Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1175940
COMMUNIQUÉ A PUBLICATION OF THE IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION – OCT/NOV 2019 – Vol. 57, No. 2 IN THIS ISSUE: Choose Your Boss Not a member? You're outta luck. Parent/Teacher Conf. Made Easy 3 6 11 School Board elections move to November Keep your seat at the table FOLLOW US ON: By Mike Wiser, mwiser@isea.org By Mike Wiser, mwiser@isea.org see SCHOOL BOARD on page 4 see RECERTIFICATION on page 6 As current Iowa GOP legislators eliminate worker rights and siphon off money for public education, finding pro-public education school board members is more important than ever. School Board candidates will run on the same November ballot as municipal candidates starting this fall. The change is expected to do at least two things: 1) increase overall turnout for both municipal and school board elections and 2) bring new voters to the polls who may not have previously voted in municipal or school board elections when they were held separately. Boards set the policy goals for the entire district. They determine what items educators can negotiate in a contract, what items are put into the district's More than 100 locals have recertification elections this month Fewer Iowa school districts will have recertification elections this year than anytime since the 2017 law mandating the process passed. Much of that is due to districts and employees entering into multi-year agreements – perhaps because of the repeated, overwhelming recertification votes of the past two years – making an annual recertification vote unnecessary. Still, there are more than 10,000 employees who are in jeopardy of losing the association as their certified bargaining agent to negotiate their Master Contract. With that in mind, we spoke to two local leaders who successfully organized recertification votes in their districts and asked them what worked. Barb Havlik Barb Havlik, president of the New Hampton Education Association, is a veteran of two recertification elections. Her strategy is getting to all employees early in the year with basic information and then working through the building reps at each of the district's three buildings as the election approaches. "I talked to our superintendent early and he allowed us ISEA members Heather Anderson-Morrow (left) and Jeremy Morrow (right) walk in the Des Moines Labor Day Parade. Anderson-Morrow is a teacher in the Waukee School District and member of the Des Moines Board of Education. She is running for a second four-year term on the board this fall. MIKE WISER/IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. At a Glance: Recertification Who: All employees of a district bargaining unit in which the Master Contract will expire in approximately one year. An employee who does not vote is counted as a "no" vote. What: The recertification election allows employees to keep their local association as the bargaining agent for the Master Contract. Where: Employees will be able to vote online or by phone. ISEA building reps will have the correct links and phone numbers when they are made available by the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). www.iowaperb.iowa.gov When: Voting for recertification begins October 15 and ends October 29. Barb Havlik