It's a critically important time for cyber-lobbying.
The House budget which passed on Monday includes a 3.9% COLA increase in teacher salary, plus a 1% catch-up to make up for one of the years with no raise we endured a few years back, plus another .6% in levy equalization money for districts (like us!) that weren't grandfathered in under the higher levy lid rate. The end sum is a possible 5.5% raise, IF we can get it through the Senate and the Governor.
That's where you come in. Please take a few minutes to follow the link off of this page and send an email to your state senator letting him or her know that the increased COLA is important to you. If you live in the 3rd or 6th legislative districts (Senators Lisa Brown and Chris Marr, respectively) it's especially important, and they seem to be on the fence right now.
Contacts from people who live in their district make a world of difference. Please take a few minutes (not from your work computer!) and let your voice be heard!
Monday, February 25, 2008
What's New With Bargaining?
This past weekend Diana Nicely, Tina Evans, Melanie Kilgore, Wendy Stewart, Terry King, and Ryan Grant all attended the Eastern Regional Bargaining Conference in Moses Lake. It was a very good conference that lead to a ton of discussion; the best part comes in hearing what the other locals around the state are doing and thinking about how the work they've done can benefit us.
We followed that up by attending a Beginning Bargaining Skills workshop at the WEA-Eastern office where we talked about strategies for successful negotiating, as well as the basics of table behavior. They served bake potatoes, and that's all it takes for me to call it a good day.
Bottom line, the team is working hard! We've identified a couple of key areas that we'll be focusing on, and our clear number one priority that we refuse to give on is....certainly not going to get posted on the internet. ;-)
Please always remember that the members of your bargaining team are always happy to listen to the questions and comments you have. It's your input that allows us to be successful; please share!
The 2008 Bargaining Team members are:
Medical Lake Elementary: Wendy Stewart, Lisa Dunlop, Jamie Meyers
Hallett Elementary: Sheila Overman, Cheryl Spilker
Anderson Elementary: Melanie Kilgore, Ryan Grant
Medical Lake Middle School: Terry King, Sam Peterson
Medical Lake High School: Vikki Hernvall, Tim Martin
Student Services: Holly Smith, Tina Evans
We followed that up by attending a Beginning Bargaining Skills workshop at the WEA-Eastern office where we talked about strategies for successful negotiating, as well as the basics of table behavior. They served bake potatoes, and that's all it takes for me to call it a good day.
Bottom line, the team is working hard! We've identified a couple of key areas that we'll be focusing on, and our clear number one priority that we refuse to give on is....certainly not going to get posted on the internet. ;-)
Please always remember that the members of your bargaining team are always happy to listen to the questions and comments you have. It's your input that allows us to be successful; please share!
The 2008 Bargaining Team members are:
Medical Lake Elementary: Wendy Stewart, Lisa Dunlop, Jamie Meyers
Hallett Elementary: Sheila Overman, Cheryl Spilker
Anderson Elementary: Melanie Kilgore, Ryan Grant
Medical Lake Middle School: Terry King, Sam Peterson
Medical Lake High School: Vikki Hernvall, Tim Martin
Student Services: Holly Smith, Tina Evans
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Calendar is Available for Voting
At our labor/management meeting with Dr. Veltri and Mr. Headlee this past Thursday the district presented their proposal for the 2008-2009 school year calendar. We looked it over and couldn't see any obvious changes to make, and from that basis we decided to send it on to you to vote on. If you could add you tally to your building list sometime this week, it would be appreciated.
Thank you!
--The MLEA Exec Board--
Thank you!
--The MLEA Exec Board--
Sunday, February 17, 2008
It's Time to Do Some Cyber-Lobbying!
It's a big, big week for our legislative priorities in Olympia.
First, the bad news: HB2458, which would have added money to lower class size in grades K through 3, failed to make it out of committee. What we heard from our legislators was that it was just too expensive for now, but it's an issue that will certainly come up again in the full session next year.
The good news, though, is that our drive to restore the COLA that was cut in 2004 still has a good shot of making it through. The revenue forecast that was released on Friday doesn't help, but note that we still have a healthy state surplus, and a big part of that surplus is there because of the suspended COLA. Basically, it's our money that's floating their reserve.
What can you do? Please go here to send an email to your legislators and let them know that you support restoring the lost COLA this coming year. It's particularly important for us here in Eastern Washington to step up and let our legislators know what we want; if they don't hear from us, it's that much easier for them to vote no. The WEA form above is very easy and only takes a minute--give it a go!
First, the bad news: HB2458, which would have added money to lower class size in grades K through 3, failed to make it out of committee. What we heard from our legislators was that it was just too expensive for now, but it's an issue that will certainly come up again in the full session next year.
The good news, though, is that our drive to restore the COLA that was cut in 2004 still has a good shot of making it through. The revenue forecast that was released on Friday doesn't help, but note that we still have a healthy state surplus, and a big part of that surplus is there because of the suspended COLA. Basically, it's our money that's floating their reserve.
What can you do? Please go here to send an email to your legislators and let them know that you support restoring the lost COLA this coming year. It's particularly important for us here in Eastern Washington to step up and let our legislators know what we want; if they don't hear from us, it's that much easier for them to vote no. The WEA form above is very easy and only takes a minute--give it a go!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What's Going On With the Make-Up Days?
There's a lot of confusion right now with our make-up days: how many do we have to do, when will we do them, are we going to make the school day longer, etc. Your Exec Board has been having some great conversations via the email, and this Thursday, February 14th we have our next Labor/Management meeting with Dr. Veltri where she'll lay out the District's vision for what should happen. Contractually the District is obligated to consult with us regarding changes in the school day and how we do make-up days, and I promise you that we'll be in touch ASAP with any proposals.
If you're hearing things and you have thoughts, PLEASE share them with your building rep or Exec Board member. Our greatest goal is to represent you and what you want; an extension of that is that we value your opinions and want to hear them. We appreciate any and all input!
With thanks,
--The MLEA Exec Board--
If you're hearing things and you have thoughts, PLEASE share them with your building rep or Exec Board member. Our greatest goal is to represent you and what you want; an extension of that is that we value your opinions and want to hear them. We appreciate any and all input!
With thanks,
--The MLEA Exec Board--
Diversity Workshop Available
MLEA Members,
The Spokane Education Association and WEA-Eastern Washington are co-sponsoring a workshop on "cross cultural competency facilitation" next week at the WEA offices on Montgomery Avenue in Spokane. The goal is to teach skills that will increase cultural awareness and diversity in our public schools and are applicable in many different arenas. The workshop runs on the following dates:
Thursday, February 21st: 5:00 to 8:00
Friday, February 22nd: 8:00 to 3:00
Saturday, February 23rd: 9:00 to 12:00
Clock hours are available, and the Council office will pay the Friday sub costs of anyone interested in attending.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, YOU NEED TO ACT FAST; the RSVP deadline is this Friday, February 15th. To sign up please call the WEA-Eastern office at 326-4046, or send an email to Ryan Grant and he'll take care of it for you.
Thank you!
--The MLEA Exec Board--
The Spokane Education Association and WEA-Eastern Washington are co-sponsoring a workshop on "cross cultural competency facilitation" next week at the WEA offices on Montgomery Avenue in Spokane. The goal is to teach skills that will increase cultural awareness and diversity in our public schools and are applicable in many different arenas. The workshop runs on the following dates:
Thursday, February 21st: 5:00 to 8:00
Friday, February 22nd: 8:00 to 3:00
Saturday, February 23rd: 9:00 to 12:00
Clock hours are available, and the Council office will pay the Friday sub costs of anyone interested in attending.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, YOU NEED TO ACT FAST; the RSVP deadline is this Friday, February 15th. To sign up please call the WEA-Eastern office at 326-4046, or send an email to Ryan Grant and he'll take care of it for you.
Thank you!
--The MLEA Exec Board--
Let Your Voice Be Heard in Olympia
We're reaching a critical time in this legislative session. There's a big revenue forecast coming out on Friday, and the Senate is set to release their education budget next week. One of our major goals for this session was to restore the COLA that was cuta few years back, and you can help that happen.
I can tell you honestly that the emails you send to the legislature make a difference; in the meetings that I had in Olympia earlier this week several of the politicians we sat down with talked about how getting that feedback from teachers made an impact. Dan Brown, president of WEA-Eastern, gives some of the basics on cyber lobbying here, and you can follow this link to go to a great, intuitive website that the WEA has set up that makes emailing your elected representatives a breeze. If you don't know your Senator or Representative, don't sweat it--put in your address and the site will figure it out for you.
One important thing: DO NOT SEND POLITICAL EMAILS FROM YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESS OR DURING SCHOOL HOURS. This runs afoul of all sorts of campiagn finance law, and it gets noticed. Also, if you read the message from Dan above, cc the email to him and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a small cash prize. That said, the satisfaction of being a part of the process is priceless, so you come out ahead no matter what happens.
Thanks!
I can tell you honestly that the emails you send to the legislature make a difference; in the meetings that I had in Olympia earlier this week several of the politicians we sat down with talked about how getting that feedback from teachers made an impact. Dan Brown, president of WEA-Eastern, gives some of the basics on cyber lobbying here, and you can follow this link to go to a great, intuitive website that the WEA has set up that makes emailing your elected representatives a breeze. If you don't know your Senator or Representative, don't sweat it--put in your address and the site will figure it out for you.
One important thing: DO NOT SEND POLITICAL EMAILS FROM YOUR SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESS OR DURING SCHOOL HOURS. This runs afoul of all sorts of campiagn finance law, and it gets noticed. Also, if you read the message from Dan above, cc the email to him and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a small cash prize. That said, the satisfaction of being a part of the process is priceless, so you come out ahead no matter what happens.
Thanks!
Lobbying in Olympia
Hello MLEA friends, Ryan the VP here.
One of the things that I've been able to do this year as a part of my duties with WEA-Eastern is to go to Olympia and spend a couple of days lobbying as part of the WEA Legislative Action Team. It's been a great time, meeting with people that I've seen on the ballot, and it's a neat look at the process that goes into passing the laws that effect us in the classroom. Some pictures from our trips that I wanted to share:
From left to right you're looking at:
One of the things that I've been able to do this year as a part of my duties with WEA-Eastern is to go to Olympia and spend a couple of days lobbying as part of the WEA Legislative Action Team. It's been a great time, meeting with people that I've seen on the ballot, and it's a neat look at the process that goes into passing the laws that effect us in the classroom. Some pictures from our trips that I wanted to share:
From left to right you're looking at:
- Dan Brown, our WEA-Eastern council president. He's a school psychologist from Deer Park getting ready to retire at the end of the year.
- Maureen Ramos, president of the Spokane EA.
- Rebecca, a staffer with the Spokane EA.
- Debbie Rose, a 5th grade teacher from Mead, who is our current WEA-PAC chair and coordinates all of the political activities for our council.
- Me, and
- Bev Shaefer, council vice president, from the East Valley School district.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)