2008 State of Our Union

Teachers told union organizers: “My mom and dad are union members. That’s why they had enough money for me to go to college. But…what kind of professional joins a union?”
-from Tough Liberal, Albert Shanker and the Battles over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy by Richard D. Kahlenberg


The question above begs an answer and I have it. Whether it is job shadowing an educational assistant or team-teaching with an ELL teacher, I have had the opportunity to see that you are that kind of professional. Every time I spend a day with a member, attend a staff meeting, or read your emails I can answer that question.

The kind of professional who joins a union seeks meaningful advanced degrees and professional certifications. We learn from our colleagues. We believe in students. We engage in our community. We set professional standards for ourselves and meet them because we believe in ourselves. We work to get better at what we do. Never mind that these things may show up in the Teacher Code of Ethics or the Standards of Effective Teaching, these are job expectations we have for ourselves.

SPFT, Local 28 members exemplify that kind of professional every day. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to be the kind of union a professional would join. This year we will mark the 30th anniversary of the recognition of our educational assistant bargaining group and the 90th anniversary of our union affiliating with the American Federation of Teachers.

2008 looks to be the year of Local 28, so let's make sure we are the kind of union that a professional would join.

Teacher Quality does Count...

... so measure it. Last week both Rob Panningmiller and I were quoted in a StarTribune article about the edweek.org release of their annual "Quality Counts" measurement of education. What was curious was that "Teacher Quality" in Minnesota received a D+ and so that was the focus of the questions asked of both Rob and me. You have to go beyond the label and look at the measurement however. When I think of quality teachers, those I have taught with, those who have taught my children, and those I learned from, I immediately think of how well they grasped their subject matter. Was that counted in "Quality Counts"? No. I also think of what evidence of being a life-long learner is present so that my students and my children can see that learning takes many forms and they are encouraged to press on. Did "Quality Counts" measure saturation of advanced degrees in our state? Number of National Board Certifications? No and no.

I also love to teach with teachers who love to teach. That seems fairly common, so I don't think that makes me unique. However, from this job, I know that teachers do all we can to maintain that love of teaching amidst weak support. Programs that are rolled out poorly, mandates that are funded with dollars that used to go to music teachers, field trips, and custodial service; and administrators who are not ready for prime time, all contribute to high burnout and low morale.

Now that I think of it, I see who deserves the D+, but it's not our teachers.

What was your boat project?

Now that contract negotiations are finished for 2 of our 3 groups, we can focus on the state and national issues that drain the joy from our careers. As difficult as contract negotiations were, the thought of renewing No Child Left Behind seems worse. What the preponderance of testing mandates and useless, late arriving, apples to oranges scores has done to our career was underscored by a story my husband told me the other night.

A colleague of his just ran into a former student. They recognized each other and the student said “Remember that boat-building project we did in 4th grade? I loved that project and now I’m in school to be an architect!” How many students are we going to hear say, “Remember that test prep we did? Now I’m working for Education Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey!”

Our students remember experiences that taught them something: something about themselves, how to think, how to collaborate. You don't remember the Gadsden Purchase unless it happened to fall on your birthday.

I hope teachers still have time to do "boat projects" with their students every year, and I hope they get to hear about the impact of their work. My plan is to make sure that this story is shared as a way of reminding all those adults hovering over the re-authorization of No Child Left Behind that they had boat projects that meant something to them, too.

The OTHER news we've been waiting for

When we returned to the office on Wednesday we were greeted by a quick email from the manager of the Public Employee Insurance Pool (PEIP). He stated that he got the results from their study of our insurance pool and he would like to make a presentation of what it would cost to maintain the health coverage we have but to be insured through the PEIP rather than through the district pool.

(REMINDER: There is a state law that says a collective bargaining group—our union—can leave the group from which they are insured and join the Public Employee Insurance Pool. I learned about this over the summer, requested and obtained support from the Executive Board to pursue the feasibility study for obtaining more affordable insurance from PEIP for our pool of teachers, educational assistants, and school/community professionals, made the formal request and have been providing updates at each subsequent membership meeting.)

At this point I cannot tell you what sort of news he has for us, but there are a few comments I would like to make just knowing that there is news to report.

First, regardless of the news he has for us, this is a great example of our union looking for solutions to a very complex problem on behalf of our members and, ultimately, the families we serve as well. No matter what news PEIP has for us, we need to use this moment to recommit to finding a solution to the problem of access and affordability to quality health care that will work for our entire community.

Next, if PEIP can illustrate an opportunity to offer us the health insurance coverage we currently have, but less expensive than what we are currently paying to Health Partners through the district, our ENTIRE union will have a serious discussion about this decision and our ENTIRE union will make this decision. If the information is promising, I will bring it to the Executive Board for a full discussion and a vote to bring the information and opportunity to vote to the full membership. If the Executive Board votes to bring the information to the membership, we will have extensive information available and every member will have the opportunity to vote on whether or not our entire bargaining group will leave the district pool and join the Public Employee Insurance Pool instead.

Finally, know this: Our creativity and courage in exploring PEIP as a viable option has served as an inspiration to about a dozen other teachers’ unions in the state. Our step forward to request a quote from PEIP was noticed and other, smaller, unions were encouraged by it. Let us take this opportunity to continue to show leadership across the entire state during the legislative session regarding all viable health insurance legislation and in our work with Take Action Minnesota, so in the end, we will be proud of the role we played in creating a community solution to this problem.

Tentative Agreement for Teachers

By now just about every building steward had picked up materials for their respective site and sat through an explanation of the highlights. In the next few days that information will be shared at each site and additional informational meetings will take place for all licenced staff (members and non-members) at the St. Paul Federation of Teachers office. Because the SPFT Executive Board has already approved bringing the tentative agreement forward to the membership for ratification, the following timeline will guide us through that process:

January 3rd: Building/site membership informational meetings
January 4th: 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. SPFT general informational meeting
January 7th: 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. SPFT general informational meeting
January 8th: 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. SPFT general informational meeting
January 9th: Vote in buildings/site (see building steward for details)
January 10th: St. Paul School Board scheduled to approve the agreement

As soon as we have a ratified agreement we can ascertain the date of our retroactive pay.

Amazing Results! A new weight loss plan

WARNING: The following blog is intended for immature audiences only. Contract negotiations, 4-letter words like diet, and mild use of the drug-subculture lexicon for metaphorical purposes may all be referenced. Reader discretion is advised.

It seems that in the course of negotiating 2 contracts this year, I have lost 4 pounds. Just in time for the new year, I may have come across a potential new diet sensation: Union contract negotiating. At one point it was actually 7 pounds, but then the winter break came and I actually had dinner with my family a few times, so we’ll call it four. I could not have predicted this considering the nights when we were practically mainlining Doritos or speed-balling that 3rd can of Coke at 7:30 p.m. but there it is. I should have thought to attach that stupid, little pedometer to see if it would click away in recognition angst or ideas. Of course, I would have needed to find it. And I probably would have needed to take it out of the bubble packaging it came in, too. Regardless, it would be futile because, with this new contract-negotiating-is-more-effective-than-heroine diet I am going to get left behind if I am honest on the annual, standardized Health Partners test next open enrollment period.

Think of what this could do for the union movement if it catches on, too. Nationally it is said that union enrollment is declining, but wait until the unorganized workers of America realize that union involvement can help you lose a dress size. Move over Duchess, a new spokesperson for weight loss has emerged, and she’s hummin’ “Solidarity 4-eva.”

But wait! I have one contract left to negotiate. We are just starting to organize information for our School and Community Professionals contract. Kiss these dice Baby, because I could be rolling 7 after all.

EA Shout Out

Earlier today I was informed that the tentative agreement for Educational Assistants was approved by our membership. It went to the school board tonight and they approved it as well. When I spoke about the work of our EA negotiations team at the public comment period, as well as the evolving career paths and professional expectations of our EAs, I was met with a lot of agreement. EAs in this district need to know that many people felt that my comments expressed their feelings for educational assistants as well. They see EAs as vital to school communities. In fact, some see various EA roles as powerful forces on school climate, culture, and reputation. That is a compliment to the work our EAs do, as well as some great expectations for those who come after you because you are obviously doing high-quality work.

Thank you, EAs, for the faith you put in out bargaining team. Keep those ideas coming in. Thank you for the work you do. Your work is worth fighting for!

click your heels three times...

With all the ironing out we are doing, you would think we were negotiating for a pair of ruby-red slippers. No, only accessible and affordable health insurance. Now that I think of it, those shoes are probably more accessible and more affordable than health insurance has become for our members. We have spent a great amount of time as a team and in meetings with the district discerning exactly what is fair vs. equitable. In general, we are progressing and we are in agreement about the general situation for members and Minnesotans. Specifically, outside of the negotiating table, I would like a little something for the effort.

Health insurance costs are eating up more and more of the district's budget. Money that could be used to innovate, could be used to hire staff, could be used for high-quality professional development is being eaten up by rising health care costs. Yet, rather than offer some leadership on this, it has been our union, the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, that has offered the only leadership on this issue. It is the St. Paul Federation of Teachers that has endorsed the Statewide Health Insurance Pool for School Employees for the last 4 years. It is the St. Paul Federation of Teachers that is researching the feasibility of getting our coverage cheaper through the Public Employee Insurance Pool, and it is the St. Paul Federation of Teachers that has committed to working with results-oriented groups like Take Action Minnesota to craft a real health care solution for all Minnesotans. We will work for everything we can at the bargaining table, but we are done with band-aids for health care. We will keep working for a solution, not just a settlement.

With that said, I do believe when you return from your winter break-in-service, you will have a settlement waiting for you, and your little dog, too.

Just keep swimming

I am a bit of a Pixar junkie, so it is appropo that I find a metaphor for quite a lot in Finding Nemo. Pardon the Chris Farley, but remember that time when the face mask falls into deeper and darker water? Remember when Dori keeps uttering "Just keep swimming" to Nemo's dad (played fabulously by Albert Brooks) as a way to find the face mask? Then they find it and it is a seminal moment in Dori's life because she gets what she wants, which is to remember something in her long-term memory? Yeah?

I liked that part.

I am still confident that we are working toward a settlement, but we do keep working.

We met with the district yesterday and today. We will also meet again next week, including a meeting on Thursday scheduled to go all day again. We need to make sure that we have exhausted our proposals, our ideas, and our energy. When we do have a settlement to report, you can be assured that we have left no points on the bench. When we do have a settlement to report, you can also be assured that we will share who got the most penalty minutes, too, but not until you have read the tentative agreement.

We will get this wrapped up, voting and all, by January 15th. We are committed to that. Having that commitment brings a modicum of relief and focus on all the other matters governing the daily work of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers: our members' questions about programming changes, work to support those on improvement plans, our National Board Certification "Take One!" Federal Grant site, researching the implementation of Peer Assistance and Review, encouraging members to sign up for the Education Minnesota Representative Convention, recruiting members and others to present topics of expertise at the April 12th professional conference, expanding our ER&D courses, implementing our ambitious organizing plan, and staffing committees, boards and councils looking for SPFT input.

So close and yet so far

The teacher bargaining team spent all last week negotiating. It was hard to know what to post because after each meeting we would find ourselves on the verge of progress, but not enough to announce anything. After 2 marathon sessions on Thursday and Friday we still found ourselves on the verge of something, but you know close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, as well as the occasional bocce ball game, I suppose. We have 2 sessions planned this week: Wednesday 3-7 and Thursday 3-7. We will do everything we can to have something ready to share before teachers leave for winter break.

It is aggravating, to say the least, to try to wrap up negotiations and bring forward a settlement we are not just willing to show members, but are proud to show members, and to have 7 different program changes going on as well. Any sort of change, even if it is exciting, expected, and good, can be scary because it involves giving up some or much of what you know for what you don't know. Add to that pages of the contract that don't get read by entire staffs very often, programs and teaching methods that some members are absolutely committed to, programs and teaching methods that some members are being asked to give up, staff teams who have been told they and their work is extremely valued, staff teams who have been told that their ideas just aren't cutting it, teachers who want a say in proposed changes, teachers who just want to be told what it is going to be so they can commit or move on, and other school staffs quietly waiting for the other shoe to drop on them and you have a heckuva time talking about contract language in the abstract. SPFT is completely committed to getting our contract settled and getting questions about these program changes answered simultaneously. It reminds me of my favorite quote from the Marines: The difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a little longer.