Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/543920
LoCAL PErSPECTIVE AEA Advocate | Summer 2015 13 LoCAL PErSPECTIVE At a time when teachers are leaving the profession and state in droves, the legislature and governor made more cuts to education, and the state's economy still hasn't recovered from the recession, it seems unthinkable that a teachers union would be able to negotiate a pay raise. Nonetheless, that's exactly what the members and leaders of Mesa Education Association (MEA) managed to accomplish this past April. "We felt very strongly that our district could afford some sort of increase in salaries because of their amounts in their carry over accounts," says MEA President tammie Pursley. "We felt that the conservative budgeting of the board in the past allowed the district to compile money in their accounts that could be used for this year." Pursley goes on to explain that they started their budget battle looking at no pay increase and Reductions in Force (RIFs). "The initial budget was actually at zero, but with an increase in insurance costs, then they offered 1%. So we started having members attend study sessions, board meetings, and the meet-and-confer bargaining sessions, all wearing red clothing. We had around 40 at one of those meetings." Planning for bargaining started last year with AEA regional training and continued with effective site leader meetings with record attendance of about 60 members at every meeting. MEA also initiated a board contact team, which involves establishing relationships with school board members to establish credibility as the voice of teachers in Mesa Public Schools (MPS). "The board contact team was a very important factor in making our board members aware of our issues from our view point," says Pursley. "We also have momentum in our district as working hard for the teachers and really doing some benefi cial and relevant work to increase the benefi ts and working conditions of all teachers." MEA's Meet-and-Confer team, including Pursley, MEA Vice President Josh Buckley, Nancy Munoz, Kris Ehlis, and Joelyn Hilton, met weekly starting in February with the goal to make some necessary changes in their Working Conditions Document as well as negotiate an increase in compensation and a limited increase in insurance costs. Mesa Education Association negotiates 3.5% Salary Increase MEA members wear "red for ed" at board meetings to show solidarity. In the end, it wasn't just one thing that helped MEA reach their goal. It involved having a campaign plan that informed and engaged members and board members through branding, training, and relationship building. "The administration heard from us at every one of these meetings that we would not accept their initial proposal," says Pursley. "It was not what was needed, the employees deserved more for our loyalty for MPS." Administration fi nally came around to MEA's side and decided to increase the compensation 1.5% across the board for all employees, a 1% stipend for all employees, and another 1% for certifi ed teachers." "This increase is very important," says Pursley. "Our salaries need to be competitive in the east valley. Mesa is a good district to work for and it is imperative that our salaries are at the high end in comparison with neighboring districts." Pursley has these last words of encouragement for local association bargaining teams: "Know the numbers, know what you want and stick to your plan. Do not let them tell you it cannot be done, when you know that they can do something. Keep the relationship favorable, never adversarial. Our district respected our ideas and opinions and still does. We made sure that all teachers who were in attendance were informed of exactly what was happening and what was going to happen. We also made sure to let them know how important they were to the process; they were the turning point." n