Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1527898
(CNTA) member. "Union activism has changed my lens and how I view meaning in my work and as a human being — and it's changed my life." Mata said that our union is about bettering ourselves to bet- ter all of us, to help our students grow and our communities to thrive. He said third-partying the union was an issue in CN TA until leaders held one-on- one meetings with every single member to talk about their needs — "it's amazing what it yielded, just that one thing," Mata says. This is why our solidarity and how we talk about our union is so important — maintaining a unified front is crucial for achieving better wages, working condi- tions and resources for our students, and building power at the bargaining table. For Michelle Nickell-Ramos, former president of Covina Unified Education Association (CUEA), building agency in the union also means working to ensure "the union is all of us" isn't just a slogan. is includes decentralizing union leadership and empowering members to work together at the site level to solve problems. "We've been very assertive with admin about insisting their principals talk to members at their sites before escalating it to local union leadership. We've been very deliberate about train- ing and empowering our site reps," says Nickell-Ramos, Service Center Council One chair. "Our reps feel sup- ported because we've given them the resources and space to hold meetings and handle our union issues at their site." is member empowerment strengthens our locals, raising collective knowledge and surfacing activists and leaders at sites throughout school districts. Nickell-Ramos says this is especially important because it reinforces that speaking up about problems helps to resolve them and shows members that there isn't one person to call to fix things. "It is easier to be a union leader when every- one feels like a union leader," she says. "I'm not a speech pathologist or a school counselor — those people need Association of Clovis Educators in May of this year; ACE President Amy Kilburn is second from right. " When they say 'the union,' who is the union? I am the union. When they say 'the CTA' — who is CTA? I am CTA." —ACE President Amy Kilburn Continued on Page 38 36 cta.org Frank Mata Feature