Meyers 1

Annotated Bibliography
"A Short History of American Labor." Calisphere. AFL-CIO American Federationist, 1 Mar.
1981. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/28722/bk0003z4v2t/?layout=metadata>.
This article talks about the history of labor unions and how the first labor unions in the
United States were created. Its a little bit outdated because it was written in the 1980s but it
provided a lot of insight as the information was very clear and reliable. I learned about important
details such as how people went from working for 12 hours a day to only 8 hours, how the need
for labor created the need for unions to protect their rights, and the fact that many benefits such
as vacations with pay, pensions, health insurance, and others were earned through unions.

Caceres, Jinnette. "Puerto Rican Teacher's Union Fights Takeover." PSLweb.org. Party for
Socialism and Liberation. 1 Sept. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
< http://www2.pslweb.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11133>.
This article mentions several important facts that will help me back up the claim that the
Puerto Rico Federation of Teachers (FMPR) was a very important union that fought for teachers
rights. A quote that I will use in my research is that the FMPR represented more than 43,000
teachers before it was decertified and have always tried to struggle for better contracts
agreements for teachers.

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Gonzalez, Juan. "New York Labor Leader Dennis Rivera in Shady Puerto Rico Union Deal." NY
Daily News. 4 Mar. 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/new
york-labor-leader dennis-rivera-shady-puerto-rico-union-deal-article-1.306338>.
This article will be useful for my research because it talks about how the Puerto Rico
Federation of Teachers was decertified by the governor of Puerto Rico as the official union
representing teachers. The governor also supported the creation of a new labor group. Due to this
situation, teachers cannot have elections to select a labor union to represent and defend the rights
of teachers of Puerto Rico.

Strauss, Valerie. "Why Many Democrats Have Turned against Teachers Unions." Washington
Post. 5 July 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer
sheet/wp/2014/07/05/why-many-democrats-turned-against-teachers-unions/>.
This article has a lot of information I could use for my research. First, it talks about the
drawbacks of using standardized testing to evaluate teachers and to improve the effectiveness of
teachers in public schools. Another important detail is the court case Vergara v. California,
which determined that teachers unions deprived students of their constitutional right to an
adequate education. The case basically argued that teacher protections are detrimental to
students. It also quotes another journalist who mentioned that the problem with schools is that
too few of the best teachers are willing to work long-term in the countrys most racially isolated
and poorest neighborhoods. It also quoted a professor from the University of California
Berkeley as stating that the courts decision does little to improve the effectiveness of teachers in
poor communities. It seems that theres a perception that public workers who want stuff are lazy

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and greedy according to a blog by a teacher. It also points out the ineffectiveness of using test
scores to evaluate teachers and that unions have apparently accepted this provision in their
contracts. The article finally concludes that the current system is treating teachers as replaceable
parts in a manufacturing process in which their jobs become more expendable even as student
achievement levels continue to lower and the teaching profession continues to deteriorate.

"Menos Estudiantes En Las Escuelas Pblicas." El Nuevo Da. ELNUEVODIA.COM, 9 May

2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/menosestudiantesenlasescuelaspublica
1769581>
The only reason I chose this article was because I needed information about the statistics
of students and teachers in Puerto Rico. I will quote and translate the following information:
Especficamente, la cantidad de maestros del Departamento de Educacin se redujo a 33,079;
esta es la cantidad ms baja desde el 1987-1988. This detail is important because I want to use
the number of current public school teachers in Puerto Rico as a reference.