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S D E A

October 21, 2009

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Building our Union.One Rep at a time.

See story, page 8

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Sister district Sweetwater sharestheir battle story.

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SDEA members take our messageto the media.

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ROAD-MAPPING

SDEA is aligning our strategy with our goals — and getting results foreducators.

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PuBLiC CoMMent

Current and retired members re-ect on the state of the union.

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deMoCraCY in aCtion

The time is here to excercise yourvoice in your union. Learn how tovote, or even run yourself!

LeCtionS

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Cta: ViSit our WeBSite!

A plethora of online resourcesawait educators.

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OUTREACH TO TEACH

An army of volunteers transformsBalboa Elementary.____________________

ALLIANCE-BUILDING

Aliating with the Labor Councilhas brough a wide array of ben-ets to SDEA members.

October 21, 20093

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Summer of Action: SDEA membersrepresented local interests at theNEA-RA convention.

Cover:

SDEA Association Representatives gave up a Saturday toattend the Fall Leadership training on Oct. 3. ARs in photo are at-tending the Know Your Contract session, becoming experts in ourcollective bargaining agreement (see story, page 8).

Above:

Teachers work together at the New Association Representa-tives session at Fall Leadership.

photos by Nanette Najera and Steve Johnson

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Ction

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nea: raCe to Where eXaCtLY?

A mix of the good, the bad and theugly at the most recent NEA boardmeeting._______________________

Sdea-r: going digitaL

SDEA-Retired is now accessible viathe SDEA website.

Letters in Solidarity

Camille ZombroSDEA President Marc Capitelli SDEA Vice President

SDEA Members— 2009 is a good year to be an educators’ union.Does that sound like an odd statement to make?Consider the following:• In this past year, we restored the jobs of our sisters and brothers who were laid off in 2008.• We successfully seated three school boardmembers who

committed

to ghting for thethings we believe in.• We survived year two of the worst economicdownturn in generations with

layoffs,

salary rollbacks,

healthcare cuts and

furlough days.• We collected thousands of signatures in just afew weeks to stand up for our schools and againstthe tyranny of our now-

former

superintendent.• We continue to work every day to ensure thatevery child in every classroom receives thehighest quality education by ghting class sizeincreases, advocating for curriculum that makessense, and pushing back against unreasonableworkload demands that ultimately hurt kids.Despite the picture of eternal gloom being painted by those who manage districts statewide,SDEA continues to demonstrate that even (if notespecially!) in times of economic hardship, we canght successfully to protect one of our nation’s mostvaluable resources: public education. We know thatstanding together is much easier than standing alone.And we are doing this by

getting organized

.In 2007, the SDEA Representative Council passed the “Continuous Organizing Resolution,” inwhich we attempted to answer some basic questionsabout our union:• How does the daily work of SDEA members,leaders and staff make us stronger?• How does our work unite us?• What practical steps must we take to be a moreeffective union?• How can we become a more democratic andinclusive union?The answer to these questions is simple, thoughthe implementation is complex: Unions are stronger,more democratic, and effective when they have aninformed, active and educated membership.Based on the concepts of that resolution, we have been working to build a stronger union by shiftingfrom what unions call the “business model” to an“organizing model.” Business unions spend their time and resources enforcing contract language andlimping along while staff and a few top leaders makeall the major decisions, and members are only calledupon to mobilize behind the big ghts. Conversely,an organizing union is built from the relationshipsand priorities of members, who work together to build power and a collective voice—from day-to-day concerns to the most pressing national andstate-wide issues. To use an analogy, we committedto building a better re department, instead of justghting res and reacting from one crisis to the next.But the realities in our classrooms belie our success. Changes in special education programs arenot only frustrating already-overworked special andgeneral educators, but leaving our neediest studentswithout critical support. Class size increases arecreating chaos through excessing and large classesin under-equipped classrooms. Nurses, counselors,librarians and other non-classroom staff are beingcut, shufed and disrespected as their work is shiftedto non-credentialed staff or eliminated altogether.With an expired contract—the longest since the1996 strike—we have so much work to do. It’s easyto stop what we’re doing, to react to our changingenvironment, and to abandon our commitment to building a better re department. We know therumblings. Why aren’t we holding big rallies? Whyaren’t we grabbing media attention? Why aren’t wespending more time and energy lobbying the state?The fact is that the unions that focus their resources on the politics and the big splashes ignorethe day-to-day realities at their own peril—and theyinvariable fail to build the kind of real power that canwithstand the challenges being piled on our publiceducation system. Here in San Diego, we have SDEAmembers who are afraid to ask for even the most basic necessities like a bathroom break or a place to

Matching our model to our mission

See LETTER, page 15

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

SDEAAdvocate ispublishedmonthlyby the San Diego Education Asso-ciation. Limitedadvertising space isavailable; rateson request.Letterstothe editorandotherconentmay besubmittedforconsderation viaemail.

SDEA Mission Statement

The membersof SDEAare dedicatedtoproviding aquality publiceducation.Asaprofessionalunion advocating theinterestsof certicatedsta,studentsandthecommunity,SDEA/CTA/NEAwillimplementitsmembershipcommitmentthroughinvolvementinpolitics,buildingcoalitions,negotiationsandgrievanceadvocacy andeducationalprograms.

PRESIDENTCamilleZombroVICEPRESIDENTMarc CapitelliINTERIM SECRETARYRay RufnINTERIM TREASURERBillFreemanMEMBER,BOARDOF DIRECTORSElizabethAhlgrenMEMBER,BOARDOF DIRECTORSJimGroth

SDEA STAFF

EXECUTIVEDIRECTORSteveJohnsonUNISERV FIELDORGANIZERSMorganThornberry AbdulSayidDonaldMooreJonathonMelloCraigLeedhamCONTROLLER/PROPERTY MANAGERDianaHayesCONTRACTSPECIALIST/EDITOR,SDEA ADVOCATEANDWEBSITEErinClarkCONTRACTSPECIALIST/MEMBERSHIP/ITLarry Moreno

CONTRACTSPECIALISTRaalDobrowolskiSECRETARIESMaureenPurvisTinaDanielsACCOUNTING ASSISTANT/SECRETARYNanetteNajera

Politics as unusual: NEA comes to SD

October 21, 20095

AdVocAte

October 21, 20094

AdVocAte

NEA benevolence brightens Balboa

After months of planning, NEA’s Outreach to Teach programdescended on Balboa Elementary on the weekend before the NEA-RA. Over 300 other college students, teachers, retired educators,higher education faculty and education support professionalsgrabbed hammers, shovels, brushes and mops to repair, landscape, paint, clean and redecorate Balboa Elementary.The auditorium looked like a staging ground for an invasionas it was stuffed with new furniture, lunch tables, window blinds, paint and hundreds of materials needed to transform Balboa intoa visually inviting place for children to learn. Close to $100,000from donations and NEA support helped the volunteers accomplishthe goal.Usually the project has some wiggle room, but since Balboais a year round school everything had to be completed in

one

day.It was transforming to see the school bright and welcoming asthe volunteers came back on Monday to visit with the childrenand staff and to share with each other their gratitude both as a participant in and recipient of the project.

AfterBefore

photos courtesy of Marc Capitelli

The NEA Representative Assembly was held in San Diegothis summer, for the rst time in the 150-plus year history of our national afliate. In all, nearly 10,000 delegates were in attendance,representing every state in the US plus several international guestsand afliates of Education International, NEA’s internationalafliate.As the host city, several active and retired SDEA membershelped with CTA in organizing a productive and fun event. Wehelped with security, tourist advice, registration and in many other areas. SDEA’s delegation at the NEA-RA is among the largest inCTA, comprised of about 50 local delegates plus several moreelected by the state.The business of the RA included policy changes and new business items which addressed NEA’s positions on variousnational issues. CTA also held a protest and march to the state building, standing up against the drastic cuts our schools continueto face.

photos courtesy of Willie Jones and Erin Andreason Kole

Clockwise from top: 1. SDEA delegates show o their “Together We are Stronger!” t-shirts at the NEA-RA. 2. Retired SDEA member Willie Jones (left) at the NEA-RA. 3. Team SDEA after a hard day’s work representing educators on the national stage. 4. CTA Director Jim Groth (left) and NEA Director/MorseHigh School teacher Elizabeth Ahlgren (center) smile as they participates in a CTA protest march. 5.Teachers take their message about the California budget to the steps of the state building.