AFT 1493 wins 9 statewide communications awards

The 73rd annual California Federation of Teachers’ convention, held over the weekend of March 20-22 in Manhattan Beach, was attended by five hundred delegates—community college instructors, K-12 teachers, early childhood educators, classified employees, and UC librarians and lecturers—from all corners of California. AFT 1493 was represented by 5 delegates: Teeka James, Katharine Harer, Joaquin Rivera, Monica Malamud, and Dan Kaplan.

A full convention report will be published in the next Advocate, but we want to announce one major news item from the convention: AFT Local 1493 won an amazing total of 9 state-wide Communications Awards, more than any other Local in the CFT! We won the following awards:

•    First Place in the category of Best Website for locals with more than 500 unit members for the newly-redesigned aft1493.org, by Eric Brenner, Webmaster. Judges commented that the website had a “well organized, attractive home page. Reader-friendly typographical visual hierarchy and use of color give contrast to headlines and navigation links. Good top and secondary level navigation. Easy to read.”

•    First Place in the category of Best News Writing for “New Media Policy Restricts Employees Rights to Free Speech” by Robert Bezemek, attorney. Judges called the article, “a legal news story that addresses a contemporary issue, but is not written in legalese. It also illustrates how settled law is never settled.”

•    First Place in the category of Best Feature Writing for “Project Change at CSM” by Katie Bliss, CSM English Instructor. One judge called Katie’s article “a very moving story about incarceration…and to find out at the end of the article that she herself was incarcerated.” “I was captivated,” said another judge, “underscoring the fact that there’s no end to what we can learn about labor and our movement.”

•    First Place in the category of Best Single Effort for locals with more than 500 unit members for the Member Outreach Campaign by Katharine Harer, Co-Vice President and Lead Organizer and Michelle Kern, Part-Time Representative and Organizer. Judges said that the Katharine and Michelle produced a “powerful packet that illustrates the impact a member can have on his or her work life. Effective use of member testimonials and photos. Provides new members a way to immediately identify with the union.”

•    Second Place in the category of Best Email Newsletter for locals with more than 500 unit members for The Advocate by Eric Brenner, Editor.

•    Second Place in the category of Best Six-or-more-Page Newsletter for locals with more than 500 unit members for The Advocate by Eric Brenner, Editor.

•    Third Place in the category of Best Original Art or Photograph for “Skyline Faculty Invitation” by Paul Bridenbaugh, Skyline Art Professor.

•    Honorable Mention in the category of Best Use of Graphics for “AFT 1493 logo and graphics for AFT 1493 information packet” by Michelle Kern, CSM Part-Time Representative and SCI Organizer.

•    Honorable Mention in the category of Best Use of Social Media for locals with more than 500 unit members for the AFT 1493 Facebook page by Michelle Kern, CSM Part-Time Representative.