Four years ago our colleagues formed a union to provide a positive and stable learning environment for our students. They came together, just as we stand together now, for teacher voice at AECI. A contract will bring stability to our school community while at the same time enshrining what works at AECI and developing a framework to fix any concerns that may arise. A contract can create transparency and equity. The due process piece represents an important structure to implement all aspects of the contract. It has been a long road but we remain united in our goals to achieve fair pay and benefits, and a due process structure to maintain our rights. Please help support our school and our students. Let us focus on educating free from distraction and with a contract in place. When AECI's faculty has a voice, we can create a better learning environment for everyone. Please help us grow as educators with our students so we can build the best school possible together.

I have advocated for children for the past 20 years and this behavior is NEVER ok. That child or any other should not have to interact with her. The only thing she has taught others with this particular incident is Fear! Children have rights too!

Congresspersons now make $3,346.15 per week, and get extra money for expenses. The pay of the lowest paid workers in the US has not been raised in years, and is lagging behind inflation. If Congress gets a raise, then the lowest paid should get a raise. In my proposal, if Congress raises the minimum wage to $10.10, then they would make $3,535.00 per week, a small raise for Congress, a life saving raise for America.

Parents who would be willing to volunteer to serve on a "bulling" watchdog board or a combo student/parent bulling court. If you have a child who has been a victim of bulling and you feel you have no voice or appropriate action has been taken, help us bring this board to fruition.

Out in the country of NC many live within a stones throw of a field of genetically modified crops that are sprayed with toxic chemicals regularly. I can understand some applications to an extent however a helicopter flew around my property spraying who knows what for 30 minutes killing all kinds of organisms both in their crops and on my poor little chemical free sanctuary, never mind myself and my pets.

NC House of Representative GK Butterfield and Kansas House of Representative Pompeo are supporting a bill which would virtually deny any state the right to label GMO food products. ASA President Ray Gaesser has said the bill "is a commonsense, science-based approach to an issue we realize is close to the hearts and minds of so many consumers," Join me and let Representative Butterfield and all US State Representatives know consumers have the right to know what we are eating!

Reparations

How can one be considered as breaking the law if there is not yet a written law? Should the fate of teachers' careers rest on undefined legal concepts?

My name is Ian Swanson. I'm in fourth grade. Once a month, I am allowed to eat at any fast food restaurant I want. My favorite fast food place is McDonald's. I love the Happy Meals! Although my mom disagrees, I think that McDonald's has the best burgers, chicken nuggets and french fries in the country. I really enjoy my monthly treat at McDonald's, but last week was my last Happy Meal. I learned that the people who make my Happy Meal don't earn enough to provide for their own kids because McDonald’s doesn’t pay them enough and sometimes does not even pay what they owe. I don't want to give my money to a company that steals from its workers. It made me very upset to hear that McDonald's and many other fast food companies steal from workers by not paying them for the work they do. That is not fair! My parents taught me to share and never take what does not belong to me. I want to help the McDonald’s workers, but I am just a kid and sometimes I need an adult to help me do things. I want to ask McDonald’s to give back the money that they stole from the workers and be fair. Will you join me? *Ian is the son of an Interfaith Worker Justice staff person. For more information about wage theft and the struggles of fast food workers, visit www.iwj.org*

I have been injured by being subjected to an abusive work environment which led to me being terminated in 2012 in retaliation for being awarded my job back in 2009. On November 9, 2011 Assemble Bill 364 was introduced by Representatives Roys, E. Coggs, Grigsby, Kessler, Pasch, Pocan, Steinbrink, C. Taylor, Toles, Turner and Zamarripa, cosponsored by Senators S. Coggs and C. Larson, Referred to Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. 2011 Assembly Bill 364 has not been amended to create 103.08 and 893.997 of the statutes relating to prohibiting abusive work environments and permitting a person who has been subject to such an environment to bring a civil action.

Recently I viewed THE DARK SIDE OF CHOCOLATE on YouTube. I became educated about this horrifying issue and I feel compelled to do something about it. I was informed that boycotting would not help as it doesn't affect the corporations but rather the plantation owner. By a decrease in demand for chocolate it may trigger even more slavery use in order for the cocoa farmer to cut costs. This is why we must insist on Chocolate corporations to change and stop this crime once and for all.

I've been discriminated against from employers and dealing with the struggles of knowing that my state really don't care about the LGBT community when it comes to job protections! We are people and we should be treated fairly across the board!