News: Do'ers Profile

Name and profession: Sandra Nalley, high school registrar
NEA local affiliate: Pocatello (Idaho) Education Association
Position: Co-chair of Pocatello's ESP Meet and Confer Committee.

A little background: Alarmed by custodial downgrades and pay cuts in 1999, Nalley-joined by media clerk Sharon Phillips and head secretary Linda Buchli-helped build an ESP Council within the 600-member PEA and focus support staffers on the need to win bargaining rights.

ESP activists then collected confidential bargaining "authorization cards" from 85 percent of Pocatello's support staffers and-with full teacher support-went to work on their school board.

A lot of activity: Nalley and other ESP met individually with school board members, joined with teachers to pack board meetings, and reached for public support through public TV programs and letters to the editor. While not conceding to collective bargaining, the school board agreed to grant ESP formal "meet and confer" rights in July 2000.

A forum on the issues: Since January, an ESP Meet and Confer Committee-co-chaired by Nalley and an administrator-has met each month to discuss needs such as pay scales and wage equity. One solid gain so far: The committee has hashed out a RIF policy similar to that enjoyed by teachers.

A vision: "Our next goal is collective bargaining. We'll continue to show people there is a better way to work together, that bargaining can be positive, not adversarial. It's a hard row to hoe, but it's worth every minute-we're building relationships that should last a lifetime.

"When you have happy employees under the protection of a contract, there's so more excitement and enthusiasm in the workplace. And that benefits everyone."

Advice for action: "To win bargaining without a law, you've got to just keep going, constantly developing leadership among your members and picking up good support from teachers and the
community.

"It's essential that the community people know what's happening in your district. They can and do put pressure on school boards, and boards listen to them."

(Contact Sandra Nalley at nalleysa@ida.net)