External Pressures

A coalition of unions and professional associations came together Wednesday [May 20, 2009] at the National Press Club to announce the start of Professionals for the Public Interest (PftPI. The new organization intends to help nurses, teachers, librarians, scientists and a range of other professionals respond to outside pressures and challenges to the integrity of their work."

"What we're doing today is reframing this issue," said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, noting that when individual professionals try to defend themselves against budget-cutting or other measures that would harm their ability to work, "it gets framed as that individual has an axe to grind." PftPI, said Weingarten, would say that person "is fighting the fight for quality or for professional integrity." The newly formed PftPI has built a website where professionals can submit stories about defending their professional integrity against external pressures."