When it comes to organizing for public schools, Allison Swaim said it’s all about relationships. Each time she has committed to an organizing effort, it’s directly connected to people she cares about and is willing to “throw down” for.
A teacher at Riverside High School and member of the Durham Association of Educators (DAE), Allison believes in NCAE and the organization’s plan to win. She has been described as a “powerhouse” when it comes to talking to colleagues about the union and recruiting members.
“I believe in making it a fun competition and celebrating when different rooms and departments at my school get close to reaching 100 percent density. There is a buzz in the air this year and everyone is seeing, hearing and talking about our union. Hyping up these wins has helped lead to more visibility and more folks joining in.”
Since April of this year, her school has grown from 25 members to more than 90 and is now a majority union school.
Allison became involved in community organizing during her first year of teaching, when a Riverside High student was picked up by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers on his way to school. “We came together to build a campaign to get him out of immigration jail. I was in the core organizing group, along with coworkers, DAE members, students, and community organizers. From the very beginning, DAE leaders and members showed up and were all in, supporting the educators and students at my school who were leading the fight.”
This was also when she made the decision to join NCAE. “I was traveling to Washington, DC with educators from Charlotte and parents of a student who had been detained there. We were scheduled to meet with members of Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education and former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. I figured I needed to be an official member of the union when meeting with the NEA president and repping the work of DAE.”
That was in 2016, and Allison has been involved in the work of public school organizing ever since, not only helping lead work through the DAE Immigrant Justice Committee, but also in winning campaigns focused on extra-duty pay, employee free speech and ensuring custodial staff are hired in-house instead of contract employees. Last spring, she participated in a six-week “Skills to Win” training hosted by NEA that served as a real game changer. The training gave her a framework to understand some things she had noticed but did not have language for and she learned key concepts and skills she is now using to help build the union.
“Something that really struck me in the training was learning about the LA Teachers Union. They had collective bargaining, a union contract, and more than 90 percent density, but they were unable to get anything done for 20 years because they lacked structure. They had the membership numbers but weren’t organized. When they got organized and built an effective structure, that was the key to winning huge changes and the best contract in 20 years. That example gave me so much hope for us in North Carolina. Because what made the difference for them in winning changes in their schools wasn’t the legal context - collective bargaining as opposed to ‘right to work.’ It was having both density (numbers) and structure (being really organized). We can have that here and that’s what we’re building, in Durham and across the state.”
Allison’s secret to effective organizing conversations is really believing strongly in the union and the plan to win.
“The work we’re doing to organize public school workers across the state is really big. A lot is on the line, and I believe in our team. What makes me excited about this moment is we’re not only organizing to win big things in Durham, we’re building a statewide movement to unite public school workers, families and communities. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be and nothing else I’d rather be doing.”
