Election-forged coalitions will work for common good

By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin

CTA and its coalition partners are still basking in the glow of their sweeping election victory. Not only did they soundly defeat the governor's initiatives, they also passed 32 of 37 school bond measures and elected 140 of 185 CTA-backed candidates.

CTA and its chapters around the state are finding that their efforts have produced an unanticipated benefit: They have brought labor unions and community organizations together, forging strong partnerships and friendships that they hope to maintain in the interest of continuing to work for the common good.

"The governor has done one good thing, and that is to bring us all together," says CTA President Barbara E. Kerr. "He has created an incredible coalition of labor and community groups, and he has united us as never before."

Just as CTA is continuing its relationships with members of the Alliance for a Better California — firefighters, police and service workers — as well as the traditional school allies in the Education Coalition to improve public schools and build a better future for the state, so are local chapters.

After the election, members of the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB) and representatives of five other labor organizations — representing close to 15,000 workers in the area — met to interview school board candidates for endorsement, and agreed to repeat the process in January with candidates for city council, mayor and community college trustees.

"I don't recall anything like this having so many unions participating in one forum," says TALB First Vice President Mike Day. "We expect to endorse all the same candidates for these races."

TALB led the effort to create a coalition called Long Beach Labor, which includes the Long Beach Police Officers Association and local chapters of the Community College Association, the California School Employees Association (CSEA), the California Nurses Association, and the International Association of Machinists.

"With so many labor unions working together and speaking with one voice, we can promote policies that benefit all workers in our city and make it a much more livable place," says Day. "We have many shared issues."

The Glendale Teachers Association worked so well with local college professors, firefighters and police officers during the election that they have decided to continue the relationship in a "proactive" way, says GTA President Allen Freemon.

"During the election we put together a flier that had a GTA member, a police officer and a firefighter all saying no to Propositions 74, 75 and 76," says Freemon. "The fact that the people on the flier were local really helped."

When it came time to walk precincts and hand out the flier, each teacher was paired with a police officer or a firefighter. "Having two professions that inspire trust walking together made a huge difference."

In addition, they made 24,000 calls at the election phone bank.

The coalition — Glendale Works — is thinking about staging community events such as a basketball tournament to promote good will, says Freemon. "We'll go to the Farmer's Market as a unified group sharing our love for the city of Glendale."

"We want to be leaders in the community," says Freemon. "We recognize that there's a good chance that the governor or other leaders are going to come back and attack public employees again. We need to let folks know that we are not a group that's going to dissipate. We are going to get our message out there.

At the same time, he says, "folks need to know that we're not going to be around only when there's a crisis. We want to be a proactive coalition in Glendale."

In nearby Burbank, the Burbank Teachers Association developed bonds with firefighters, union theater workers and other unions in the entertainment industry during the election. "We're definitely going to continue working together here," says Burbank Teachers Association Co-President Kim Allender.

In fact, members of the local firefighters association are teaming up with teachers to promote reading in the classroom for Read Across America March 2. "This has never happened before and it's a result of this election."

Teachers Association of Lancaster President Cheryl Eslick credits the Antelope Valley Community Labor Coalition with helping to put CTA-backed school board candidates in office in November. "All 11 of our school board candidates won. There was only one college race where we weren't successful," she says. "It was a major victory that I don't think could have happened without the coalition. We energized the base here, and we are a very conservative area."

"It wasn't just school associations working together," says Eslick. "It was SEIU hospital workers, firefighters, teamsters, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Auto Workers pulling together as one amazing group. We're going to continue meeting as a coalition. Now that we've been awakened, we're not going to be sleeping anymore. We see the positive impact we can have together."

In January, the coalition, which continues to meet monthly, will begin the process of setting goals for the future.

Administrators also joined teachers at phone banks and rallies, which Eslick believes has contributed to an improved working relationship and even some contract settlements.

"Westside Union Teachers Association and Antelope Valley Teachers Association settled with a 4 percent raise; and the Teachers Association of Lancaster won a 3.5 percent raise after the election," says Eslick. "We expect other associations to follow.

"The governor turned out to be a friend to education after all — in a rather roundabout way."

In Ramona, teachers teamed up with local firefighters, forestry department employees, the county sheriff's office workers, nurses, the local school board, PTA, CSEA and school administrators during the campaign. I'm sorry we had to go through this election, but it did create a fabulous coalition," says Ramona Teachers Association President Michael Harrelson. "People are talking to each other who might have not done so otherwise. And it brings the important role that the local teachers association plays to people who might otherwise not be listening."

The coalition, which is continuing to meet, is focusing on local issues related to public health, safety and education.

In Merced, the Merced/Mariposa UniServ Unit is continuing an alliance formed during the election with a group called the Central Valley Hopefuls. The group is now trying to prevent a huge Wal-Mart distribution center from being located in Merced.

"We are opposed to it because we are concerned about an influx of low-wage jobs without benefits and the potential impact that it would have on local services," says UniServ Chair Joel Knox. "We are meeting soon to begin planning a strategy to turn this proposed distribution center back."

The Orange County Labor Coalition has made a lot of new friends for teachers, says CTA Board member Lloyd Porter. "We have a lot of really strong personalities and strong organizers all working together.

"We want to hold on to the coalition because our issues don't ever seem to go away. It's always one crisis after another."

But they also want to work on other issues related to working families. "We had such success in the last election, we want to build on that."

"The coalition is looking at politicians who have not followed through on their promises," says Orange Service Center Council Chair Jim Rogers.

"One includes a school board member who has aligned himself with the far right members of the board."

In addition to all of the local CTA chapters in the county, the coalition includes members of CSEA, the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Orange County Employees Association and the Central Labor Council.

Also bringing big benefits to all involved, says Porter, was the relationship that developed through regular meetings with traditional allies in the Education Coalition, including the PTA and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

"There's nothing like survival to bring people together," says Fresno Teachers Association President Larry Moore.

The Fresno Alliance for a Better California, which included firefighters, police, members of the building trades and others, turned into a "cohesive unit," which has decided to continue working together.

The group has its eye on the next governor's race "to make sure we have a reasonable person in office who will work with representatives of working people."

The November election was a waste, says Moore, "but at least we have made something positive out of it."