AFL-CIO Says It Will Resort to Community
Action RIMS, Federation Don't Resolve Issue
With Teachers; Agencies Reply to Charges
By CHARLOTTE DUBIN Berman, president of the is 12 teaching hourq per
The AFL-CIO, which has Jewish Welfare Federation, week," the statement said.
"Eight teachers out of the
had a "longtime friendship denied that certain Jewish
with the Jewish commun- community leaders are en- staff of 60 were affected by
ity," has warned that the gaged in "union-busting" and this reduction. The unavoid-
union will "ask its friends insisted that the UHS — not able reality is that there are
in the community to with- Federation — negotiated the not sufficient hours available
hold funds from Israel 1973 contract with the teach- to allow for continued em-
ployment of anyone as a
Bonds, Histadrut and other ers' association.
"As one of the autonomous teacher for 20 hours.
causes" if the Jewish Wel-
"The board of the schools
fare Federation does not agencies of Federation, UHS
bring about an end to the negotiated this agreement," and its administration ... has
worsening Hebrew teachers' said Berman. "It includes no sought to mitigate this im-
commitments from Federa- pact upon the affected teach-
situation.
tion.
That very point was ers. To this end, numerous
At a press conference
Tuesday morning, Tom Tur- contested several months meetings took place between
ner, president of the Metro- ago in a Wayne County Cir- the president of the UHS,
politan D etroit AFL-CIO cuit Court law suit lodged by Norman D. Katz, and some
Council, accused the United the Hebrew Teachers' Asso- of the affected teachers, as
Hebrew Schools and its fund- ciation, alleging Federation's well as their representatives.
"In addition," the state-
ing source, Federation, of involvement in and violation
"antiunion actions" and "a of the same contract. The ment continued, "a special
committee of the Hebrew
concerted effort to destroy suit was dismissed."
Despite the closing of Bor- School board was appointed
the leadership of the Assoc-
iation of Hebrew Teachers, man and Cohn and the eli- to look into the matter. After
AFT (American Federation mination of the second ses- meeting with the teachers
sion, a declining school en- and the union, it made a
of Teachers) Local 1899."
Turner said that the UHS rollment (presently some series of recommendations to
and Federation have failed 1,600) has had an "adverse the full board, all of which
to take action, promised 14 economic impact" on teach- were adapted. As a result,
months ago, to "mitigate the ers and, Berman said, the most of the teachers in-
impact" on teachers of clos- UHS "has proceeded, in ac- volved have 14-17 teaching
ing the Cohn and Borman cordance with its moral com- hours for the school year
branches of the UHS and eli- mitment, to mitigate sub- which commenced Septem-
ber 1973.
minating the second session stantially" that impact.
"Despite numerous meet-
"The cost of this mitiga-
throughout the school sys-
tion," he said in the letter to ings with the president of
tem.
Instead, he charged, the Turner, "resulted in the ad- the United Hebrew Schools,
hours of teachers have been dition of many thousands of and later with the special
cut. Those who were teach- dollars to the UHS deficit committee, some of the is-
sues remain unsolved. For
ing 20 hours before are now this year."
At the press conference, example, the contract which
teaching 14 to 17 hours and
have been unofficially noti- Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig, the UHS has with the Heb-
fied that they will be teach- a spokesman for the teach- rew Teachers Association
ing only 12 hours in the fall. ers' association, denied that provides for a graded salary
scale based on the number
Further, the cut in their there has been any such mit- of hours each teacher
teaching hours threatens igation.
In a statement issued teaches during the week.
their pension benefits, Tur-
Tuesday
afternoon, after the With the reduction in the
ner said.
teaching hours, the affected
The 10 a.m. press confer- press conference, the United teachers were subject to a
Hebrew
Schools
said
that
the
ence was preceded by a
lower rate as per the con-
meeting of the Metropolitan UHS "has been involved in tract. This matter is now in
genuine
bona
fide
collective
Detroit AFL-CIO executive
arbitration and will be re-
board, which, Turner said, bargaining with the Associa- solved through th , decision
tion
of
Hebrew
Teachers
gave him the authority to
since the day it was organ- of the arbitrator in com-
publicize the issue.
ized, and has scrupulously pliance with the union con-
Ever since the AFL-CIO adhered to the terms of its tract.
announced that the press contract. The teachers of the
"Most of thej affected
conference would take place; UHS enjoy the highest sal- teachers also have! other em-
there had been hurriedly aries per hour and the rich- ployment. To our knowledge,
scheduled meetings by the est spectrum of fringe bene- some of these teachers have
union, by the UHS and the fits of any Hebrew teachers succeeded in obtaining in-
teachers.
the United States. On an creased employment since
On Monday night, repre- in
hourly basis, UHS teachers the reduction took place in
sentatives of the union, the earn even more than public the UHS.
teachers and the Hebrew school teachers.
"The board of the Hebrew
schools board held a meet-
Schools has clearly stated
"As
a
result
of
declining
ing, termed by Turner's as-
that it will not engage in
sistant Norman Mackay as enrollment and at the re- featherbedding practices and
quest
of
the
parents
and
af-
"very unproductive." UHS
insists that it can pay only
board representatives pres- filiated synagogues, the sec- for hours actually worked."
ond
session
which
met
be-
ent at the meeting were Nor-
A teachers' association
man Katz, UHS president, tween 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. has
and Milton Lucow, vice pres- been eliminated. This means leader, who is one of the 20-
ident, who will succeed that the maximum number hour teachers contesting the
of hours we can now provide reduction in hours, said that
Katz.
The latter came in for es-
pecially bitter denunciation
by Turner at the press con-
ference. "Without any reser-
vations or hesitation, I would
say that Norman Katz is
definitely antiunion and is
A lot of students having trouble in science, history, and mathematics are
trying to do everything with-
really having trouble with their reading. For these problems in reading,
in his power to destroy the
spelling, vocabulary, and pronunciation, the Reading Improvement Center
offers individualized training by a Reading Specialist.
effectiveness of the union
For further information, or to arrange for diagnostic testing, and
and the leadership of the un-
summer session programs call 399-0333.
ion," he said. Turner also
Dorothy S. Orent, M. Ed.
criticized "some leaders of
Federation because they
don't have the gall to take
Norman Katz to task."
23560 WOODWARD
In a letter to Turner,
v2 Mile N. of 9 Mile Rd.
dated May 20 and hand-de-
Pleasant Ridge, Mich.
livered the day before the
press conference, Mandell
Reading help for
ages 7 to 70
Reading Improvement
Center
if the UHS argument about
declining student enrollment
is true, "why haven't the
administrators had t h e i r
hours cut?"
Rabbi Rosenzveig said that
last June he asked Katz to
postpone the decision to close
the two branches and end the
second session until further
study of the situation could
be made by the UHS board,
the union and other con-
cerned parties. He said Katz
never replied.
Last year, the teachers
union terminated a strike
following discussions between
the AFL-CIO and UHS. Based
on t h e resulting commit-
ment, said Turner, "I pre-
vailed upon the leadership of
the Association of Hebrew
Teachers to accept in good
faith the commitment and
accordingly urged a ratifica-
tion by the members of the
association.
"The spirit of that com-
mitment has not been hon-
ored by the Jewish Welfare
Federation or by the United
Hebrew Schools," said Turn-
er. "All our efforts over 14
months to come to an amic-
able solution have been re-
buffed through delay, ques-
tionable tactics and being
pushed from pillar to post,
methods unbecoming t h e
Jewish Welfare Federation
and United Hebrew Schools,
both of which are benefiting
from tax-free status.
"The longtime friendship
of organized labor and the
Jewish community is known
to most of you. Our support
of Histadrut, Bonds for Is-
JEWIH NE
11 7Fr?17I NTay 24,S 1974WS
tarnished b y unnecessary
controversy. This can only
be turned around by quick
and aggressive actions by re-
sponsible leaders in the com-
munity to see that teachers
at the United Hebrew Schools
rael, our political support are treated with justice and
for Israel and other similar equity," Turner said.
Jewish liberal causes has
been reciprocated, in most
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antiunion actions of a few flying hill in the western
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