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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2002

Speech

ESP of the Year Address - Remarks by JoAnn Falk

Dallas, Texas

Thank you NEA for selecting me for the Education Support Professional of the year and thank you, the Colorado Education Association ESP Council, for nominating me for ESP 2002 of the year.

My name is JoAnn Falk. I am the President of the Association of Classified Employees, or as we call ourselves, ACE, a local affiliate of the Colorado Education Association and the National Education Association. I have been President for seven years of our local Association. I am also an employee of Pueblo School District 70. I work in the Administration Building as a central office secretary under the supervision of the Associate Superintendent in the Human Resource Department.

During my terms as president of ACE, I helped organize the local Association in a state that does not have a collective bargaining law. We had to compel the local school board to recognize us as a bargaining agent for the classified employees of District 70.

We started from scratch. We first had to elect a Board of Education that was willing to support the classified employees to form a union. During the time we were involved in the political organizing I was accused of violating the campaign laws. Two weeks before the election, Dr. Michael Johnson, Superintendent of District 70, called me into his office and informed me that I had violated the campaign laws by campaigning on school premises during school time. He asked me if I had anything to say. I told him yes, two things. First, prove everything you are accusing me of. Second, we'll see who is still here when the smoke clears. Dr. Johnson told me to pick up my belongings and leave the building, and that I was not allowed on any District 70 property; I was fired.

My attorney notified him that as a taxpayer I could enter any school facility at any time. Dr. Johnson did not challenge this response.

During the two weeks I was fired from the district, I worked diligently to elect the two candidates that support our causes. We made 1,500 calls to parents in the District and in one day we distributed 10,000 flyers to every household in the District. District 70 covers an area the size of Rhode Island, which goes from the farming land in the east to the mountain areas in the west.

By a majority of 89 percent of the vote we won the election with our candidates.

It was the biggest turn out of votes in the history of District 70 School Board elections. The night the board members were sworn in and took office there was standing room only with a crowd of supporters. The two newly elected board members joined one other board member who was supportive of our cause. Their first order of business was to ask Superintendent Johnson to vacate his seat next to the President's chair and move to the side. The second order of business was to rehire me. At that time I had 17 years in the district. At the next scheduled board meeting, we went before the board to ask for recognition as the bargaining unit to represent over 300 classified employees. The board voted 3 to 2 to recognize us as a union.

Five months later Superintendent Johnson and both associate superintendents, as well as legal counsel, were no longer with the District.

From that time on, our local UniServ Office trained a team of nine representatives to begin bargaining our first contract. Since that time we have worked to improve on the negotiated agreement. It is upheld as one of the best ESP contracts in the state of Colorado and used by many groups as a model. We still have work to do to continue to improve on wages and benefits for our members, but we will continue to represent our members to the best of our abilities.

We have now formed a progressive working relationship with our new administration. We have entered into an Interest-based Strategies process that helps the Association and the District problem-solve issues and negotiate win-win solutions.

As the leader of the Association, I have worked to improve working conditions for our members. Our members represent everyone from secretaries, to custodians, to food service workers, to paraprofessionals, to maintenance, and to the bus drivers that safely pick up and deliver our students from home to school. We have worked to develop professional training to improve the skill of our members. We have negotiated job security that requires just cause to discipline any of our members. We have improved the wages and benefits that allow our members to make a decent living.

As a union, we are politically active in electing Friends of Public Education. We participate in election campaigns and will be very involved in Election 2002. In Colorado, we have one of the most important elections before us. We must elect candidates that will support and measure up to our standards for public education.

I have been an active community member. I have been involved with the Colorado Council Reading Association, Library Media Association, Curriculum Coordinating Council, and I have been a Charter member of the Board of Directors of the District 70 Foundation, member of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church Council, and on the Advisory Board of ACOVA (Community Organization for Victims Assistance). You must all become involved in your community.

I recommend that all the education support professionals continue to strive for better working conditions and job security. Don't give up no matter how hard it gets. I have been through the toughest of times, which has made me a stronger leader. I recommend to all the teachers in the audience that you value the support staff in your school buildings and classrooms. We must work as teams to improve the education for our students. We all have the responsibility to the students we teach, to model the leadership qualities our students will need to become productive citizens in our society.

Thank you for this opportunity to represent the education support professionals of our Association. It is both an honor and a reward to be your representative.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.6 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.