Dear ,

General Membership Meeting

Date: Friday, May 17, 2024

Time: 6:00 PM

Location: GFT Event Hall

Removing Praxis Math for Recruitment?

On Wednesday, Senator Dwayne T.D. San Nicolas introduced Bill 282-37, which aims to eliminate the Praxis mathematics requirement from the Guam initial educator certificate. He argues that this change would help alleviate the shortage of certified teachers on the island.

Read more: San Nicolas seeks to remove Praxis math test to address certified teacher shortage (GuamPDN)

Here's what should be done instead of lowering standards to recruit and retain educators:

1. Make pay an incentive. We are no longer at the 50-percentile.
2. Make schooling and licensure free. Expand the Dr. Antonio C. Yamashita Teacher Corps Scholarship Program to cover everyone entering the field of education.
3. Offer lifetime certification for those teaching 20+ years or having a terminal degree.
4. Credit teaching experience at other states or districts in lieu of taking the Praxis.
5. Set retirement eligibility based on years in service as opposed to age.
6. Let teachers teach by removing the administrative load of paperwork, phone calls for attendance, etc.

Illegal Wage Garnishment

Have you been impacted by an illegal wage garnishment? This is a critical issue that requires your immediate attention.

GFT has recently become aware that the Department of Education (DOE) is asserting overpayment of salary and/or differential pay, affecting employees. DOE is demanding repayment and has begun unilaterally garnishing wages in large amounts, up to $800 per paycheck to collect $2,400 in alleged overpayments.

DOE must either obtain employee consent or a court order before garnishing wages in this manner.

If you have been impacted by this illegal wage garnishment, you must take action right away. Your rights are being violated, and you deserve fair treatment.

Please let GFT know if you have experienced this issue, so we can work together to address it promptly. Time is of the essence, and we look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible. Either reply to this email or email Rob Koss at rkoss@gftunion.com

New Overtime Rules

A new regulation has been finalized by the U.S. Department of Labor that expands who is eligible for overtime pay. The overtime threshold hasn’t been properly updated for nearly 50 years, leaving millions of workers without basic overtime protections.

Under the new rule, salaried workers making less than $58,656 per year will become automatically eligible for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week, even if they are a manager, supervisor, or highly credentialed professional.

Read more: Explaining the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule that will benefit 4.3 million workers

In more wins for workers this week, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements in employment. The U.S. Department of Labor also finalized another new rule to protect retirement savers from conflicted investment advice.

Finally, on Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule requiring nursing homes to provide 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident, including round-the-clock registered nurse (RN) care. The rule will not only improve the health and wellbeing of residents, but also help grossly underpaid and overworked nursing home workers and reduce turnover, which exceeds 50% annually.

Leave Sharing Request

1. Lorilyn S. Llamado, Support Staff at Capt H.B. Price ES
2. Aurora ML Cruz, Teacher at Inarajan MS

To donate, please contact thelma@gftunion.com or call (671)735-4390. Every contribution, no matter how small, counts. Your generosity in these times is a testament to the compassion and unity that defines us.

Let us remember that our union is at its strongest when we support each other. Let's show the true power of our solidarity.