Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1530930
" It needs to be a full community effort. We included family members, students, teacher voice and other staff voice. The more voices you include, the more successful you will be in receiving a response." — United Teachers of Richmond Organizing Chair Sam Cleare " The Safety Guide from CTA Legal is fantastic and shows your rights through Education Code. If you are aware of what sort of tools you have, it's a lot easier to become safer." — Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Faculty Association President Curt Greeley " Our biggest allies are our families and community members. It's building those relationships with our community and elected leaders, because when something happens, you can tap into that network and build support for issues in our schools. I found that to be our greatest ally in supporting not only our schools but our community." — Auburn Union Teachers Association, President Sara Liebert " Stand in your power and know you are on the right side of this fight, no matter what administration is telling you about why something can or can't be done. Know that our students deserve better, that you deserve better and stand strong for what's right." — Oakland Education Association Site Representative Ella Every-Wortman soldering, which can leach the hazardous metal into the water as they age. OEA continues organizing in school communities and advocating at school board meetings. e district has a plan, but Every-Wortman says it's not fast or proactive enough to ensure student safety, with recently installed water filtration systems proving inadequate for the heavy daily use by hundreds of thirsty students at each school. OEA joined a coalition focused on the issue, Get the Lead Out of Oakland, issuing a list of demands to the district including lowering the acceptable amount of lead in drinking water to zero parts per billion. "We had some very proactive teachers who were really speaking to the fact that the safest thing right now is to shut off the water sources and wait until we are sure everything is safe," they say. "It's well researched that there's no safe level of lead in the water, especially when we're talking about children." OEA has filed a grievance on the issue, is considering filing complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration (OSHA) and is examining how to address the safety and health issues in bargaining, though they say a short-term solution is needed now. But with an estimated $60 million cost to modern- ize all the unsafe schools, Every-Wortman says it's not reasonable for Oakland Unified to have to fix the problem on its own. "We need more funding and on a state level. We need to push toward a more unified vision of what the standard in public edu- cation should be," they say. " We need safe drinking water, and anything that gets us closer to that is what we need to do." Auburn Teachers Battle District Admin for Safe Water "Issues like this bring to light that we need to have more in our contracts about climate control and access to water," says Sara Liebert, president of Auburn Union Teachers Association (AUTA). "We actually have to write this in our collective bargaining agree- ments now and hold our districts accountable because there are a lot of things that are not being taken care of in our schools." Auburn teachers found themselves fighting for safe drinking water in the heart of Gold Country last year, when lead fixtures contaminated water in classrooms and drinking fountains. e district discovered the lead contamination in schools at the end of the previous school year and made necessary repairs at some sites with a promise to complete the others over summer. Liebert says that didn't happen. "It was a known fact that this was an issue, and it was sup- posed to be dealt with before the next school year," the third grade teacher says. "When we started school, the sinks were roped off and there were signs that said 'do not use.' It's Auburn and it gets really hot, so what are we supposed to do with our students?" Pro Tips for Organizing Around Safe School Facilities 18 cta.org Feature