Tucson Citizen.com

Tired Tucson Teacher

It’s not a union, it’s an association

by on Jul. 17, 2011, under Education

Let me start by saying I have been a member of AEA/NEA and my local association since the first hour of my student teaching. I refused to walk into the classroom without being a member. You might say I bleed association red.

My reasons for belonging are numerous but suffice to say to me, the most important one is that as a professional I believe it is concomitant upon me to belong to my professional organization. That is not to say I agree with all they do, but in order for me to register complaints that will be heard I need to be part of the organization. It’s better to be on the inside talking than on the outside yelling.

In fact one of the greatest continuing frustrations of my professional life is directly caused by my association membership. Some years ago I ran for vice president of our local. I know, I’m not sure I would’ve voted for me. But I felt that I had been identified as a leader, I was an association representative, a board member, I’d attended several trainings to develop me as a leader (talk about questionable results!); I felt I needed to at least make some effort to put myself out there.

In the end I lost by one vote. I have to say I was POed! But it wasn’t losing by one vote that got me angry, it was that after all the effort that my opponent and I had put into running, after all the pamphlets and posters, the meetings and phone calls, after all that, less than 18% of the membership voted.

Believe it or not that’s not the worst of it! What, there’s more? The worst of it was everyone had received a paper ballot, all they had to do was mark one of the names and give it back to their representative. Not even 1 in 5 did it? No representative group can survive such apathy.

I know teachers are busy. From the moment teachers arrive in the morning until the blessed relief of collapsing at home, there isn’t a moment that is actually free. I know they don’t want to be bothered with other nonsense while they are so intent upon preparing young minds to go out and inherit the world — whatever there is left of it. But come on people, it’s your life, get involved! To the people who ask, “What has my association done for me?” I respond with, “What have you done to make your association better?”

Stepping down off my soapbox now, and to those of you who know me personally and are tempted to ask, yes, I reinforced the soapbox before I stepped up on it.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 17th, 2011 at 11:55 am and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • erice robertson

    you said yourself you did not think you were even worthy of your own vote and you are surprised no one votes?  that’s funny.

    • Marc Severson

      Yes it was an attempt at humor, good spot. Still that doesn’t mean that my opponent shouldn’t have won in a landslide of people clamoring to become active members.

  • Marty

    Might I suggest that the problem of apathy inside teacher unions (call them associations if you want, but that is a meaningless distinction in this day and age) is not a function of teacher’s being too busy to care. Yes, teachers are very busy, but that is beside the point. Teachers everywhere are busy, but most teacher unions are far more effective than the Tucson Education Association (TEA). Most teachers in Tucson are not involved with their union because the union does not represent them. You can look at membership numbers and see that virtually half of the teachers in TUSD don’t even want to be members. (You can expect the percentage of members to decrease further with the new law that makes it more difficult for teacher unions to use payroll deduction for dues.) Why don’t TUSD teachers feel that TEA represents them? Maybe it is because teachers feel under attack by the media and the public and their union does nothing to counter the attacks. Has a TEA president ever been on a talk radio show to respond to questions? Has TEA ever publicly criticized the TUSD Governing Board and administration for its failures? Has TEA ever publicized the incredibly large percentage of the TUSD budget that goes to administration? Instead of doing any of these things, TEA leaders are only quoted when they are either defending the failed leadership of TUSD or defending Raza Studies. Mr. Severson, I would suggest to you that if TEA began identifying the issues that concern most TUSD teachers and responded to them loudly and publicly you would find a reduction in apathy and a renewed interest in helping TEA fight back against the scapegoating of teachers for society’s failures.

    • Marc Severson

      The distinction between an association and a union is significant in that we live in a state that does not recognize unions.
      I am not sure when TEA last defended failed leadership, in fact I do not recall that ever happening, but I do know that TEA is only as strong or effective as its ACTIVE members.

      • Marty

        The distinction between a union and an association is merely semantic. Arizona does not recognize any requirement that employers bargain with unions. That does not mean Arizona does not recognize them. This is a right to work state. So is Alabama, but if you ask any Alabama politician whether teachers are effectively represented by the Alabama Education Association they will all tell you they are. TEA leaders have defended the failed policies of TUSD for years. When TUSD laid off 600 hundred teachers at the same time it hired new administrators, TEA leadership was busy pointing fingers at the legislature instead of the district. When TUSD puts all its apples into the Raza Studies basket, TEA is the amen choir.
        Blaming the members for the failures of the “Association” is a self-defeating proposition. It absolves the leadership of the Association for failing to do its job and organize and inspire the membership. Active “Association” members are not born…they are created by good leadership. TEA is completely lacking in that department. If Steve Courter and Luci Messing are the best y’all can do, TEA is just about done!

  • Byron

    I know you,Marc, and there is not a teacher in Tucson that is more dedicated and effective with their students than you.  I am trying to hear what you are saying but I would ask you to take a mental step back and take a look.  People are apathetic about the Union because it takes your dues and does nothing to help the students or the teachers.  I know you taught in a school for years that starts before Labor day when it’s the hottest most humid time of the year in Tucson.  You and the students had NO air conditioning in your school.  for years!! Any Union worth its dues would not have let that happen.  I can’t believe that TUSD would even think of doing that to our teachers and students.  Maybe the learning environment in Tucson has something to do with our students not passing the required knowledge tests.  Teachers still are at the bottom of the city pay scale while firemen and policemen are able to retire and still continue working and make double pay while they increase their retirement paychecks.  They don’t seem to have a problem with their Unions.  A teacher ASSOCIATION led and run by teachers who know what they need to educate our children would go a long way towards making the teaching profession what it should be and could provide the PR to get the public behind the teachers.  You would be a great leader of such an organization.  Keep up the good work.

    • Marc Severson

      Thank you for the kind words, but I am not in this for testimonials. I have to disagree with the assessment that I am a viable candidate to lead this organization. I believe our leadership must come from younger, more vibrant, energetic members and I can only hope that we find them. Take care, Byron.

  • Tristan Phillips

    Slapping lipstick on a pig doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a pig.
    You belong to a LABOR UNION. No ifs, ands, ors, or buts about it. Doesn’t matter if Arizona won’t give the union the same power that California does, it’s still a UNION. The NEA itself refers to itself as a union on their own web site. See http://www.nea.org/home/18469.htm as an example.
     
    You belong to and support a UNION, which has screwed over students to enrich their members for the past 40 years in all 50 states. So lie to yourself if it helps you sleep better at night, but don’t try to sell that lie to the public at large.

    • Marc Severson

      While I agree that NEA recognizes itself as a union, I am writing about Arizona, not the national arena. Your accusation that students have been ‘screwed’ to enrich teachers is problematic. I know of no rich teachers unless they were rich before they started teaching. I am sorry your experience with public school was such a negative one.

  • Dan

    There’s nothing professional about the NEA or AFT. They have never cared much about teacher quality until recently, when they realized that politicians from both parties are demanding it. And they haven’t cared much about the quality of the educational system, or responsiveness to parents’ and students’ needs, until recently. And that’s only because more Americans are waking up to the fact that we have islands of public education success in a sea of failure.
    What they have cared about, of course, is keeping health insurance deductibles low, premium co-pays low and pension systems funded with scant little teacher buy-in. And they have always been concerned about tenured teachers having a job for life, and teachers being judged by length of service rather than quality of work.
    Those aren’t the actions of a professional organization or a voluntary association. Those are the actions of a union looking out for its members.

  • Mark

    Marc,
    I visit my family in Tucson often, including a sibling who is a highly regarded Middle School teacher.  I have read the magazines sent by the teacher’s “association” and everything about those communications have been focused on how everyone is out to make screw with teachers.  Big topic was the imposition of standardized testing.  Yes, there is a need for the leadership in an “association” to recognize they feel the pain of the represented, but as my sibling said “Oh, I don’t read that.  It just brings me down.”  So, it could be that the emotional ecosystem of the “association” is such that it attracts those that are emotionally charged and upset, while driving people who are more normal/happy/adjusted to stay away.
    Wrap your braincells around this statement:  “I am so happy that we now have standardized testing.  Now, no matter how old I am, what color my skin, what sex I am, or how connected I am with the other teachers, I can NOW show in an objective way that when students come into my class, they are learning more that other teachers because of how hard I work.”
    Can you imagine teachers that you know thinking that way.  I can.  And I think some of those are the ones that are “apathetic” about the role of the teacher’s association in their lives.
    Now, to the question of “Association” vs. Union.  I am an engineer.  I belong to an Association.  At this association’s meetings, there are presenters that talk about the new things in our field.  There are also presenters that talk to “challenges” in our field (i.e. impact of new regulations).  In our association, we do not talk about pay, vacation, work conditions, management relations, health care, retirement, etc.  We are professionals.  Some of our companies offer great benefits; some do not.  Either way, each of us individually takes responsibility for our retirement (beyond Social Security, which will be gone when I retire) and whatever health care our employer doesn’t supply.
    I have a job and I get a raise at the will of my employer.  We have annual reviews, where we are judged against performance objectives made at the beginning of the year.  Due to my primary customer of last year not being able to make a decision, and low performance of my task, I received no raise.  That is life.  That is also a criteria that is much more variable than Standardized Test performance that many teachers are upset about.
    If I get no raise, it means that someone else in my company got a bigger one.
    My Professional Association does not negotiate for me with my employer.  If my employer cannot make any money by employing me, he is free to fire me, and retain those people who will best enhance the company’s profits (or even survival).  I generally work 45-60 hours per week.  I am on a professional salary, so there is no overtime.  I sometimes do all-nighters.  I work hard because I am driven to create, and also so that when my performance is reviewed, I have a better chance at a raise and do not get laid off.  While my 29 years of experience helps in many ways, in other ways it just means that I have a bunch of knowledge is irrelevant today.  I do not have a lot of sympathy for teachers who complain about their lot.
    Many people work much harder than you or I, and for a lot less money.  Do you watch Deadliest Catch?  Have you read about the amazing work that young men are doing in our country’s wars.  Young men that were mere kids in your classroom a couple years ago?
    I am sure there was a time years ago where you would have never called yourself “Tired Tucson Teacher.”  I encourage you to tap into the joy that you had with teaching in the past.  When you enjoy what you are doing, others enjoy you.  It is like alchemy.
    I do not know about the attitude within TEA.  You may be correct in that it is time for someone else who is younger and has more energy to lead.  It could be at this time, your role is to assist, and to be a friend.  Being an agent of change is a lonely job.
     
    Good Luck to you and your students.
    Mark (with a “k”).

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