Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/45361
TAKING A STAND Update: CUEA parlays momentum of hard-won strike into additional wins Capistrano Unified Education Association members on the picket lines, bolstered by parent and community support. A NEW DAY is dawning in Capistrano. As a result of the hard work and unity of more than 2,000 members of the Capistrano Unified Education Association (CUEA) over a three-day strike in April 2010, positive change is occurring for students and teach- ers in the school district. Their bold action, bolstered by parent and community support, forced the board's negotiating team to back off their imposed contract and accept language promising to restore salary and benefits cuts should new revenue accrue to the district. Now, over a year and a half later, CUEA members say their strike was definitely worth the dis- comfort and disruption, and has brought positive, better-than-anticipated results to their entire community. "CUEA and the district office are working together in the best interest of our learning community. We have a new superintendent who is willing to support and collaborate with teachers," says fifth-grade teacher Steve Ciolek. "I have a renewed sense of pride in working for the Capistrano school district and in belonging to CUEA." CUEA advocacy action didn't stop at the end of the strike. Working within a broad coalition of educators, parents and com- munity members in a petition recall cam- paign, CUEA members helped elect two new board members who support teachers. In addition, the CUEA-backed Measure H, which requires school board candidates to run from the areas where they reside, passed overwhelmingly. Supporters believe that the new voting method forces future school candidates to connect with their neighborhood constituencies instead of with potential political cabals. "Without turning over those two school board members, key restoration language achieved in the settlement would never have been honored," says CUEA President Vicki Soderberg. "Teachers received approxi- mately 3.5 percent back into their pockets in 2010-11 from previously unanticipated rev- enue, allowing them to remain comparable in salary and benefits with their colleagues teaching throughout Orange County." Teachers also received additional plan- ning time to help improve student learning, as well as changes regarding annual transfer and leave time. "While it's definitely true that adequate salary and benefits help retain quality teach- ers, and that ultimately benefits our stu- dents, I'm most proud of a renewed sense of hope and collaboration that had been missing for years in our district," says Joy Kelly, third-grade teacher and member of the CUEA bargaining team, which helped achieve the contract settlement. "I came back to school after the strike with renewed enthusiasm to provide the best education possible for the community that stood behind me and my colleagues," says 27-year CUSD veteran and second- grade teacher Debbie Jungwirth. "We are 30 California Educator / October 2011