April_2019

UNITING

6 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2019

#REDFORED IN CONNECTICUT How CEA members are joining together to make a difference

From West Virginia to Oklahoma, Arizona, and beyond, educators have turned their city streets, town halls, and capitol lawns crimson in a sweeping movement—#RedforEd—that has empowered them to stand

up for their students, their profession, and their rights. Public school teachers across Connecticut have joined the cause.

Danbury fights for resources for students Wearing #RedforEd on Wednesdays this year, NEA-Danbury members are drawing attention to the lack of resources for Danbury public schools. Danbury spends fewer education dollars per child than any other municipality in Connecticut. Teachers have made signs with slogans including “Danbury students deserve better than #169!” and “Our future is in my classroom.” Many members have attended budget forums and town council meetings to urge officials to put children first and adopt the Board of Education budget.

West Hartford supports negotiations team When the West Hartford Education Association (WHEA) was at a standstill over contract negotiations this fall, more than 100 WHEA members crowded into town council chambers wearing #RedforEd. “The turnout really brightened my heart,” said WHEA President Theresa McKeown. WHEA also held walk-ins and walkouts at many schools—20 minutes before the first bell and 20 minutes after the last bell—to emphasize to administrators the extent to which West

Berlin unity

“We wanted to show we are a united front,” says Berlin Education Association (BEA) President Evelisa Mayette about #RedforEd walkouts BEA held during contract negotiations. Though the negotiations team had already secured a good offer, Mayette says,

Hartford teachers regularly go above and beyond. “It really educated members about their contract and woke up administrators,” says McKeown. West Hartford teachers were eventually able to get a contract with a better, more stable health plan and step movement.

“Teachers wanted to show our unity. We wanted to make sure the Board of Ed knew they weren’t just negotiating with the 10 members of the negotiations team and saw we were a united front.” Teachers overwhelmingly ratified the contract.

Wallingford says no to consolidation Wallingford teachers turned out in force in December to ask for a school renovation plan that puts students first. Several proposals the Board of Education was considering would have forced hundreds of middle and high school students out of their neighborhood schools and crowded them into one “megaschool.” Wallingford Education Association President Louis Faiella told the Board, “Creating Connecticut’s largest middle school would be disastrous for students, teachers, and the community.” The turnout—hundreds of teachers—as well as comments from teachers, students, and parents convinced the Board to scrap plans for consolidating the town’s two middle schools. The battle to keep both high schools open in Wallingford continues.

Region 13 gets respect “Teachers turned out in force after Board of Education members made comments that were not respectful of teachers and what we do in the classroom,” recalls Regional District 13 Education Association President Craig Bradanini. “They talked about ‘reducing overhead’ in reference to people, and not things.” Teachers wore red as a united group to remind Board members that they have a huge impact on children’s education. “We needed to show unity and let them know: we’re people, and we’re here, and we’re paying attention to what members apologized publicly for the comments they had made. It really proved that showing up in unity and having a presence made an impact.” you’re doing,” Bradanini explained. “Two Board

Ellington emerges with fair contract Worried that contract negotiations were heading toward arbitration, Ellington Education Association (EEA) leaders sent out an urgent request for members to show up at a Board of Education meeting. “We’d never done something like this, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we had 90 teachers come—which is almost half of our membership,” said EEA President Mark Mahler. “I think it was the largest number of people to ever attend an Ellington Board of Ed meeting. I was very proud of our members.” EEA was able to arrive at a contract that was acceptable to all, while creating a strong sense of belonging among EEA members.

Waterbury’s hard zero Hundreds of teachers packed a Waterbury Board of Education meeting in March wearing #RedforEd and chanting “No more zero!” after the Board decided to freeze teacher salaries. “We have reached a troubling crossroads in education,” said Kevin Egan, president of the Waterbury Teachers’ Association and CEA treasurer, calling the Board’s refusal of a salary increase “demoralizing to our teachers.” “When our union bands together, we have each other’s backs,” said Hopeville Elementary School teacher Stacy Hittenmark.