teachers
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM
The Chester County (Pennsylvania) Democratic Committee believes in Freedom, Fairness, and Opportunity for all Americans, regardless of what they believe, who they are, and where they came from. Join CCDC in making Chester County a better place for all!
We have a chance to fundamentally shape the future of our country.
But that will only happen if all of us work together — starting right now.
Every four years, the Democratic Party puts together our party platform, the ideas and beliefs that govern our party as a whole.
What follows is our 2016 platform — our most progressive platform in our party’s history and a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
This party platform was voted on and passed by our membership at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016. The platform will be updated and re-approved at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Download 2016 Party Platform PDF
Platform Contents
To read the entire platform, choose a section to jump ahead or scroll down.
Raise Incomes and Restore Economic Security for the Middle Class
Fight for Economic Fairness and Against Inequality
Bring Americans Together and Remove Barriers to Opportunities
Protect Voting Rights, Fix Our Campaign Finance System, and Restore Our Democracy
Combat Climate Change, Build a Clean Energy Economy, and Secure Environmental Justice
Provide Quality and Affordable Education
Disappointed with board’s actions in West Chester school talks
Excerpts from letter in Daily Local News, 10/10/13
Like most people who care about our West Chester schools, I am disappointed that the long, long negotiations process has not yet produced an agreement between the school board and the teachers’ union. I’m sure we all hoped the recent fact-finder’s report would spur an agreement, but it did not. In the simplest of terms, that report leaned much too heavily toward the school board’s extreme positions and would leave most teachers in a deteriorated economic state over the term of a contract. From the beginning, the school board’s proposals have been draconian, to say the least; and that has not changed with recent modifications. Appearances suggest that some of the board members are even engaged in a campaign of union-busting, which is hardly the way to inspire collegial negotiations and a fair, reasonable contract….
A couple years ago, the WCASD paid a total of $64 million in teachers’ salaries. This year that number is projected to be about $60 million. That may look good on a budget line-item, but it suggests a policy that does not treat teachers, the heart and soul of any school district, very well. Clearly the resources are there to propose a contract which is more reasonable and more fair to the teachers without giving away the store.
Which brings me to the final point. Maybe it is time to take a second look at the board members who are up for re-election next month. Maybe it is time to cast votes for their challengers, all of whom promise to work diligently for reason and fairness in a new teachers’ contract. I hope voters will at least take a look at the alternatives and what they have to say. And then, of course, they must actually vote. The WCASD really needs some help right now from cooler heads on the board who will abandon union-busting and strive for more professional relations with and treatment of their teachers while at the same time protecting the legitimate interests of the taxpayers….
Mike Hancock, West Chester
read the whole letter at Daily Local News
West Chester Borough Democrats 