Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1497360
ISEA Communiqué • isea.org April/May 2023 7 By Mike Wiser, mike.wiser@isea.org REORGANIZATION Union members will elect officers for a new governance system aimed at building stronger connections among local associations and creating new opportunities for members who want to move into leadership. Delegates approved the new UniServ Council structure at the 2023 Delegate Assembly marking the first significant change in statewide union structure in more than 40 years. "We've evolved since the Iowa State Teachers Association was founded in a Muscatine courthouse in 1854," ISEA President Mike Beranek said. "But we remain steadfast in our mission: better pay, better benefits and better working conditions for our members and a stronger public school system for the students we serve." Under the UniServ Council structure, the state is divided up into 20 geographic councils and two additional councils – one representing area education agencies and the other community colleges. Currently there are 18 UniServ units. Each council will consist of the local presidents of each local in that council, a chair, an ISEA executive board member and a secretary. Eriece Colbert, president of the Cedar Rapids Education Association, said the council structure expands the number of locals CREA will interact with. Under the current structure, CREA is the only K-12 organization in the unit. The new council which includes CREA also includes Linn-Mar, Olin, Belle Plaine, Marion and Vinton-Shellsburg. "It gives us a chance to talk, share ideas and learn from other k-12 associations, which we really don't have now, since it's just us," Colbert said. ISEA will send out additional notices and information about implementing the council structure, how members can run for office, participate in council business, are reimbursed for expenses as well as other governing regulations and reporting requirements. A complete list of council procedures and guidelines can be found in the members-only section of www.isea.org under the Delegate Assembly page. Scan the QR code on this page to go directly to the page. You must have an account on www.isea.org to view pages in the members-only section of the website. You'll need some basic information, including your membership ID to create an account on www.isea.org. Your member ID is the 10-digit number you will see above your name on the mailing label of this edition of the ISEA Communique. What is a UniServ Council? ISEA President Mike Beranek (upper left) discusses the new UniServ Council structure during a call with local leaders on the evening of April 12. Cedar Rapids Education Association President Ereice Colbert speaks at a microphone while Bettendorf ESA President Melissa Laufenberg waits for her turn at the 2023 Delegate Assembly. MIKE WISER/IOWA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Scan the QR Code to read the procedures and guidelines, view the council map and see which locals are divided into which council. AEA Council Grant Wood EA Grant Wood EA - ESP Great Prairie EA PSO Of Miss Bend AEA 9 Central Rivers EA Keystone EA Heartland EA Associate PSA Professional Staff Assn Green Hills AEA EA Prairie Lakes EA Prairie Lakes ESA Higher Ed Council Area IV Comm Coll EA Kirkwood Faculty Assn Southeastern CC ESA Southeastern CCHEA Eastern Iowa CC HEA Hawkeye Prof EA Iowa Valley Comm Coll EA Northeast Iowa Comm College HEA Northeast Iowa TISSA Des Moines Area CC ESA Des Moines Area CC HEA Western Iowa Tech EA Southwestern CC EA Iowa Western Comm Coll HEA Iowa Lakes Comm Coll EA Iowa Central Comm Coll CEA Iowa Central Comm Coll EA North Iowa Area CC-IHEA Statewide councils