Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2864
to a 14-month contract dispute between the Covina Unified Edu- cation Association and the Covina Valley Unified School District. The agreement reached Nov. 6 gives CUEA members a 1.4 percent sal- ary schedule increase for this school year, and funds health ben- efit cost increases through 2010. Additional gains were made in sti- pends for athletic coaches and lan- guage for job-sharing teachers. CUEA members had been working without a settled contract since August 2007. While the dis- trict initially offered a 3.1 percent increase for 2007-08, they engaged in regressive bargaining that brought the offer down to zero per- cent. Adding to the tension was the Covina teachers organize for contract victory A strategic organizing effort capped by a 600-member protest has brought closure issuance of nearly 240 pink slips to teachers last year, a budget-cutting response that CUEA leaders de- cried as unnecessary and overkill. Ultimately they were proved right when all but eight of those notices were rescinded. A state mediator was assigned to help settle the contract dispute, but ultimately it was the solidarity of CUEA members that moved the district. On the night of Nov. 3, over 600 members marched from Cov- ina Park to district headquarters, where the school board members were meeting and contemplating their next move. Carrying signs that said “Put Teachers First” and “Make Things Right!” and wearing glow-in-the-dark necklaces, pro- testers demonstrated that they were united in their demand for a fair settlement. “We moved into that demonstration at the height of our strength,” says CUEA President Adam Hampton. “We spent a lot of effort building our organizational ca- pacity and our ability to communicate with our members.” The ef- fort brought the over- due settlement within two days and without the need for further state mediation. CUEA’s Crisis Team will con- tinue on as an organizing commit- tee and work to strengthen the as- sociation beyond just bargaining support. “We were initially reactive, but we’ve developed the ability to be far more proactive,” says Hamp- ton. “I couldn’t be more proud of Covina Unified Education Association president Adam Hampton speaks at a rally at district headquarters. everyone involved.” CUEA members overwhelm- ingly ratified the final agreement on Nov. 14. frank Wells ment and budget cuts, schools in these districts face additional difficulties attracting and retain- ing teachers, said CTA President David A. Sanchez, addressing attendees at the ninth annual CTA Rural Issues Conference held Jan. 16-18 in Las Vegas. “I’m grateful you have made Rural Issues and ESP conferences stimulate new ideas W i th so many rural schools in California facing declining enroll- also in Las Vegas. CTA members Ruthie Lan- a commitment to participate in this conference,” continued Sanchez. “I congratulate you and the conference committee for your efforts to ensure qual- ity professional development opportunities for CTA mem- bers who teach in rural areas of the state.” Preceding the Rural Issues Conference this year was CTA’s Education Support Profession- als Conference on Jan. 15-16, caster, a library aide at the Trono Unified School District, and her colleague, Jamie Gos- sett, a paraprofessional and part-time office assistant in the High Desert school system located near Death Valley, agreed that one of the most valuable benefits of their CTA membership is the outstand- ing professional development and networking opportunities available at CTA-sponsored events like the ESP and Rural Issues conferences. From left to right: Westside Union kindergarten teacher Bill Lindoff, Keynote Speaker Dr. Rachel Tompkins, and Los Banos music teacher Anthony Parreira. february 2009 | www.cta.org 25 “Isolation is a huge factor for school employees and the students we serve in many of Ca lifornia’s more rural locations,” said Gossett, “and we of ten don’t have the financial resources of urban or suburban school districts, but we face the same challenges and responsibilities.” “You have to be real ly creative and inventive,” said Lancaster, “and the ideas and insights we get at programs like t h ese conf erences ar e invaluable.” In her keynote speech at the Rural Issues Conference, Ra- CTA photo by Scott Buschman CTA photo by Frank Wells