Locals to Decide Actions
WEAC Executive Director Michael A. Butera discusses the impact of school
district revenue controls in an address to the 2004 WEAC Representative
Assembly. He said legislative leadership has been playing "a continuous
shell game."
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Teachers and education support professionals in one community might
focus heavily on writing letters to legislators, while those in another
might stage prominent job actions, under an action plan approved Sunday
(April 25, 2004) by the 923 delegates to the annual WEAC Representative
Assembly.
Every local in the state is asked to take some action next year as
part of the adopted unified plan, but each will determine its own level
of participation. The goal is to win support for:
- A revised system of school funding that ensures that every child
has access to an adequately funded public education.
- A fair collective bargaining law for teachers and education support
professionals.
Those goals include repeal of school district revenue controls, which
have robbed schools of the resources needed to maintain quality education,
and repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) law, which has stripped
teachers of their collective bargaining rights.
The Collective Action Plan was adopted by a nearly unanimous vote of
delegates who were sent to the RA in Milwaukee from locals and UniServs
throughout the state.
The plan grew out of a New Business Item passed at the 2003 RA and
a follow-up meeting February 7 of local association presidents from
throughout the state.
The plan provides flexibility for the type and level of participation
in each local association, but delegates emphasized the need for every
local to be involved.
“To be successful, the plan must have the commitment and participation
of members throughout the state, and the association will have to adopt
an organizing culture rather than operate under a service model,”
according to the introductory text of the plan.
Local leaders, UniServ directors and WEAC staff will assist in “tailoring
and implementing tactics at the local level.”
Under the action plan, each local association will commit to one of
three levels of tactics.
Level 1 participation involves:
- Hold at least one general membership meeting to explain the plan
and solicit member involvement.
- Send members to the 2004 and 2005 WEAC Summer Academy and 2005 Winter
Conference for training related to the plan.
- Request in October 2004 that the local school board pass a resolution
calling on the Legislature to repeal revenue controls and the QEO,
and support a change in state funding to public education that ensures
that every child in the local school district has access to an adequately
funded public education. The local will request that this school board
resolution be submitted to the annual Wisconsin Association of School
Boards (WASB) convention for positive action by that body.
- Organize and participate in an “I See RedDay" on October
15, 2004. Wearing red indicates a promise to vote for candidates who
support repeal of the QEO and revenue controls and positive changes.
- Participate in UniServ/WEAC campaign 2004 activities, including
all-member voter turnout in November 2004 for pro-public education
candidates.
- Ask members, by October 2004, to communicate with their school board
regarding the repeal of the QEO and revenue controls and support a
change in state funding of public education that ensures that every
child has access to an adequately funded public education.
- Have each member send an e-mail to his or her state representative
and senator on January 14, 2005, calling for the repeal of the QEO
and revenue controls and support a change in state funding to public
education that ensures that every child has access to an adequately
funded public education.
- Hold one accountability session each with the local state representative
and state senator in January 2005 to get them to clearly declare their
position on QEO and revenue cap repeal and to support a change in
state funding to public education that ensures that every child has
access to an adequately funded public education. The results of the
meeting will be reported to all members of the local.
- Support locals in all levels as communicated and coordinated through
the UniServ Council.
Level 2 participation involves:
- Commit to all actions in Level 1.
- Agree not to enter a voluntary contract settlement below WEAC, UniServ,
and/or regional bargaining goals.
- Develop and execute an escalating series of lawful job actions in
support of local bargaining efforts and/or repeal of the QEO and revenue
controls that include the withholding of all services currently provided
outside the contract day and withdrawal from all non-contractual for-pay
positions currently held as well as other step-by-step community organizing
actions appropriate to the local bargaining situation, if the established
goal is not reached.
- Develop and execute an escalating series of lawful statewide job
actions in support of ending the QEO and revenue controls and support
for a change in state funding to public education that ensures that
every child has access to an adequately funded public education.
- Develop and execute appropriate economic actions in support of the
same goals.
- Picket the homes, businesses or other appropriate locations of every
legislator who does not support the same goals.
- Support locals in all levels as communicated and coordinated through
the UniServ Council.
Level 3 participation involves:
- Commit to all actions described in Level 1 and Level 2.
- Develop and execute an escalating series of job actions (some of
which may be perceived to be acts of civil disobedience) in support
of local bargaining efforts. ESP local affiliates agree to participate
in a living wage campaign.
- Agree to organize local members to take a “day of leave”
to lobby in Madison in coordination with other locals around the state.
Posted April 26, 2004