Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/61011
Winter Advocacy Retreat (WAR) It's all about "Building more effective unions" "Keep learning, keep leading," urges Ohio's Courtney Johnson. leaders gathered in February for a weekend that would continue not only more current understanding about how to build an effective union, but also a great opportunity to practice one particular skill: planning and delivering an effective building meeting. But first they heard from a special guest, Courtney Johnson. If you live in Ohio, her name is the prover- bial household word. She became active in the Ohio fight to get back their collective bargaining rights ("Vote No on Issue 2!), rights that were taken away by their legisla- ture in 2011. C ontinuing what we started in the fall at the DSEA Leadership Conference, local From left, Capital Paras Suzanne McKeon and Deb Voshell, and CEA teacher Michelle Wilson are rested up from the Social Justice Dance the night before and ready for the day ahead. The Courtney Johnson story: from little involve- ment to becoming the teacher spokesperson for a statewide campaign to regain collective bargaining rights The power of her story is how she became involved. It's a story that holds answers to the question volunteer leaders always ask, "How can I get more members involved?" Yes, she was a Building Rep. She had union members in her family. "But I was kind of wishy-washy," she admits. For her, it started with a Facebook post, asking her friends Courtney Johnson is a member of the Ohio Education Assoc. An English teacher in Ironton, OH, she talks about how she went from just supporting her union, to being the face of Ohio's teachers in their very public and eventu- ally successful battle to keep the Governor and legislature from taking away collective bargaining rights of most state workers. "Courtney kept every- one's interest! She was funny and awe- some! Made me want to get more involved! Important – what one person can do." to vote for the gubernatorial candi- date who ended up losing. It was a task she could do, and liked to do, i.e. "blowing up Facebook" as she came to talk about it! Before long, she was making signs, and leading marches on the capitol when Gov. Kasich proposed a bill that would strip Ohio workers Anne Marie Esposito identifies relevant local issues with other NCC Vo-Tech col- leagues. of their collective bargaining rights. "I was feeling good. If I was making signs, I must be an activist!" Then she was answering the call to go picket the state house in Columbus. Then she was speaking, and bringing her Mom, even some students. After all, she was teaming with social studies teachers on how citizens can affect their govern- ments. "The students understood. They got it, sometimes more than my colleagues." And then they would organize even more students. "Issue 2 was a purposeful attack on teachers," said Johnson. "They said this was about the budget, but it was never about the budget. This was about taking away the rights of middle class Ohioans." The key to her involvement: the more she learned, the more she par- ticipated successfully, the more was invested in participating. Each time she did something, it was meaning- ful. And it grew, and grew and grew. It wasn't long before OEA and NEA's Jack Polidori asked her to be 12 March/April 2012 DSEA ACTION! www.dsea.org DSEA President Frederika Jenner wraps up the WAR Weekend with her own observations about our journey togeth- er. featured in a "Vote No on Issue 2" advertisement for TV. You can see it at: www.youtube.com/watch?v =Hcn4gtJ0gHk. And you can see a great video of the whole campaign at the Ohio E.A. web site, www.ohea.org/vic tory-for-collective-bargaining. It's an amazing story of Ohio's public servants galvanizing citizens to effectively reverse a bill that passed during the previous session.