No matter where we live, we all want our kids to go to schools that foster a love of learning and give them the tools they need to succeed. But in too many schools, years of underfunding and cuts have meant students don’t get the support and opportunities they need.
With Bargaining for the Common Good, union members partner with the community around a long-term vision for the structural changes they want to see in their communities. Together, they use collective bargaining and advocacy as a critical moment in a broader campaign to win that change.
Uniting to Demand Change for Schools, Communities
Educators partner with parents and community members in order to identify issues and utilize bargaining, or other forms of advocacy, as a vehicle to make demands for the entire community.
In states with collective bargaining, contract negotiations provide an opportunity for educators and their unions to involve the larger school community in the vision they want for their school and neighborhood. Instead of being alone and isolated in negotiations, unions join together with parents, and the community, which builds our power.
When we unite and demand specific changes for our schools, everyone benefits.
When we expand the continuum of bargaining, we build power, and go on the offense in order to fight for social and racial justice, for our kids, for our schools, for our communities, and for the future.
It’s All on the Table
With Bargaining for the Common Good, we not only fight for better pay and benefits for educators, we also fight for students and communities.
When the stakeholders come together, they can determine what their community needs. NEA members have successfully used the Bargaining for the Common Good strategy to win:
- Less testing
- Smaller class sizes
- Educator recruitment and retention programs
- Equitable school discipline policies
- Mental health support
- More nurses and counselors
No Matter Where You Live
Bargaining for the Common Good works in areas that have collective bargaining and areas that don’t. The mechanics may differ, but the fundamentals are the same.
Join the Movement
Downloads
- Bargaining for the Common Good
- About Contract Action Teams (CAT)
- BCG Local Campaign Plan Worksheet
- Community Schools Survey - Family version
- Power Mapping Tool
- Sample Community Listening Session Questions.
- Community Mapping Worksheet
- Community Power Mapping Activity
- Community Schools Survey - Community members version
- Sample 10-minute Meeting Agenda During Crisis Negotions Build-up
- Basic Steps to a Bargaining for the Common Good (BCG) Campaign
- Bargaining for the Common Good: Five Elements to Assess, Reflect, and Plan
- Sample Community Survey
- Parent Organizing Conversation Guide
- Sample Social Media Posts
- For the Common Good Communications Guide
- Digital 101
- Sample K-12 Demands for the Safe Return to In-Person Learning
