S D E A

September 16, 2009

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BUILDING ON OUR StReNGthS

Ater a hard-ought year o bar-gaining, SDEA is ready or action.

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Cover and Table of Contents:

Wrapping up a year o organiz-ing eorts, educators gatheredater the fnal day o school topresent a giant petition bear-ing the names o nearly 5,000teachers to School Board Presi-dent Shelia Jackson. See page 4.

photos by Nanette Najera and Erin Clark

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Educators at PBMS get organizedaround a site discipline plan.

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Online

This month, The Advocate’s col-umns may be viewed by visitingour new website at

www.sdea.net

September 16, 20093

adVocate

Letters in Solidarity

Camille ZombroSDEA President Marc Capitelli SDEA Vice President

Camille ZombroSDEA PresidentMarc CapitelliSDEA Vice President

Over the past 15 months, our bargainingcampaign has been met by the District’s stall tacticsfollowed by hostile attempts to wrench take-backsfrom our families and our schools. But as SDEAmembers open the school year, our patience andcollective actions have brought us through the worst

nancial crisis in generations with

NO layoffs, NOfurlough days, NO salary cuts, and NO changesin healthcare

!Let’s be clear about why we were able to avoidthese take-backs. It was not because of the generosityof our School Board and Superintendent (thoughTrustees Barrera, Evans and Jackson certainlydeserve credit for their efforts). We succeeded because we were patient, we stood together, andwe refused to bend to political pressure to takeunnecessary concessions. But the spike in classsizes in our elementary schools, massive transfers,continuing changes to curricular programs, and over 15 months of bargaining make it clear that we haveso much more to do in the year ahead. We are morethan 8,000 strong, but we will only be as successfulas the involvement of our members.We have learned that when we speak in acollective voice, we are heard. Throughout the past year, sites across SDUSD have taken on the bargaining campaign as their own, planning andcarrying out their own actions to ensure that theSchool Board and Superintendent felt the pressureto settle a fair contract from all levels. Mission BayHigh School staff sent over 70 post cards to TrusteeJackson. Staff at Zamorano Elementary walked out promptly at the end of the school day to emphasizethe amount of work that teachers do every day for their students (see the “Victories” page of the SDEAweb site for details). Staff at Lindbergh-Schweitzer,Baker, Chollas-Mead, Spreckels, Toler, Zamorano,Chavez, and Kimbrough met with School Boardmembers to articulate our bargaining priorities. Andsites across the District responded to their own issuesthrough collective actions owned by the whole staff.

In just one example, Pacic Beach Middle School

demonstrated how to take on their problems with pupil discipline by working together toward tangiblesolutions (see page 4).In an example of District-wide organizing, inJune SDEA ARs and CRs collected almost 5,000signatures in just two weeks for our “Petition to SaveOur Schools” (see page 4). While union-wide actionslike this demonstrate the power of our membershipas a whole, if the power we have built is going tolast it must be meaningful in the day-to-day lives of SDEA members. Reaching the contract settlementall SDEA members deserve requires our continuedcommitment to both site and District organizing.June also marked the beginning of a new era, asthe SDEA Representative Council approved our new

afliation with the San Diego Labor Council and the

AFL-CIO. This past year, our fellow union leadershave already helped us convince the School Boardnot to declare impasse in bargaining, and facilitateda critical conversation with Congresswoman SusanDavis about the damaging proposals being pushed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.We should be proud of what we have achievedfor our students. Our SDEA bargaining campaignstarted with thousands of conversations about

Whatit Takes

to do our work. Our goals are clear, butcritical bargaining issues remain unresolved. As we prepare for another successful school year, we facenew challenges and opportunities. We must resolveto do what it takes to protect our schools and our profession from an increasingly hostile politicalenvironment. With more change in District leadershipon the horizon, there are plenty of opportunities for us to work together and to build a better future.The summer was also a productive time at the

SDEA ofce. We launched a new web site, and hired

two former teachers as Contract Specialists. Our Field Organizers are redirecting their work towardsite-based organizing, our training program is gettingan overhaul, and new systems to track membershipand grievance documents will soon be implemented.As we begin the 2009-2010 school year, we mustremember that unions exist to give people a voice atwork. What we have to say — about our future, thefuture of our schools, and what it takes to succeed — must be paired with a renewed commitment toorganizing to make those changes last. Together weare stronger!

New year brings new challenges

SDEA OFFICERS

10393 San Diego Mission Rd. Ste.100, San Diego, 92108

Phone Fax

(619) 283-4411 (619) 282-7659

Web Email

www.sdea.net advocate@sdea.net

SDEA Advocate is published monthlyby the San Diego Education Asso-ciation. Limited advertising space isavailable; rates on request. Letters tothe editor and other conent may besubmitted for consderation via email.

SDEA Mission Statement

The members o SDEA are dedicated toproviding a quality public education.As a proessional union advocating theinterests o certicated staf, studentsand the community, SDEA/CTA/NEA willimplement its membership commitmentthrough involvement in politics, buildingcoalitions, negotiations and grievanceadvocacy and educational programs.

PRESIDENT Camille ZombroVICE PRESIDENTMarc CapitelliINTERIM SECRETARYRay RufnINTERIM TREASURERBill FreemanMEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORSElizabeth AhlgrenMEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORSJim Groth

SDEA STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Steve JohnsonUNISERV FIELD ORGANIZERSMorgan Thornberry Abdul SayidDonald Moore Jonathon MelloCraig LeedhamCONTROLLER/PROPERTY MANAGERDiana HayesCONTRACT SPECIALIST/EDITOR,SDEA ADVOCATE AND WEBSITEErin ClarkCONTRACT SPECIALIST/MEMBERSHIP/ITLarry Moreno

CONTRACT SPECIALISTRaal DobrowolskiSECRETARIESMaureen Purvis Tina DanielsACCOUNTING ASSISTANT/SECRETARYNanette Najera