BOW, NH      FEBRUARY 16, 2017: 

AFT-NH President Douglas Ley released the following statement on the defeat of so-called Right to Work by the New Hampshire House.

“We are extremely pleased that the NH House defeated Right to Work by a 200-177 vote today. The defeat of this bill was the result of cooperation across party lines and hard work by our members, fellow union brothers and sisters in the labor movement and community allies. The actions by the NH House today puts to bed this divisive legislation for at least another 2 years. We thank legislators who stood with working families.”

AFT-NH represents approximately 4,000 teachers, school support staff, city and town employees, police officers, library employees, and higher education faculty. AFT-NH is a member of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO and is the state affiliate for the American Federation of Teachers with more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, 43 state affiliates, and more than 1.3 million members.

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                                                AFT-NH Statement on Confirmation of Frank Edelblut for Commissioner of Education

Bow, NH     FEBRUARY 15, 2017: 

AFT-NH President Douglas Ley released the following statement on the confirmation of  Frank Edelblut as Commissioner of Education.

“We are disappointed that a majority of the Executive Council did not listen to voices of thousands of parents and educators across the state or to the concerns expressed by the NH Board of Education about the appointment of Frank Edelblut as our next Commissioner of Education. We remain gravely concerned

Bow, NH - February 10, 2017 

Besides the snowstorms this week, the big news out of Concord is the current status of ‘right to work’ legislation, legislative action on the NH Retirement System, and the continuing saga of Frank Edelblut as NH’s own version of Betsy DeVos.

‘Right to Work’:  The House Labor Committee held its mandatory hearing on so-called ‘right to work’ legislation this past Wednesday, a marathon hearing stretching from 10am until past 5 pm.  Hundreds packed Reps Hall in the State House, and most of those who testified did so in opposition to so-called ‘right to work.’ There were

The NH House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee on February 8th recommended against both so-called Right to Work bills by a 14-17 vote. The first vote before the full house wil be on Thursday, February 16th. You can read written testimony submitted by local AFT-NH leaders by clicking on the below links.

Alex Luhtjarv, Hillsboro-Deering Federation of Teachers

Kelly D'Errico, Hillsboro-Deering Support Staff

Elizabeth Lavoie, Hudson Federation of Teachers

Joshua English, Keene Police Officers' Association

Adam Marcoux, Nashua Teachers' Union

Deirdre Conway, Newfound Teachers' Union

Sandra Lee Ellis, Raymond Educational Support Staff

Marie Bahlert, Rochester Federation of Teachers

Ryan Richman, Timberlane Teachers' Association

Bow, NH

January 27, 2017 

Yesterday was a warm, almost Spring-like day, always welcome in January.  The gold of the State House dome shone brightly in the sunshine, and I even took the time to sit for a short while on a bench on the State House grounds.  Inside, however, the legislative session is just beginning to warm up, with a short session of the House to deal with a few legislative items, following an intensive week of public hearings on proposed bills, as committees work hard to push legislation to the floor for debates and votes.

The most important news of the week was the scheduling of