News
'A Vast Cadre of Human Resources'

NEA's UniServ program, now 30 years old, has brought quality representation to school staff.

Delaware UniServ Director Tim Thornburg: "I make myself as readily available to members as possible."

The next time you grouse about your endless school duties, think about the job of NEA UniServ staffers Susan Anderson and Tim Thornburg.

These full-time Association reps each drive at least 2,000 miles a month--Anderson up and down the Oregon coast, Thornburg across a broad swath of Delaware farmland--to represent school employees in trouble, support local contract bargaining, train NEA local affiliate leaders and members, coordinate political campaign work, and more.

Much more. But you'd never guess what can eat up the biggest chunk of their week.

"Most UniServ staffers spend a significant amount of time in private, often confidential, sessions with members who are dealing with personal and professional problems," reveals Anderson, a former high school English and speech teacher.

"Their concerns," she notes, "could be related to problems with administrators, parent complaints, student threats, false criminal charges, or the immensity of what teachers are asked to do. I have to get them through the emotional part."

Providing this kind of direct assistance to members is important, notes NEA Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Roger Ross, "but job number one of a UniServ staff person is to help local affiliates develop the capacity to advocate for members in a variety of areas--from collective bargaining and political action to professional development and instructional improvement."

Member advocacy "is my primary job," agrees Anderson.

"All school employees, new and veteran," Ross explains, "want help to do their job better and see that the Association can help them gain improvements in a variety of ways."

Since its launch in 1971, the UniServ--Unified Service--program has been NEA's largest single budget item, by far. This year, from the national level, NEA will spend $47 million to help finance the UniServ staff network.

This support will fund an estimated one-fourth to one-fifth of the cost of each UniServ position. NEA affiliates provide the rest of UniServ funding.

Nationwide, there are now 1,650 full-time and more than 200 part-time UniServ staffers.

Oregon UniServ staffer Susan Anderson, third from left, works with local volunteers before the fall elections. "Advocacy is the number one part of my job," she stresses.

NEA support has helped develop a cadre of UniServ staffers trained in everything from organizing and school change to collaborative dispute resolution processes and group facilitation.

To ensure ongoing skill development in a UniServ staffer's first three years of service, NEA pays all transportation and on-site costs of two basic, nine-day "CORE" training sessions.

After that, NEA pays air transportation costs for a staffer's attendance at one training session a year--and makes available a full range of national and regionally based training opportunities.

NEA and state affiliate training, which continues throughout a UniServ rep's career, helps shape an individual who's "a good listener, a strong advocate, and an effective conflict manager, facilitator, and organizer," says Delaware UniServ Director Tim Thornburg, a former high school English and journalism teacher.

What else makes NEA's UniServ program so effective? Some clues:

• Closeness to the membership. With a member-to-UniServ staff ratio that typically ranges from 1,300:1 to 1,500:1, the UniServ program allows many staffers a chance to personally know and bond with NEA members.

  "I make myself as readily available to members as possible," says Thornburg, who started UniServ work in 1999. "I'm trying to get to know members as people. If I know them as individuals, I get to know their likes and dislikes, and they're more likely to get involved in the Association."

  Oregon's Susan Anderson, like many UniServ staffers across the country, meets regularly with a council of leaders from the local affiliates she serves.

  "My council, representing 15 locals, has always set the direction for my work," she points out. "These people establish goals and priorities for me, along with ways to meet them."

• Continuity of service. "I would liken the UniServ program to a civil service system," says NEA's Roger Ross. "The Association's elected leaders determine policies and programmatic direction, while an ongoing cadre of professional UniServ staff helps implement them."

  The result: stability and fairness in representation.

  "Only in this union is there such a separation of staff and governance," emphasizes Illinois UniServ Director Marcus Albrecht. "We field reps don't promote candidates in local elections--although it would probably be easy for staff to influence voting--and are even prohibited from handling ballots in regional elections."

  Adds Albrecht: "This means that the Association's representation of members isn't influenced by political considerations and that UniServ jobs hinge on the continued quality of work, not on the delivery of votes for elected officers."

• Reps who really know the work of members. "UniServ reps really know the business our members are in and the laws under which they work," says Lenny Lavalette, director of affiliate relations for NEA-New York. "They have a complete understanding of public education and the job our members do, and they bring this knowledge to all areas of their work."

  Oregon's Susan Anderson routinely draws on her past education experience to deliver top quality training to her members, wherever they might work.

  As a staffer for NEA's Indiana state affiliate, she worked with several districts to develop education consortiums for members in isolated areas, each offering professional workshops "developed and delivered predominantly by local people."

  And now, on the Oregon coast, Anderson organizes three training events a year for her local council--on everything from IDEA regulations to teacher relicensing requirements.

  Drawing on insights gained as a novice teacher, Tim Thornburg organized new teacher activities, including a New Teacher Advisory Committee and a newsletter, while serving as UniServ director for the Omaha (Nebraska) Education Association.

  And since joining the staff of the Delaware Education Association last summer, he's learning everything he can about the issues important to education support staff.

  "I recently taught conflict management to members of the Red Clay Paraprofes-sionals Association," he notes. "It's important that administrators understand that ESP need professional development as much as teachers."

• A network of professional colleagues. Because so many of them have trained together or collaborated in NEA field-based programs, UniServ staffers "feel part of an NEA family," notes Thornburg.

  "Colleagues and I are constantly sharing resources and ideas," he explains. "If I know of a colleague in California who can help me, I have no reservations about calling up. We support one another."

  "If I have a problem or need a sounding board," adds Susan Anderson, "I have a vast cadre of human resources to tap into. No other organization can provide that. I love working for NEA."

For more information on the NEA UniServ program, go to www.nea.org/aboutnea/uniserv.

Your Dues Did It
Want to Apply for UniServ Work?

NEA offers two programs designed to help Association activists prepare to apply for UniServ jobs offered by NEA state and local affiliates:

• Susan Anderson is a 1991 graduate of the NEA Affirmative Action Intern Program, an effort created to increase representation of ethnic minorities and women in UniServ staff positions. The program includes a five-week training program over the summer, followed by full-time practical training for up to three months with an experienced UniServ staff mentor. If you're an active member interested in applying, send a letter of interest by December 8 to Brenda Vincent, NEA Affiliate Capacity Building, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036-3290.
• In 1999, Tim Thornburg went through the NEA Pre-Employment and Development Program. Successful applicants for this initiative demonstrate an ability to shift from governance to staff positions, then are offered 14 days of training followed by a minimum of four weeks of mentoring by UniServ staff. The deadline for applying for the next session: March 31. For an application, contact your NEA state affiliate's UniServ manager.