Learning: ESP on the Team
Arizona ESP Local's Perseverance Pays Off

First contract for Tucson classified school employees represents a major victory.

"It was the highlight of my eight years in the general maintenance department of the Sunnyside Unified School District," says Tony Silvain, a former school maintenance employee in Tucson, Arizona. Silvain retired in August, but not before he saw the Sunnyside Classified Employees Association win its first contract.

The Sunnyside school district in south Tucson consists of 22 schools and nearly 5,000 students.

SCEA represents office, general maintenance, transportation and food services personnel, teacher assistants, and custodians. SCEA ratified its contract in June.

The most important parts of the pact, according to SCEA President Maria Brown, include a $1 an hour pay increase and a board agreement to pay this year's insurance premium increase.

"This first contract represents a 14.7 percent pay increase for members and a $6 pay differential for members who obtain their substitute teaching certificate," Brown says.

When Silvain joined Sunnyside after a 20-year career as a millwright, he and others recognized that the lack of an Association was a problem that needed to be dealt with.

"We knew what had to be done," says Silvain.

"I felt if I could be instrumental in getting our employees representation, then I could retire. I couldn't be happier having worked with these people and realizing our dream of getting a contract," Silvain says."

Silvain and other Sunnyside leaders like Brown and Vice President Angie Ochoa recall the countless hours spent organizing, securing support of other local labor unions, and convincing the school board and administrators that they were serious about organizing.

"It wasn't easy," Silvain recalls. "We had no representation, no voice in negotiations, and our administrators didn't pay much attention to us because they didn't think we had any support. Once we were able to show we had support, things began to change."

The Sunnyside community got behind the organizing drive, and local labor unions waged a letter-writing campaign. Ten different labor organizations, and even some school board members, wrote letters to the school board.

"We couldn't have done it by ourselves," Silvain recalls. "We have a great relationship with the district teachers. And once the board and administrators saw all the support we had, they told the district to find the dollars."

Beyond the pay and benefits, the local board now realizes that "SCEA is an organization to negotiate with," says Brown, a computer lab assistant at Los Ranchitos Elementary School.

"All our members live in the district, and we negotiate in good faith. People know that we're here to support our children in whatever ways we can," adds Brown. "It doesn't matter whether it's a food service person, a custodian, or a teacher aide: Our members enjoy working with children. It's that simple."

SCEA's concerns also go beyond schools and into the community, where members are active in fighting pollution from a beryllium plant.

"Our members are working to gain pollution-monitoring devices for five district schools that are located near the plant," Brown explains. "We also want the county to tighten pollution standards.

Although Tony Silvain got what he wanted and retired on August 3, after completing a two-year term as the association's president, he plans to continue working with the Association as a lifetime retired member and as a Central Labor Council delegate. He also plans to continue helping collect school supplies for Yacci school children in Mexico.

"I may be retired, but there's still a lot of work to do," Silvain adds.

Team player
Making a Difference in His Community

Name:
Stephan Speck

Job Title:
Head of Maintenance for Chardon local schools, Ohio

What I Do in my Job:
I oversee a team of custodians who work to keep the seven schools in our district clean and safe for kids.

My schedule is always changing. One day I'll be drilling 18-inch holes in a school playground to make way for new equipment, and the next day I'll be fixing a broken boiler.

Community Involvement:
I'm always volunteering for the district, the schools, our local association, community organizations, and my church. I've helped redo three school playgrounds, much of it on my own time.

I also oversee the Chardon Association of Classified Employees Pancake Breakfast, which raised $3,000 in college scholarships this year for our high school seniors.

For four Sundays in a row, we serve pancakes in one of the school's cafeterias and invite the community. I always get stuck with grill duty, but it's a labor of love. Folks line up outside the cafeteria doors just to pay their $5 toward the cause and eat our homemade food. Our teachers are especially supportive of the event.

Biggest Passion:
Kids. People know that if there's a cause that supports our kids, I'll be there.

I love my job because I get to make sure they have a fun and safe environment. I also love getting involved with my community because I know I'm making a difference. There's no better feeling than that.

Going the Extra Mile

Jeanie Davee, a member of Colorado's Harrison Educational Support Personnel Association (HESPA), has reason to be proud. A driver instructor specialist for Harrison School District 2, she is the only bus driver in the country with three national certifications in her profession. Davee has been in school transportation for 25 years. She began her career as a school bus driver and became a driver trainer in 1989.

Davee received her first national certification in 1995 as a driver instructor, the second in 1996 for transportation specialist. Recently, she successfully completed the exam for her third national certification with the National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT) as supervisor of transportation.

Members of the Lansing (Michigan) Educational Assistants Association have launched their second annual campaign to provide needy students with cold weather clothing. LEA members are asking students in Lansing schools to collect mittens, gloves, socks, hats, and scarves so that no student has to face the winter without proper clothing.

The Warm Hand/Warm Feet Campaign is the brain child of LEA Vice President Annette Marrison.

"Too many times we've seen our students on the playground without the proper warm clothing during winter," Marrison says. "They can get sick, and that slows their learning progress."

Last year, LEA members collected enough items for all the students who needed them for all of the district's schools for most of the winter. This year's goal: enough clothing so that all students will have access to necessary items through spring.

After working more than a year without a contract, members of the Bald-winsville Educational Support Pro- fessionals Association in New York state are fighting for a living wage by conducting information picketing at school open houses and school board meetings.

BESPA represents 225 teaching assistants, clerical staff, nurses, and aides in the school district.

The average full-time annual salary for BESPA members is $17,000, and some members make as little as $15,000.

With the slogan, "Working with our children in our community," the campaign has received positive press coverage and community support.

Sarah Benoit, a veteran nurse of 30 years, sums up the sentiment of the campaign: "The children are well taken care of, and all of us in this group need to be paid what we're worth. We're professionals."

Resources

Fresh off the Press
A new series of booklets on Building a Quality Workforce is available from the NEA. Readers can find ideas and models for fighting against privatization, and for creating professional development opportunities. Also included are extensive lists of Web sites and other sources for further help. So far, the NEA has published booklets for food services staff, bus drivers, custodians, and a similar booklet for paraeducators called The NEA Paraeducator Handbook. Four more publications--for clerical and secretarial ESP, health services, higher education support professionals, and skilled trades--will be ready by next spring. Booklets for the other ESP job categories are scheduled for publication within 18 months. The booklets are available on the Web at www.nea.org/esp. Printed copies can be obtained through Uniserv staff.

New from NEA
Asthma, a chronic disease that affects one in 13 children, is a concern to many of our members. Spread the word about a terrific new website--www.asthmaandschools.org--created by NEA's Health Information Network. It features asthma resources, guidance, and advice to anyone who regularly interacts with children--along with fact sheets on how to spot an asthma flare up, information on school-based asthma education programs, materials about asthma in different languages, and tips on how to create an asthma action plan for your school.