NEA RA. #4. Lobby time.
The first real session of the “largest deliberative body in the world,” as the NEA RA bills itself, began this morning at 11:00. To the music that every NBA team uses to introduce the players, the boring but likable graying president of the NEA, Dennis Van Roekel gaveled the meeting to order.
Soon credential reports, votes on the rules, and a speech by Van Roekel that would put a speed freak to sleep sent me to the lobby of the San Diego convention center to find a cup of coffee. It was definitely lobby time, time to meet other teachers and talk about Arne’s speech yesterday.
Remarkably, most of the people I talked to liked the speech and liked Arne. For all the talk on some blogs about the booing (including my own), there was a lot of good will expressed by the delegates, 15,000 teachers and education support workers (and I talked to every single one!), for the Obama administration and for the EdSec.
I asked lots of questions, and it appears that there is a sense that this administration is committed to cutting the teacher unions in on the action. If there are going to be expanded charters, merit pay plans and student performance expectations, then unions and collective bargaining are going to be a part of the deal.
Is that true? Right now, that is the perception of many of the folks sitting in the lobby while Van Roekel provided dozing time inside the hall.
We might have a seat at the table, but we do we get to have a voice?
Well doc, here’s the thing: It’s all contested, isn’t it. For example, We’re in the midst of negotiating a contract with our board. Am I pro-board? Are they pro-union? Nope. Nope. But we each have a seat at the table and we both are committed to collective bargaining. And the process of bargaining can take a long time. If you’ve done it, then you know. How much of a voice we have depends on a lot of factors, including what we ourselves do and what tactics we use. But, one thing I know. If we’re not at the table, none of it matters.
The RA passed a position on charters. It’s a good position and it’s a good basis for struggle within the USDE. How far we get with it is just like bargaining a contract. It depends on lots of factors, including what tactics we use.
These are complicated political times, and nobody knows all the answers. Me neither. But, again, this I do know. NBIs on merit pay, TFA, vouchers, charters…none of it means anything if we not at the table.