Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/939681
SLTA's Ron Thompson, Amy Reick and Phil Smothermon, teachers at Bancroft Middle School. goals, for the sake of students and the community. Morse believes in face-to-face meetings and forums on union issues to build unity. He says working with CTA is key in these uncertain political times, which is why he asked CTA Board member Terri Jackson, an East Bay teacher, to address San Leandro teachers early last year about the dangers posed to education by the Trump administration. Last fall, he attended a CTA conference in San Jose. "President Eric Heins was there, and he said the one thing we need to do as union activists is build relation- ships. He was right." He says the ongoing SLTA efforts will help San Lean- dro teachers face whatever threat to students and the teaching profession lies ahead. "People do know that we are under attack, and they are ready to step up," Morse says. "People are woke more than they've ever been." integration, English learner issues and tech inte- gration are holding ongoing meetings involving scores of members. Morse will give a presentation on vital union issues and SLTA victories at all school sites in Feb- ruary and March. It mostly underlines the attacks on public schools by federal anti-union efforts, and the dangers from the pending U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME, which would weaken unions by ending the requirement that non-union members must pay fair share fees to cover the costs of representing them. (See Morse's presentation at bit.ly/2DiyFSj.) By improving labor-management relations and engaging members over the last six years, SLTA: • Secured 23.5 percent salary increases. • Lowered class sizes in elementary schools. • Created a wellness committee that holds employee health fairs, with one planned March 30. • Secured more nursing and counselor positions. • Elected pro-student and pro-teacher majorities to the progressive school board. In fact, with its active political action committee and the union's affiliation with the Alameda County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the SLTA endorsement in school board races has taken on a huge significance for candidates, Sherr says. "San Leandro is still a union town." He adds that Alameda County's labor movement is a good place to seek common CTA Board member Terri Jackson participates in a forum with SLTA members. 58 cta.org CTA & You M E M B E R E N G A G E M E N T