President’s Report to Rep Council, February 1, 2010
President’s Report to Rep Council
State of the District
The district has heard us loud and clear. For anyone who attended or watched last week’s School Board meeting, you saw some of the open teacher and union-bashing that surfaced from at least one Board member. It’s not a surprise that given our strong stand against the district’s latest offer, we can expect to hear more scapegoating of teachers and other employees. That means that organizing must be our mindset at all times during this crisis! We’re getting calls and emails from parents and community members asking how they can support us, and it’s time to ramp things up!
Membership Meeting
It was truly inspiring to see so many members at the January 20 membership meeting and to feel your enthusiastic support for our Bargaining Team. I was moved and proud to be your President, knowing the passion you have for this wonderful profession and the determination you have to protect it from further attacks.
Just to recap, nearly 800 members attended, we took a unanimous vote to reject the district’s last offer, 94% of those present voted to authorize a one-day strike, and 93% voted to endorse actions on March 4. Now we need each of you who attended to reach out to those who didn’t, talk to them, explain the importance of our struggle, and bring them to the actions and community meetings that are being planned over the coming months. We need each of you to organize your parents – hold house meetings, bring parents to the meetings that have already been scheduled. There is no time to wait for someone else to do it – if not us, who???
March 4 Actions
Many labor, student and community organizations are mobilizing for March 4, the statewide day of action in support of public education. CTA has joined the many labor unions endorsing and building for this day. Yesterday at CTA State Council, the Alcosta delegates brought a new business item to the floor which passed after some discussion and debate:
“That CTA, with our partners in the Ed Coalition, encourage L.E.A.s (Local Education Agencies) to reschedule their spring disaster drills for
Rationale:
As the current budget situation is a disaster, this would allow us to coordinate our P.R. campaign around the budget with a statewide event, happening in schools with the theme “
(Charmaine Kawaguchi –New Haven/Mark Murray-
We will solicit your input on this and other plans during cluster breaks. On Wednesday, the Executive Board will be having more thorough discussion around March 4 actions, and we will let you know as soon as plans are finalized.
“State of the
I don’t need to tell you that we live in challenging times. In
We live in a state where a 1/3 minority in the legislature can control whether or not taxes are raised or a budget is passed, a state which ranks near the bottom in per pupil funding yet first in prison spending, a state that refuses to live up to its obligation to provide a quality public education for all students.
And we live in a nation where the sorry legacy of No Child Left Behind is being reborn in Race ToThe Top, which continues the focus on measuring student achievement through test scores and seeks to tie teacher salaries, evaluation and tenure to those test scores.
It would be easy to be discouraged, to want to retreat into our classrooms and just teach. But the times we live in don’t allow us that luxury.
I want to acknowledge that I hear from plenty of teachers who feel they don’t have time to be involved. We know how hard it is to teach, or counsel, or be a nurse all day, then have to plan or do paperwork or go to school in the evening. But no matter how small your involvement, our union really is only as strong as our members.
Some of our members aren’t convinced we even need a union. Why pay dues? What does the union do for me? Before I summarize some of our accomplishments this year, let me give just a very few reasons:
a. There is a stronger drum beat to eliminate class size reduction. Don’t forget that it was OEA’s strike of 1996 that played a significant role in getting statewide class size reduction.
b. This year we may see layoffs, and certainly there will be non-reelections again. Without a union, there would be NO recourse for these teachers. There would be no access to legal representation and protection.
c. Talk to teachers who formerly taught at charter or private schools, and left because of the conditions. There are no protections for speaking out or making suggestions for improvements at these schools.
As we continue in this long process of bargaining and fact-finding, it is important that we keep the pressure on both the district and the state, and we can only do that with your support and participation. OEA has a reputation around the country of being in the forefront of critical issues in education, partly because OEA members have been outspoken, courageous, and not afraid to take positions that might not seem popular. Since January of 2008, when we first sunshined our bargaining proposal, we have been speaking up about what it takes to create the conditions for successful teaching and learning. We were often told that we were being unrealistic, that our demands were too great in this economic climate. We have consistently countered with insisting that the money is there, it’s a question of priorities.
Public education is increasingly under attack, and we fail to recognize this at our own peril. In the past few years, the attacks on public education have increased dramatically, and the so-called “education reformers” who are pushing for further privatization of education are increasingly on the offensive.
We, as educators, are on the frontline as protectors of our students’ rights. We need to get beyond our differences and find unity in our collective strength. What if we adopted an oath similar to the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors, that we refuse to willingly do anything that would harm our students? Would we be able, in all good conscience, to carry out many of the demands currently placed on us, like standardized testing and too many district-mandated benchmark assessments? Would we be able to stand by and watch as class size reduction is dismantled, as another generation of children is subjected to scripted, unengaging curriculum and punitive sanctions?
Some of Our Achievements:
Despite the challenges, we have been able to achieve a lot in OEA this past year. Just a few of the highlights:
1. Office and Grievance Squads are up and running, responding to member questions and needs on a daily basis. (Have them stand.)
2. More Site Reps are building stronger collaboration among their staffs. Recent cluster meetings saw some good turnouts, and we have seen some creative actions at many sites, the latest being a before school rally and picketing at Montera and Joaquin Miller.
3. We have increased our presence at School Board meetings, with spirited rallies before and eloquent remarks from many members during the meetings. Our message has been consistent: the money is there, it’s a question of priorities.
4. We have been working closely with the other employee unions in the HBIC to negotiate improved health benefits for all district employees, and have consistently fought for maintaining the highest coverage for all.
5. We have a number of active committees: the Contract Action Team, or CAT, Grievance, Membership; Early Childhood and Substitute Caucuses. Our Publications Committee, with special thanks to Steve Neat, puts out the OEA Advocate and the Parent Teacher Connection.
6. We have monthly socials – in fact, the next is this Friday at La Estrellita at
7. We worked with a variety of organizations and individuals on a new parcel tax, although we recently pulled out over differences on money earmarked for charter schools.
8. We are finally fully staffed. Memo, Gina, Rosie, Ward and I are out at school sites on a regular basis, meeting with members, trying to resolve issues.
9. We are active in statewide issues through CTA State Council, where your OEA delegates are active advocates on your behalf. I am on the Public Education Funding Workgroup addressing statewide fiscal reform.
10. In preparation for the reauthorization of the ESEA, whose current form is NCLB, we’ve taken a proactive stand – speaking out against Race to the Top on KPFA, in the SF Chronicle.
What Can You Do?
We truly are only as strong as our membership. There aren’t any superstars running the show. None of us alone can do all that’s required to make this organization function in the best interests of all of our members. The forces stacked against us are too strong. We need your input, we need your support! Join an OEA committee; write a letter to Tony Smith or Gary Yee, or to the Editor. Talk to your parents and other community members; hold house meetings. Meet with other teachers and talk about the direction we should be going. Talk with younger, newer teachers and educate them about the gains that have been won by unions over the years.
As we go on now to discussion of the motion before us, I’d like to make a plea for a strong show of unity in rejecting the district’s offer. We need the district to hear loud and clear that we are united in our demand for a fair contract. Together we will continue to show the district and the state that we will not settle for less than that, and we will continue to demand that they create the conditions that will guarantee an excellent public education for all students! You are what makes this union strong!
In unity and solidarity,
Betty
