office certificated managers, classified managers and classified supervisors.  This year is AASD’s 10-year anniversary.  We have grown and thrived over the 10 years we have been a union!

On June 19, 2019 the AASD Board of Directors voted to become a Local under the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA) AFL-CIO.  This is an important and huge move for AASD.  After careful thought and consideration, the AASD Board of Directors took the step to join arms with and become a Local under AFSA effective July 1, 2019.  AFSA is the only nationwide union for school administrators, both classified and certificated.  For close to 50 years, AFSA has been providing a powerful network of support and service to school administrators, managers and supervisors by creating one strong nationwide voice for school administrators, managers and supervisors.  AFSA is affiliated with national AFL-CIO.

What Does This Mean for AASD as a Union?  What this means for AASD is that as a Local under AFSA, AASD is now part of an organization that brings together more than 20,000 school leaders into a united voice, providing more power in the workplace.  As a Local under AFSA, AASD will also be provided with union liability insurance as part of the dues structure.  In addition, AASD staff will have access to the AFSA leadership team, the AFSA staff attorney, the AFSA public relations team, and countless other supports related to the business of running a union, which will be provided by AFSA at no additional cost to AASD.  This also allows AASD to have a voice with the local San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council (AFL-CIO). This new affiliation will not change the day- to- day operations of AASD. AFSA will be a resource and support, as needed, to AASD.

What Does This Mean for AASD Members in Good Standing?  All AASD Members In Good Standing (dues paying members) will enjoy the many benefits of AASD being a Local under AFSA at no additional cost to the member.  The AASD budget is able to cover the membership costs of being a Local under AFSA by using current member dues.  Effective July 1, 2019, all AASD Members in Good Standing received $1,000,000 of professional liability insurance; access to the AFSA Legal Trust for work related legal charges; $10,000 of AFSA accidental death coverage; AFSA Total Disability Insurance and more.  In addition, all AASD Members in Good Standing will be able to apply for AFSA scholarships for their children and access the AFSA Travel Desk for no additional cost.  All AASD Members in Good Standing will also receive AFSA AFL-CIO Union Plus benefits which are thousands of discounted services including credit cards, auto insurance, rental car discounts, pet health insurance, theme park discounts, hotel discounts, car rental discounts, moving truck discounts, mortgage programs, flower discounts, shopping discounts, motor club and legal service discounts and much more.

AASD Retired Members and AASD Affiliate Members received a separate communication from AASD offering the option of increasing their AASD membership to include AFSA benefits.

 The AASD Board of Directors fully believes that there is strength and unity in numbers and that being a Local under AFSA is a positive move for our Union.

On August 19, AASD, AFSA, and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council held a special AASD membership meeting to celebrate this new partnership.  Please click on the link below to see a short video of the highlights of the August 19 event.

AASD/AFSA Local 134 AFL-CIO August 19 Membership Meeting and Celebration:
https://youtu.be/3VTKScZtSPA

In addition, please click on the link below for the Ed Week article on the affiliation of AASD/AFSA:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2019/08/Principals_union_membership.html

Read the article at:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2019/02/teacher_strikes_principals_advice.html

Magnetic Name Badges  —  AASD was asked to share vendor information on where the Board of Directors name badges were ordered from.  Southwest Trophy & Awards, Shelley Sieracki, Co-Owner.  [email protected], 619-296-6269.  Approximately $14 each.   The badge has the name of the member of the board of directors as well as Board of Directors under the name.  And the AASD Logo

AASD Bylaws Changed to Require Non-Members to Be a Member for Six (6) Months before Entitled to Attorney Referral.  See attached Bylaws, Article XVIII.

Here is the new membership DROP form that San Diego (AASD) is using.  It was approved by our attorney. 

If anyone needs the membership sign up form or drop form in Word format, please email Donis Coronel ([email protected]) and it will be sent to you.

In light of the Janus decision, AASD has begun to use the new membership/commitment form.  It was approved by our attorney.  This form commits a member for a year from the date of signature with a 30-day window after a year to drop membership if they desire.  It automatically renews year to year.

AASD Membership Authorization

As a follow up to the workload issues in San Diego amongst our certificated members (principals, vice principals and central office administrators), AASD did an end-of-the-school-year follow up survey on workload.  AASD also negotiated the continuation of a District-AASD workload work group comprised of eight union representatives and eight district representatives.  The District has agreed to a monthly review and solutions-based approach to the workload issues.  While workload continues to be at the forefront of member concerns, some issues have been addressed and rectified.  AASD continues to fight for a reasonable workload and a cease and desist of “nice to have but not necessary” projects and busy work and new “nice to have but not necessary” flavor of the month initiatives.

The survey results are below.  Many of the issues are budget-related (lack of resources) or budget priorities (money being spent on something different) but most alarming are the comments indicating a morale issue, burn-out and health concerns due to workload.

• Elementary Principals Workload Survey
• Middle Level Principals Workload Survey
• K-8-Principals-Workload-Survey
• Senior High Principals Workload Survey
• Vice Principals Workload Survey
• Central Office Staff Workload Survey

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/03/nyregion/principals-nyc-investigations.html

United Administrators of San Francisco (UASF) and the SFUSD Superintendents sent this message to their members on Friday, May 25:

Before we all take off for a much-deserved three day weekend, we would like to share some positive and exciting news with you, our administrators. A tentative agreement has been reached between United Administrators of San Francisco and the District on a two-year contract that will provide salary increases of seven per cent (7%) in 2018-19 and an additional three per cent (3%) in 2019-2020. If the Proposition G parcel tax passes and is implemented, there is contingency language for additional compensation.

UASF will provide more details about the agreement soon, but we wanted to take this opportunity to jointly let you know that we have agreed to terms. You will be receiving more information from the Union regarding next steps and a ratification vote.

Thank you for the service you provide to our school communities. We appreciate your skills and dedication to our students, families and staff.

Dr. Vincent Matthews                                       Caroline Satoda
SFUSD Superintendent                                     UASF President

• Survey Shows Principals Overwhelmed, Overworked
• San Diego Unified Principals Are Bearing the Brunt of Budget Cuts
• Parents, Principals Say Staffing Is Alarmingly Low in Special Ed Classes

SEVERAL ASKED WHERE AALA ORDERED THEIR SHIRTS – HERE IS THE INFO:

4Imprint.  The toll free number is 877.446.7746 and web is www.4imprint.com.