DSEA Action!

Union Skills Training In the "Know your Rights" workshop, Janice Johnson, a paraprofessional in Appoquinimink, participates in a "people hunt" activity with Benjamin Brown, also a paraprofessional, in Red Clay. In AR II training, participants respond to the numerous roles of a Building Rep. Shown here are Tom Bessellieu of CR Support (left) and Lee Olmstead of Capital. National community organizer Michael Gecan: "Take time to get to know people" by Kelley Cole t's something we do every day . In the main office, in the cafeteria, in the hallways, and in the teacher's lounges: we chat with our colleagues. However, when it comes time to talking about the union or membership issues, the one-on-one conversations tend to stall. Michael Gecan, a community organizer affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation in I www.dsea.org New York, spoke to DSEA leaders and members on October 10 about how to talk to fellow colleagues about the union, specifically about joining the union. His approach was straightforward: get to know colleagues on a personal level first. Gecan had his audience practice with each other. Paired up, everyone had to take 10 minutes to chat with someone they didn't know. The most common opening question? "How did you get into teaching?" It was a simple inquiry that got people talking…sometimes with a lot of emotion. Want more participation? Don't shortcut getting to know people first A simple concept but, as Gecan explained, one that is often overlooked. Encouraging more participation among active members was a goal for the union representatives in the room. One-on-one meetings are a vital part of the equation. Jeff Taschner, DSEA's executive director, was responsible for bringing Gecan to Delaware after seeing him speak previously . "To me, the importance of Mike's message is that there is only one way to build relationships with your members, that is to get to know them – why they do what they do, what interests them, what chal- @dseafan Ciara Smack, an elementary teacher in Lake Forest, writes about what makes an effective local in AR I training. Participants in "Know Your Rights" get to know each other. lenges they face and where they see themselves as educators and individuals in the years to come," Taschner said. "I often worry that we allow technology to be a substitute for relationships. We don't take the time to get to know each other; we don't create a relational context. It is the relationship, its value and meaning, which gets others to contribute to their union in ways other than paying their dues." Is anger a good leadership quality? During the second part of the day, Gecan asked everyone to think of a leader they admired and why they admired him or her. Volunteers then shared the qualities their favorite leader possessed, until Gecan had filled a page with words such as honest, real, knowledgeable, and confident. One word that also made the chart was angry. Gecan explained that anger should be an admired quality because good leaders get angry for a reason. Anger can cause change instead of allowing people to stay stagnant. Good leaders can control and channel their anger into a positive; good leaders use that anger to make something happen. At the end of the day, DSEA members were ready to put their one-onone leadership skills to good use. Barbara MacGeorge-Sorg, president of the Appoquinimink Educational Support Professionals, role plays a recruitment conversation with DSEA UniServ assistant Carol Zeisler. Frederika Jenner, president of the DSEA, was seeing Gecan for a second time. She was thrilled to share the experience with fellow DSEA members. "It was great to have so many Delaware people in the room--to be able to empower so many local leaders and members," Jenner said. "There is great potential here. I am looking forward to hearing accounts of how folks put this strategy to work and how their first round of one-on-ones go." Kelley Cole is an English Language Arts teacher and Assoc. Rep. at St. Georges Technical High School, NCC Vo-Tech School District. Nov./Dec. 2013 DSEA ACTION! 13

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