*Updated 10/04/08
From STA President, Susan Cogliano
Since some of you may not be familiar with the association, I want to give you a brief overview by describing what the association is about. Simply put, the purpose of the association is to improve our work lives. Through the association, members help members succeed in our profession and stand up for one another. This is good for us and for our students, since teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions.
Working closest to you on a day-to-day basis will be your building representative – another member who works in the same building as you do and who can help you figure out what to do if you have a problem. I urge new members and their building reps to meet one another so you can put a face with a name. The Building reps are part of the Executive board.
An elected executive board, often referred to as the E-board, governs the association. The E-Board consists of the officers, new teacher representative, two sick bank representatives, public relations representative, NCTA representative and building representatives. Ours is a very democratic organization. Big decisions, such as ratifying the contract and electing officers, are made by the general membership. But issues that occur between membership meetings are handled by the E-Board. If you have an important issue that you would like the E-Board to consider, please bring it to our attention.
The Stoughton Teachers Association has about 350 members. We work to promote the smooth functioning of this district by defending the rights and interests of our members, providing a forum for resolving disputes and, of course, negotiating a contract with the district. We are here to make sure everyone on staff is treated fairly and has decent working conditions. We want to remove any stumbling blocks that are in your way so that you can focus on what you were hired to do – educate and support the students of this district.
Our association is one of nearly 400 local affiliates that belong to the statewide Massachusetts Teachers Association. The MTA provides staff – your UniServ representative, sometimes known as our field rep – to assist us with bargaining, grievances and many other issues. Other MTA staff are also assigned to help us, as needed, including staff from the Legal, Communications, Governmental and Finance and Accounting Divisions and MTA’s Center for Education Policy and Practice.
As some of you newcomers are just learning, the MTA is a state affiliate of the National Education Association – the NEA. Your dues dollars go to all three levels: local, state and national. The NEA lobbies on behalf of members before Congress and also provides support to state and local associations.
We are often referred to in the press as “the powerful teachers’ union.” You are the source of that power. We sometimes have to harness that power at the local level to win a fair contract or other rights. We also have to do that on state and federal issues that affect us. Right now at the state level we have a ballot question that needs our attention.
The ballot question (Question 1) would be truly devastating to everyone in public education and higher education. If it passes it would reduce the state budget by more than $12 billion, or nearly 40 percent. Virtually all state and local services will be devastated if it passes.
Just before school let out for the summer, the MTA and AFT Massachusetts held an All Presidents’ Meeting to alert us to this danger that threatens our livelihoods and our profession. It hasn’t received much attention in the press yet, but it is very real. Right now, school districts across the state need more funding, not less, to provide students with the education they deserve and to provide teachers and other educators with the salaries, benefits and good working conditions that we deserve.
If you think we don’t have to worry about Question 1 because the voters would never be so misguided as to actually vote for it, think again. When this question appeared on the ballot in 2002, it won 45 percent of the vote even though there was no active campaign for it. This year, with high gas prices and a shaky economy, there is a fear that even more frustrated voters will close their eyes and vote “yes.”
The good news is that when voters learn just how massive, how damaging and how irresponsible this initiative truly is, most of them do decide to vote “no.” What that tells me is that we have a huge member-education and public-education job ahead of us – we need to let people know what Question 1 would do and urge them to vote against it.
Please remember to send out the “Dear Friend” postcards that you will receive soon in the mail, if you haven’t gotten them already.
We are also setting up an Action Team to lead our local association’s efforts in this campaign. Anyone who would like to find out about this team should contact Carolyn Pudvah (Public Relations) at OMS.
Best Regards,
Susan