From knocks on doors to sign up new members during the Summer Member Organizing campaign, to the creation and implementation of plans by locals at Summer Leaders, to the participation in back-to-school events, members around the state are working collectively and individually to build a union focused on sustaining growth and power well into the future.
NCAE members are on the move – building local membership power that hasn’t been seen in North Carolina for more than 13 years. Recently, NEA reported NCAE is seventh in the nation among affiliates for the number of members who joined via early enrollment and the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) was named the number one local affiliate in the country for early enrollees. Both were the fastest growing from April through August.
Locals are jumpstarting the year by holding mass meetings to set goals, developing strategic campaigns for the year, and offering team trainings in an effort to build capacity. And individual members, like Heather Watson of Wayne County, are using the training they have received to engage and organize at their workplaces.
A teacher at Northeast Elementary in Wayne County, Heather worked as a Summer Member Organizer and has been using the skills she acquired to recruit members, recently signing up the entire cafeteria staff of seven at her new school. Since the beginning of the year, 18 of her colleagues throughout the district have joined NCAE. It’s proving to be a great semester.
“You either go big or go home is my philosophy,” said Heather, who is used to signing up two to three members at a time when participating in recruitment efforts. “I had discussions with the cafeteria staff about the union during their back-to-school meeting and they were just a delightful group of ladies. Not only did they have concerns about the status of public education but also about the food being served to students (not that the food doesn’t meet the guidelines). They are on board with everything NCAE can do to support them in addressing the nutritional challenges children in our community face. We’re a Title 1 county, and more than 80 percent of school-aged children qualify for free and reduced-price lunch.”
Heather said since becoming members, the cafeteria staff have been dedicated to wearing their Red for Ed t-shirts each Wednesday. They hold a special place in her heart because of her grandmother who was a food service worker. “Our food nutrition staff absolutely love these children,” said Heather, as she reminisced about the wonderful lunches she enjoyed as a student. “They do more than feed them, they actually care for and nurture them. It’s wonderful as a classroom teacher to know if I have a child who comes to school hungry, that child will not leave the cafeteria without being fed. It makes a huge difference.”
Signing up bus drivers will be Heather’s next focus. The beginning of the year has been so busy she has been unable to meet with them as a group. But, she has a plan in mind that is part of her duties as the strategic outreach coordinator for the local, in addition to her responsibilities as building rep. “During Summer Leaders, I worked on our local’s one-year strategic plan, vision and long-term goals which includes strategic outreach. As the coordinator, I am helping to build a campaign for groups of staff within the school system, such as bus drivers, who have been asking for assistance. I will also plan new events and revamp those we host yearly.
Heather’s push to help grow and strengthen the union has started out on a great note and she only sees things getting better as the year progresses. “I have started implementing ‘Victory Fridays’ at my school. These are social gatherings I hold in my classroom to give colleagues a space to come together to celebrate wins from the week and grow in positivity. There is always an offer from me to extend help on anything they might need. Conversations are had and relationships developed that allow for discussions about the support a union can offer should it ever be needed. Through these conversations, folks began to understand -- in a non-threatening or pushy way – how the union is a champion for each of us as we continue working on our broken public education system. And there’s always food!
“Fifteen staff members attended the first meeting, which was phenomenal. I’m hoping that number will increase as more people feel comfortable about having those one-on-one conversations. Hopefully on a future Wednesday, there will be the realization that 30 percent of staff is wearing red shirts, then 40 percent, and so on and so on until 100 percent of the staff is wearing red. It’s a possibility I’m working toward.”
