feb-mar

COMMUNICATING

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2018 CEA ADVISOR 9

“It’s a no-brainer. If you don’t have a union, you don’t have anything. Members often don’t know what’s waiting in the wings, what’s behind any given initiative. The union stays on top of this. Above all, belonging to a union gives teachers a VOICE . If you aren’t already involved, it’s time. Don’t leave it to everyone else. The more we stand together, the more we stand to win.” 48-year veteran Montville teacher Kathryn Brigandi

“So many people today don’t understand the function and importance of unions, especially newer teachers who are understandably focused on their immediate needs and don’t know how unions have laid the groundwork for the positive working conditions we have today. The fact that Janus can take that away is disconcerting.” Alan Trotochaud (left), chemistry teacher at E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield, pictured with E.O. Smith AP statistics teacher Geoff Kern

“I didn’t understand how much the union works for us until I got involved. The state continues to make cuts to public education funding, we have a U.S. Secretary of Education who doesn’t believe in public education, plus all the other forces working against us. We need to educate all teachers about the union, because without it, our profession is anything but stable.” Danbury High School English teacher Devin Samaha

“You don’t always realize how much the union is doing behind the scenes. While we’re busy teaching our students, they’re fighting for our students and for us. The more you learn, the more you can see why you pay your dues.” Enfield teacher Dolores Weir (far right), pictured with colleagues Ann-Lynn Moffett and Michele Wilcox

“We don’t want to end up like Arizona. We don’t want to end up like Wisconsin, with no representation, with a weakened union. It’s so critical, so crucial to come together. We are professionals and need to be treated as such. We have to rally and show who we are, as teachers, as CEA. The time is now.”

Cromwell eighth-grade science teacher Andrea Middlebrooks

“Here’s what I would tell any teacher who’s questioning the value of belonging to the union: Let DCF come knocking on your door. No teacher ever expects that, but it happens more than you might think, and as a union member, you have the power of CEA’s attorneys behind you—at no charge. When a teacher is unfairly attacked, CEA is right there in your corner.”

“As a fourth-year teacher, I realize from my colleagues who have been in this profession a long time how much we owe to our union, how our salaries and our rights would be impacted without the union behind us. CEA knows the hard work we do,

Vernon elementary school teacher Jaime Doubleday (left), with fellow Vernon teachers Peggy Wilde and Carrie MacDonald

and they work hard on our behalf.” Wallingford eighth-grade Spanish teacher Jessica Suarez