The CCC Road Scholar

OEA Pilot Local Convocation: December 7 & 8, 2012 (Eugene)

In 2010, OEA members approved a new way of approaching union work, which has transformed the OEA, and its locals, including the PTFA.  Among other changes (e.g. The Center for Great Public Schools, The Oregon Labor Candidate School, and The Center for Advocacy and Affiliate Services), the OEA has opened the “Union School”, which will pilot work at the local level. This work is to make our locals more visible, and to recruit more active and engaged members.

In other words, the OEA has become a member-driven union, as opposed to service-oriented union (which provides services). The OEA is now more interested in public education and its reform, while locals are now more responsible for their own growth, but they will have guidance from the new OEA Union School.

From the brochure: http://www.oregoned.org/atf/cf/%7b3f7af7ec-f984-4631-a411-148cd1fb8421%7d/oeaoct2012_sapinsert.pdf

These are challenging times for educators and our local associations, with fewer resources for our public schools and community colleges, attacks on unions and the labor movement, and members who feel stretched too thin. OEA’s Pilot Locals Program is an education, training and organizing initiative that will develop the skills and strategies for local leadership teams to transform their locals into more strategic, member-driven and powerful unions. OEA’s Powerful Pilot Locals Program is a one-year program designed to bring together a cross-section of OEA local associations to develop and execute plans that will launch our union on a new path, and provide models for other OEA locals to do the same.

The following locals have been selected to participate in the Powerful Locals Pilot Program:

·         District 6 EA (Central Point)

·         Forest Grove EA

·         Springfield EA

·         South Lane EA

·         Eugene EA

·         Brookings-Harbor EA

·         Redmond EA, Bend EA

·         Junction City ACE

·         Woodburn EA

·         District 21 EA (The Dalles)

·         North Wasco ESP

·         North Clackamas EA

·         Clackamas CC PTFA

·         Chemeketa CC EA

·         Rogue CC EA

These locals came together on December 7- 8 to kick off their strategic planning process. Throughout the rest of the year, these locals will work through strategic planning retreats, create a Pilot Locals communications network, and become more active and participatory local unions.

As a key component of OEA's Strategic Action Plan, the Powerful Locals Pilot Program will focus on two areas: providing education, training and support to local leadership teams, and working with locals to identify, recruit, train and engage members in core union areas. The Powerful Locals Pilot Project, under the direction of OEA's Union School, will be a "learning lab" to identify the most effective strategies to build powerful, strategic and member-driven locals.

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Jennifer’s Notes:

·         We must build capacity (have engaged members) NOW before bargaining gets underway and/or ugly and/or we need member engagement. No one will stand behind the bargaining team in the future if they aren’t engaged now.

·         We need to be pro-active, not re-active. The way to do this is to become more VISABLE to admin, to the other bargaining units, to the students and to the community. Some ideas:

o   Part-time poster (like Rosemary’s big, red A) in PTer’s offices. The poster could say something like: “Part Time FACULTY. We are united.”

o   PT posters in each department with tear off sheets with contact info (the blog address, our FB address, various emails- no personal info)

o   Announce / introduce “teacher of the month” at each Board of Ed. Members would nominate colleagues.

o   Donate time, money and/or talent to on- and off-campus events. For example, the PTFA could help with a blood drive.

o   Celebrate and announce PTFA successes

o   Publish in other newsletters (e.g. FYI and The Clackamas Print)

o   Partner with other progressive organizations, like Jobs with Justice, SIEU, BEW, etcetera. We volunteer for their events and they help us with ours.

More notes:

We need to develop a Strategic Plan for our local. We will meet with the Union School folks, who will guide us. A strategic plan would involve asking ourselves the following questions:

 

1. Who are we?

2. What are our strengths and weaknesses?

3. What are our outside threats and opportunities?

4. What are our values and vision?

5. What is our course for the next year or so?

 

Strategic planning also involves:

1. finding a establishing community ties (other locals, Jobs for Justice, etc)

2. being involved (somehow) in politics

3. keeping unions strong so we have a middle class