Reminders

This is a final reminder about early registration for the December 4-6 IPD conference in Dearborn. This is a great way for members to earn SB-CEUs. You can find registration forms at http://mea.org/conferences/ipd/index.html Follow the links to the Adobe registration handout. Tomorrow (Nov 14) is the last day to early register at the $200 rate. Fill those forms out and get it postmarked by the 14th to qualify for the early registration rate and group rates. There is an incentive that if 3 people sign up by tomorrow, the registration for the 4th person is free! Registration rate starting Nov 15 increases to $275. You can also register on site if you needed. If your local is a member of UBC, money has been put aside to help defray the cost of registration and additional conference costs. Don't let this opportunity for PD get away!

MEA victories!

Wow, what a result for MEA recommended candidates! As reported in MIRS this morning, 93 out of 103 MEA recommended candidates won their races. More amazing is that 71 out of 79 MEA recommended House candidates won. In our own backyard, Huckleberry fought off a strong, mean-spirited challenge from Ginster to win the 70th House seat. As you know, first time a Democrat has won this seat in over 75 years. A positive message of change resonated with the voters this year. Even as important, the efforts of the BIMEA coordinating council helped to get out the MEA vote for Huck!

While we celebrate our victories, we can not rest. It will be important that you and all of our members continuing talking with our state and national reps to let them know what the issues are that face public education. It is your efforts in this cause that will shape the legislative public education agenda. Set aside time to attend Lobby Day in February. Encourage your PAC contributors to attend the monthly Leg Councils that we have with Reps Calley and Huckleberry. Continue with the PAC contributions; these contributions will help you as you find education friendly candidates to run for your school board. In most of our districts, these will be the next races that we need to focus on so start recruiting candidates now!

I hope to see you and your RA delegate this weekend in Lansing for the Fall RA.

Get out the Vote!

Tomorrow is election day. Get out the vote by encouraging your members, family and friends to vote for the candidates that are "friends of public education". If you need information on MEA recommended candidates, please visit www.meavotes.org

Wayne-Westland experience

I thought that I would post a couple of insights that I took away from the Wayne-Westland strike last week. I had the opportunity to help with the picket lines at John Glenn High School on Thursday. Ervin was there from Sunday through Tuesday morning; I am sure that he has lots more to share than me.

I arrived at the picket lines at 6:50 in the morning with another UniServ Director. Teachers were out there picketing even though the shift didn't start until 7:00. Every teacher shared with me one consistent message: smaller class sizes for their students (yes, I know, health insurance was also there but teachers talked about class sizes; look at their last proposal before the strike). Throughout my time that morning on the picket line, it was clear that this message resonated with the community. Cars honked in support, parents brought coffee and shared words of encouragement, and students walked the picket lines. I watched as the media interviewed students and these students shared the same message: there are too many students in a class. What was remarkable was that the students recognized (and shared) that the effectiveness of teachers was hindered by these large numbers.

Message? We are bombarded everyday with competing messages. The election is a perfect example but let's examine W-W's message. The message they shared connected teachers to the community and to their students. A well-defined message is powerful. A consistent message is powerful. And it is up to us to define the message. As I think about the bargaining that takes place in lots of areas, we let the District define the message. We need to learn this lesson from W-W. W-W's message was undeniable; it's consistency and definition drownded out the Board's message. (In fact, I never even heard what the Board's message was!) Other parties couldn't hijack the message because the teachers shared the message with other stakeholders (students, parents, and the community). Application to us? It is time for us as bargainers and local leaders to take back the message. We need to define and craft a message. What are the issues that we are facing in our own locals? How do these issues impact our members and the other stakeholders in the education environment? Good contracts mean more than salary and benefits; it is also the working conditions that our members face everyday. Positive working conditions translates into positive learning environments. What is our message? W-W's message didn't suddenly appear; I believe that it reflected the core values of their association. This message took time to develop. As time passed, this message was shared and adopted by the members. In other words, it didn't happen over night...your message will take time to develop.

The other thing that impressed me was the solidarity of the membership. They supported each other. These members put their individual jobs on the line and stood as one. This was evident at the membership meeting they had at John Glen High Thursday afternoon. By this time, the judge had granted an injunction requiring the teachers to return to work. However, the injunction also stopped the Board from taking disciplinary action. The same injunction ordered that nothing could be imposed and kept the jurisdiction with the judge to ensure compliance by both parties. As over 800 teachers gathered, there was an overpowering sense of community and commonality. While they knew that this wasn't the end, they stood in the lawn as one. As their president shared the news to the members, you could see and feel the power that this group had. It was one of those goose bump kind of moments.

So these are a couple of my thoughts on W-W experience. I will be posting more in the next couple of days.

Welcome Portland aides, secretaries and food service

I am happy to announce that 9G-9H has added a new group (58 strong!) to our Coordinating Council: Portland aides, secretaries, and food service! This group went through a MERC representation election to make the switch from AFSCME to MEA.

Expect to see them as soon as the October Coordinating Council meeting!

Trainings

I am in the process of setting up trainings for the locals that participated in the August training survey at the Leadership training banquet. The most requested training was for Association Reps and the their responsibilities regarding fair representation for members. Expect a call from me within the next week. If I haven't contacted you by October UBC or Coordinating Council, talk to me at the meeting about setting up some training dates.

If you have any training needs that have arisen since the start of school, please send me an email or respond to this post.

Back at it!

Wow, I guess I took an extended break from updating this blog during the course of the summer. Now that everyone is back in school and getting a routine established, I just wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what is going on in my part of the 9G/H office.

403 (b) account changes have become a bargaining priority. I have spoken to many of you regarding the IRS changes for 1/1/09. I know that some presidents have already spoken with their superintendents and business officers to make sure that options in plan documents will remain in place as they continue to use 403 (b) accounts to save for retirement.

I have enjoyed meeting with many presidents and executive boards over the past 2 weeks. I am planning on establishing some meeting dates so that my presidents can meet occasionally to discuss the issues they are facing within their own districts.

PAC is always important but this year there is an added emphasis with the elections. It is critical that we elect individuals that will do what is best for public education. It is important that we participate in elections for several reasons. First, it sets a good example for the students that we teach. By voting, you show students that they have a say in electing leaders. Second, voting is a duty that we all have in order for our democratic system to work. If you get a chance, late night talk show host Craig Ferguson did a funny but important monologue on voting. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdRVQ4xwwmQ&feature=dir Finally, as public sector employee, you have the ability to vote for your boss. Need I say more?

Ok, expect a new post every couple of days. Share this with your members; more active members equals stronger local associations!