Advocacy 101: Wake up, everybody!

WAKE UP, EVERYBODY! Advocacy in our New

WorldLAE Summer Leadership Conference

July 24, 2012

Lynda Guidry, LAE Director of Field Services, Membership, Organizing & Legal Services

Melanie Mitchell, NEA Membership Organizational Consultant

Vera Loyd, LAE Region 1 UniServ Director

Angela Miller, LAE Region 3 UniServ Director

Expected Outcomes

Basic Understanding of Act 1’s impact on employees

Strategies for organizing & increasing membership in your workplace

NORMS/PARKING LOT Be on time

Be respectful when sharing

Turn cell phones to silent mode

Be fully present

Place issues off topic in the Parking Lot to be addressed

Any other suggestions?

Schedule

9:00 – ADVOCACY & CONTRACTS

10:15 - BREAK

10:30 – EVALUATIONS, GRIEVANCES, POLICIES, LAWS

11:45 - LUNCH

INTRODUCTIONS

Please share with us…

Your Name

Your Local Association

Your Position in the Local Association

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Advocacy Impact on Membership

Advocacy Impact on Membership

Be a fair and helpful advocate or you will lose members.

Many members join so that they will have someone to help them if the district treats them unfairly.

Let members know what the association does to help members in a general way, but keep names and details confidential.

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Advocacy Impact onMembership

If members question why the association is helping a “bad” employee, explain that the association works to protect the process and ensure that all members are treated fairly.

Develop cooperative relationships with administrators, if possible, so that you have more credibility when trying to resolve employee problems.

Help prevent problems by helping members improve their job performance.

!

Employee Rights Quiz

Agree Disagree

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State or Federal law covers most employment problems for school employees.

AgreeDisagree

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DISAGREE

Support employees are governed by FLSA, but very few state laws govern ESP.

Most laws that teachers have enjoyed for many years have been amended or repealed.

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All school employees have the same set of legal rights.

Agree Disagree

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Disagree

Teachers who were tenured before September 1, 2012 will retain tenure. Beginning July 1, 2012 teachers rated “highly effective” for 5 years within a 6-year period earn tenure pursuant to the performance evaluation program.

Teachers not awarded tenure remain ”at-will.”

Support professionals are “at-will.”

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All school employees have a right to a fair hearing prior to being terminated from their jobs.

Agree Disagree

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Disagree

Tenured teachers have the right to a hearing before a panel of 3 people – superintendent designee, principal designee, and teacher designee. Support staff may or may not have a right to a hearing, depending on their contracts and district policy. Everyone else is “at-will” and does not have the right to a hearing.

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A teacher cannot be transferred to another grade level, subject or school building without his or her permission.

Agree Disagree

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Disagree

Some districts can involuntarily transfer employees for any reason or for the “needs of the district.”

District policies will have to be changed to reflect the new laws.

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All school employees can quit by simply submitting a letter of resignation.

I just w

anted

to le

t you

know I quit!

!!

AgreeDisagree

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Disagree

It will depend on school district policy and new contract language.

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A school employee’s personal life is none of the school’s business.

Agree Disagree

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Disagree

Many aspects of a school employee’s personal life are not the school’s concern. However, a school district has a legitimate interest in personal activities that interfere with the employee’s ability or fitness to work.

Also, it is the school’s “business” if the employee has molested children or stolen property, even if those crimes were committed after work hours.

Employees must also exercise good judgment when using Facebook, My Space, Twitter, etc.

Contracts

Basic Requirementsfor Teacher Contracts

1. Certainty as to the length of the school day;

Basic Requirementsfor Teacher Contracts

2. Certainty as to the length of the school year;

Basic Requirementsfor Teacher Contracts3. Certainty as to the amount of money that a teacher will be paid for the agreed upon school day/ school year; and

Basic Requirementsfor Teacher Contracts

4. Certainty as to the amount of money that a teacher will be paid for work outside of the agreed upon school day/ school year.

Contracts

Examine contractsWhat’s missing?How would you organize to

fix the contract in your district?

LAE Works

http://laeworks.org/index.html

10-Minute MeetingTemplate for 10-Minute Site Meeting (advertise agenda)

Minutes Topic Rationale

(1-2) Brief overview Keeping members informed

(3-6) State issue Gain consensus

(7-9) Take stand/ Creates solidarity @ site

make decision

(10) Recognition Develop spirit and improve

morale @ site

Use 4x6 cards to alert AR of other issues to be addressed in the future.