tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post3362905882850048000..comments2024-01-30T01:07:07.808-05:00Comments on Education Worker: Organizing Around QualitySteve Owenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11463763850094685043noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post-65064820030789798632011-09-03T12:52:50.846-04:002011-09-03T12:52:50.846-04:00Patrick,
TURN was founded in 1995. For the history...Patrick,<br />TURN was founded in 1995. For the history look at this link: http://www.turnexchange.net/about/briefhistory.html<br /><br />A few thoughts. First, an important change has occurred within TURN. The locus of activity has been shifting from national TURN, which originally was relatively small group of large urban and suburban AFT and NEA locals, to the regional TURNS. This enables people like myself, president of a small rural NEA local, to engage in these professional conversations. Given that NEA has an enormous number of small locals, it means the thinking is being ported out to people who did not have easy access in the past.<br /><br />Second, many of the progressive ideas and practices of TURN locals have become mainstream. PAR is no longer a radical notion (admittedly it predates TURN). John Wilson gave a speech at RA extolling the potential of expanded scope bargaining to achieve equity - for STUDENTS. I found that remarkable. <br /><br />The number of people participating in TURN is less important than the success of the constellation of ideas and practices that is progressive unionism. I see that happening in many small ways.<br /><br />There are many folks in union leadership who who seem to me to have a vague sense that we could be doing better. By actually talking about some of the mechanisms of doing better, I believe that we can do better.<br /><br />Necessity is intervening as well. Our state affiliate is discussing the organizing model in the wake of Wisconsin, Ohio, etc. I'm trying to animate the model by directing towards the motivations of professional educators.<br /><br />Finally, a moral actor cannot stop doing what he or she believes is right based on growth, popularity, whatever. I believe these principles should inform the discussion; therefore I have an obligation to get them out into discourse.Steve Owenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11463763850094685043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post-65814055504550142532011-09-03T09:48:27.001-04:002011-09-03T09:48:27.001-04:00Steve- Always an excellent, thought provoking hist...Steve- Always an excellent, thought provoking historical/philosophical perspective. You make a convincing argument for the "organizing model" vs. the "member servicing model". <br /><br />Here's some broad thoughts/questions-<br /><br />Given your TURN experience- how long has TURN been in existence (where ideas like this are being explored)? At what rate is membership (or members with your ideas) growing each year? At their current rate of growth, when will "you all" be the majority of the union so that your ideas will be the predominant thought leading to policy?<br /><br />Here's the kicker- if there's growth, then you have, as you described, a "contending for the soul" of the union. <br /><br />If there is no real growth, then is there really a "battle" for the soul of the union? Or, are these thoughts just a small active, but stable (no growth) percentage of the organization that will always be there, but will never be the majority..<br /><br />And, if there is no real growth, then what does that say about what the majority of the members of the unions really want (no matter how convincing of an argument you make?<br /><br />Just some thoughts- perhaps some fodder for future posts... Hopefully, I'm wrong and you'll tell me that members with ideas like yours are increasing exponentially, and you hope to have a majority of the union by a certain date... :-)<br /><br />Continue to fight the good fight!<br />-PatrickPatrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10715254549126122859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post-38245621999657958462011-09-02T06:40:00.392-04:002011-09-02T06:40:00.392-04:00Edit, your point is very well taken. Were it not,...Edit, your point is very well taken. Were it not, there would have been no need for me to write a post arguing for a professional unionism. I can't speak for AFT, but my observation of NEA is that we talk, but that it doesn't have any striking effect at the retail level. Unions are massive bureaucratic and political structures. Change is difficult.<br /><br />That said, I'm not clear from your remarks where the funding would come from for your proposal. We are funded by member dues. For us to perform PD in the fashion you speak of would just see us redistributing people's dues money to one another. I would love to see my union fulfill just such a role, but I resist shifting more costs onto the backs of working people.<br /><br />The average gastroenterologist in this country makes $435,000 a year. At that rate I could afford to throw ten or twenty grand at my Association for PD without a crimp in my style. But we're in the land of $35,000 starting salaries (I've seen as low as $28,000 here in VT) for teachers.<br /><br />Our NEA state affiliate has become a fiscal agents for the federal funding stream to encourage National Board Certification. Perhaps that's a model to emulate. But we can't simultaneously be destroying unions AND expecting them to promote reform.<br /><br />Help me out here!Steve Owenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11463763850094685043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post-30611458259491341612011-09-01T23:29:00.598-04:002011-09-01T23:29:00.598-04:00Steve, I'm wondering when our teacher organiza...Steve, I'm wondering when our teacher organizations will take more seriously the professional development, training, and policing of their members. Other professional organizations provide PD and tie licensing or renewal to this training. I would LOVE for NEA/AFT to begin to seriously support and improve its members' practice and police its members in a rigorous and respectable way so that the very FEW bad ones aren't teaching.Edithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16775260621509463371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357764854898127625.post-88020442653529669702011-09-01T18:08:27.208-04:002011-09-01T18:08:27.208-04:00Great post with some great ideas about organizing ...Great post with some great ideas about organizing in my local union! Thanks for the brief intro to the member servicing vs. organizing model.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com