Many of you have been telling us, your Union Officers, to stand strong in bargaining. We have been standing strong. We have been telling them no. We’ve been relaying what we believe you want and what the failed TA means.
They know how to play this game. Now it’s our turn. Now we really need you to act. The reality is without you, your Union Officers have no power at all. None. For many years we were all lulled into believing bargaining is something your Union Officers do BY THEMSELVES. That is the culture that was created. This kind of crazy dependence on one person, or small group of people, to do it all. The reality is the only power your Union President and Union Officers have ever had is, YOUR WILLINGNESS, to stand firm. And that is the key. What we are willing to stand firm on TOGETHER.
A simple analogy:
Imagine your 8 Union Officers are lined up on the field of a football stadium against a professional football team and you are in the bleachers.
We stand face to face with the football team and tell them our people are going to swarm the field if you don’t give us what we deserve.
We have been saying this for months, standing toe to toe.
The football team decides we are bluffing and start to run thorough us.
Unless you get up and swarm that field we will be run over on the first pass.
It is time for you to swarm the field.
If that does not get their attention we can walk out of the stadium leaving them with no reason to be there.
We cannot stress enough how important it is for you to show up this Thursday at the Board of Education Meeting, Boardroom, 6:30pm. This is our big chance to show the Board and the Administration that we are serious, that we are fed up, that we are overworked, that we think their choices in spending are questionable, and that we demand a fair contract. Please sign up to speak for 2-3 minutes to express how you feel. See the time line below to understand how imperative it is that you attend this Board meeting.
In conclusion; if you want this bargaining cycle to be successful. Please join with us fully in solidarity. Please fill out our survey, attend the General Membership Meetings, attend the Board of Education Meeting, attend the Bargaining sessions, wear your red on bargaining days, keep reading our messages to educate yourself and be informed, and PLEASE get off the sidelines and get involved. Your Union is YOU, it is us, it is ALL OF US! We must do this TOGETHER!!!
If you have questions we will do our best to get back to you in a timely manner. Do keep in mind that we cannot respond instantaneously and if we have already provided the answers on our website we will likely direct you to it. Remember there are only 8 of us and roughly 700 of you.
In order to save our members from going beyond more than one month of increased insurance premiums we must:
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Hold the next TA vote on or before August 1, 2019
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Announce the next vote on or before July 18, 2019
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That leaves us 8 working days to accomplish this
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July 11, 2019 Board Meeting CRUCIAL DATE
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Every Bargaining session CRUCIAL DATES