Challenges still face unions on anniversary of collective bargaining

By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin

Teacher leaders attending the CTA Presidents Conference celebrated the 30th anniversary of collective bargaining in California, but noted that times have never been more challenging for unions in general.

(from left) Linda Mitchell from Santa Barbara, Llewellyn Boyle from Patterson and Anne McCaughey from Stockton.

“Collective Bargaining: Out of Conflict and Into Accord” was the theme of the 51st annual conference, which coincided with the anniversary of the Rodda Act, the first collective bargaining law for California public employees.

“As you mark the accomplishment that made life better for educators and students, remember there are many who continue to want to limit and restrict our right to bargain,” observed CTA President Barbara E. Kerr as she welcomed conference participants to Pacific Grove. While issues and conflicts cannot be ignored, bargaining can be used as the means to address them.

Among the chapter leaders at the Presidents Conference are Judy Morrison from Paramount.

Chapter presidents attending a workshop titled “Leading in Turbulent Times” found strength from talking with others and learning that they are not alone in the challenges they face in their communities.

All of the participants said that No Child Left Behind has created enormous stress on schools, chapters and teacher leaders.

NCLB has meant a constant turnover of administrators, each of whom has differing tactics for improving academic achievement. “We train them and then they move on,” said Martha Coolidge, president of the Point Arena High School Teachers Association. Sometimes such stresses can divide teachers instead of uniting them, which further exacerbates the  problems, she said.

Nick Paff, co-president of the Roseland Educators Association, said his school is constantly featured in the local newspaper because of its high teacher turnover. “And many of the new teachers are scared to stick up for heir rights.”

The statewide problem of declining enrollment means fewer teachers, which also threatens local associations and collective bargaining. “In our district, we had 365 members, which went down to 170 people and now 70 people,” said Glynn Gregory, president of the Shasta County Certified Employees Association.

Workshop leaders Marta Dragos and Cynthia Baca, both CTA UniServ Staff, emphasized that communication — personal contact at site visits, meetings and even chapter retreats — can be the best way to build strong local associations in turbulent times. They  encouraged chapter presidents to pursue “active leadership” by motivating members to “share a vision,” as opposed to “passive leadership” where leaders wait for members to come to them with their problems and concerns. 

In another workshop, leaders discussed the challenge of converting agency fee payers into full members. Membership recruitment has taken a back seat to other duties and crises, said chapter leaders, who are concerned about the growing trend of newer, younger teachers to become fee payers and not participate in their local chapters.

There are two types of agency fee payers in her association, said Linda Young, president of the Fontana Teachers Association. The first type is a new member who has “fallen through the cracks” and has not been asked to join up. The second type believes that association membership has nothing to offer, and based on that assumption chooses not to join.

Her chapter is reaching out to members who have fallen through the cracks and actively recruiting them to sign up. The chapter has increased membership among the second group by trying to correct “misinformation” on which they may be basing their decisions.

Ron Reel, president of the Mount San Antonio College Faculty Association, says he has had success in signing up fee payers by communicating the benefits of membership. “I explain that they will have advantages that are not available for agency fee payers, such as a million dollar liability policy in the event that a student sues them.”

One in every five teachers is new to the job this year, said workshop presenter Frank Caso, a CTA Communications specialist. Nearly two thirds are younger than 27, and 50 percent will, in all likelihood, leave the profession in fewer than five years. If they don’t see the value in being members of the association, chapters will lose their capacity to bargain effectively, not to mention their ability to organize with outside groups around common concerns.

Among the ways to turn this around are issues based organizing efforts and outreach that includes innovative ways of meeting the needs of new teachers. Many new teachers, for example, report feeling anxious, overwhelmed and lost, issues veteran teachers are in a position to address.

The expansion of charter schools also poses a threat to collective bargaining, presidents learned at a workshop titled “Organizing Charter Schools.” More than 750 charter schools have been created in California since 1992, but less than a third of charter school teachers belong to CTA. [See related story]

Among the obstacles to organizing teachers at charter sites are fear, the “at will” dismissal status of teachers, high turnover of staff, and employer dirty tricks that leave teachers feeling vulnerable.

Adding to the obstacles is the fact that many teachers don’t realize that the law allows charter school teachers to form chapters and/or join the union.

Despite the challenges facing local associations, teachers should not be  discouraged, Kerr told presidents in her speech. Instead, they should feel buoyed by recent successes and build upon them.

“The defeat of Schwarzenegger’s anti-education, anti-teacher and anti-union initiatives was certainly sweet, but equally important was the local organizing and coalition building that happened during that effort,” she said. “The organizing that went on for that campaign was a true testament to the value of building strong local chapters, which, in turn, certainly showed the strength of CTA. It is your leadership and work back home — whether it’s Riverside, San Francisco, Bakersfield or Chula Vista — that makes CTA the strong voice for public schools, students and educators that it is today.”

Calling association leaders “the backbone of CTA,” Kerr urged them to help “finish what we started last year” by electing Phil Angelides as governor in November.

“It’s time we get a governor whom we can trust to put public education first. Let’s show them one more time the power of CTA.”