Where Are We Going?
Part 2
By Camille Zombro, SDEA President and
Marc Capitelli, SDEA Vice President

TIME OUT

It Takes a Fire

What an irony that the breath of fresh air that blew through
SDEA last month was full of so much smoke. All the new faces that
came into the office on their way to the "Q," up to Mira Mesa High or
over to the Kroc Center were wonderful to see. Many commented that it
was the first time they had ever visited their Union. They were
joined by teachers from many different districts who came to work
with kids caught in the conflagration of the fires.

All of you who joined the efforts to help all over the county in many
different ways deserve the appreciation and thanks of everyone. Our
thoughts go out to all who were devastated by the fires. Our members,
along with classified and administrators, suffered at the whims of
the flames and smoke. Please help our family get "whole" again.

TIME IN
A Site Visit Analyzed
In a recent site visit we confronted some of the bug-a-boos
that our members have about:

* The proposed Tentative Agreement (TA)
* Member relations with their union
* How we get our message out
* The best way to put pressure on the school board
* The "professional" versus "blue collar worker" hang-up.

There are a lot of "education" issues there, so let us take them on.

The greatest rub on the new TA was that the TA was a "slap in the
face" and not "fair" to teachers who have done their time, lived
through the bad times of the former administration, "walked the
line", etc. Let us not beat around the bush. There is no "fair." Fair
is in the eye of the beholder and usually comes down to "how much did
I get". When we negotiate a contract we negotiate to get the most
good for the most people. It is our given.

That also means that some groups will benefit, in some way, more than
other groups. In reality, we could have negotiated to use the same
"pot" of money to give a flat percentage salary increase of to all
cells on the salary schedule. The result would have been the same
amount of money for those at the highest step, but no compaction to
encourage our newer teacher to stay in SDUSD. Add to that the fact
that flat percentages (which we've negotiated for the last ten years
or more) always benefit more senior teachers because the % increase
is compounded on an already higher salary.

But the huge point that seems to be missed is that the group that
needs to feel the wrath of teachers is the School Board. They set and
pay our salaries. They continue to slap all of us in our faces. We
continue to ask, "Are we a priority?" The answer continues to be no.

What we really liked about our visit was the fresh perspective of our
"let's get to average" campaign versus the idea a member brought up
about let's talk about how much we, as teachers, do and how well
trained we are. We like that idea as an adjunct to our current focus.
The School Board still needs to deal with the fact that young
teachers will not come here and stay here, if they have a choice,
instead of going to other districts in the county if we remain so far
below average. If a teacher has a choice of starting in SDUSD or
another district for thousands more, it really does not take a
Fulbright Scholar to figure out where they will go.

We were also asked a great question which went something like this,
"Why should I keep investing time and effort in 'the Union' when I am
not sure it does any good?" GREAT question and part of the answer
comes down to why you participate, or do not, in YOUR Union. We can't
make that decision for you, but we (your elected leadership) can
continue to work to build the kind of union that attracts and is
worthy of your precious time.

You notice that we use the word "Union" instead of "Association," and
that ties in with one of the other issues above. Your leadership
believes in the value of people joining together in common purpose
and action to improve their working conditions. It should also be
true that we come together to speak and act for those in our society
who cannot speak for themselves. A Union's true mission is to work
for the betterment of their members and their society. These are core
union values.

With the able assistance of the likes of the anti-Union Tribune, the
words Union and public education have been tainted by repeatedly
saying how bad they are and pointing out their respective faults.
We all know the truth about education. Given the constraints in
funding and the demands to essentially fix all of societies problems
in the six hours thirty-five minutes we have with our students, we do
a hell of a job. Let the anti-Union Tribune editors and writers spend
a year in our shoes, then go back to their computers to write about
how bad a job we do.

The AFL-CIO says "the union gives you a voice at work." The Union
should really be spelled "YOUnion." Together we have the ability to
affect our working conditions and the students learning conditions
where we cannot do so in isolation. It is certainly possible to do
that and be a professional. We see that every day in the way teachers
work collaboratively for their students. Being professional does not
mean that you have to accept mistreatment for you or your students in
silence. Being a Union member does not mean we act like the
stereotype portrayed in the movies or on TV. Collective action is
professional and effective action.

We are trying to put the YOU back in Union. We are trying to empower
membership to be stronger and more effective as they advocate for
themselves and their students. We are trying to listen to our members
and have great discussions with them as we move our Union. Have those
discussions with us. Participate in your Union. Be political in your
Union. Just like your country, your union is stronger when people
participate. Do not sit on the sidelines.