Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529759
AROUND AEA 6 ADVOCATE | WINTER 2024 A s an AEA member, you've probably noticed it popping up here and there. An article about the "strike ready" resolution in Tucson. Photos from Flagstaff with "strike ready" in the caption. And you've probably wondered: wait, what does that even mean? Are Arizona educators about to go on strike? Being strike-ready doesn't mean a strike is imminent. Unlike educators in Massachusetts, Nevada, California, and Oregon who have gone on strike over the past few years, no local in Arizona has a strike in the works, at least as of this writing. Instead, the phrase "strike ready" refers to an important step towards building union power. Committing to become strike ready means building the level of organization and power that would be necessary to launch, sustain and win a strike. is is a years-long process, but it pays real dividends. Being organized enough to strike can mean major gains for educators and our students, regardless of whether or not an actual strike ever even occurs. Tucson educators passed a "strike ready" resolution last December, and are continuing to build power school- by-school and worksite-by-worksite. As their resolution puts it, Tucson educators see the urgent need to protect our public schools and improve working conditions, pay, and benefits for educators. And they are ready to build the capacity that will be needed to take direct action and save our state's public schools. As Tucson Education Association frames it, there are four pillars of being strike ready: • Reaching majority and then supermajority status • Improved communication structures, including a site rep at every site • e ability to organize and win around issues at the site and district level • Building community support TEA is far from the only local embarking on this path. In September, members of the Flagstaff Education Majority Status, Strike Ready and the Long Road to Building Power Association organized group photos at their schools to show that their union is also ready to start the journey towards becoming strike ready. Although there are multiple steps on the way to strike-readiness, none are as important as reaching majority status. And many of our locals in Arizona have recently reached that milestone for the first time. Majority status is the immediate focus for a reason. If your union doesn't represent a majority of the eligible employees in your district, it's going to be very hard to sustain a disruptive action like a strike and win your demands. Getting to majority status in as many locals as possible has been the top priority over the last few years. And it's working, with 9 locals now at majority status, up from just three at the beginning of 2022.