#StrongerTogether #UnionProud #UnionStrong

Events Coming Up
  

Aug 15 & 16 - "Building" Leadership Retreat

Aug 15, 3 pm - Aug 16 1 pm at Holiday Inn and Express Suites, Downtown Tacoma

Meals, Mileage and Fun all included!  This overnight event will engage you in conversation and activities around building your local from the members' interests up. 

RSVP online at https://forms.gle/52pzxbtiP5ZeRTCT9  Questions? email Jo @ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

May 23 - WEA-Retired Tea

 Thinking of retiring? Join representative Lois Perkins for an evening of tea and scones to learn more about membership after retirement. 

Questions or to RSVP This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

#PD4Educators for 2018 - 2019

May 22 - Paraeducator Certification

4 - 5:30 pm Soundview UniServ Council - Open invite to ALL paraeducators

Come and learn about the standards of practice and professional development for Washington paraeducators. In 2018, Legislature passed HB 1115 (2017) and SB 6388 (2018), which created the Paraeducator Board and a certificate program, which consists of a General Paraeducator Certificate, two Subject Matter Certificates (ELL and Special Education), and an Advanced Paraeducator Certificate. During this year, the Board established minimum employment requirements and standards of practice for paraeducators.

Email  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  to send your questions ahead of time. 

May 30 - Social and Emotional Support of Student Learning (3 CH, CERT & ESP)

REGISTRATION CLOSED - class full

3 clock hours, Open to all (CERT and Classified - ESP), Dinner will be served
Strategies and tools will be shared to help educators working with students who struggle with social or emotional challenges. If you work with students whose reactions don’t seem to match the size of the problem, whose thinking is rigid and inflexible, or who engage in negative self-talk, this is the session for you! We’ll focus on neuroscience and strategies to help educators understand possible reasons for student behavior and how to respond differently using specific supports. Participants will leave with tools to support students’ social and emotional learning.

June 10  - Culturally Responsive Classroom Interactions (3 CH, CERT & ESP, TPEP)

Register online at https://squareup.com/store/soundview

Educators will explore culturally responsive classroom interaction practices to ensure students experience a positive, consistent, safe and equitable classroom. Learn to facilitate classroom interactions appropriately integrating students’ culture and family backgrounds. Objectives: Apply core practices for developing culturally responsive classroom interactions; identify strategies for building relationships between students and families; develop ideas for communicating in culturally responsive ways; respond to student needs by facilitating student focus groups; investigate cultural assumptions, views, and beliefs to understand how one’s own cultural histories and biases may affect work with students from diverse backgrounds; and use resources and materials to support culturally responsive classrooms.

June 23-25  - SPARKS for ESP (classified) - New to the profession under 5 years

Clearwater Casino & Resort (close to Poulsbo, WA)

This is an all-expense paid conference designed by and for new public school employees (our WEA members).

SPARKs is not like other conferences. By attending, you are giving a gift to yourself. NO knowledge of Soundview or WEA required. This conference offers you a chance to see what other newer support professionals are doing in their worksites, programs and/or classrooms. Sponsored by your union, this event connects you with other classified employees with 0-5 years of experience.

But, hey, enough about SPARKS. What about you? Would you like to take a chance and be a part of this retreat?

 
This is on a “first come, first serve” basis. Return your survey to RSVP by May 17 for the SPARKs retreat.

There is no gift from the Freedom Foundation.
Click here for more information: Frequently Asked Questions: Freedom Foundation vs. WEA 

They Say ... We offer attorneys to cancel union membership

We Say ... We offer attorneys to support grievances

They Say ... Pay for our educational insurance when you cancel your membership

We Say ... Your educational insurance up to $1 Million already covers members

They Say ... Union membership costs money

We Say ... Union membership gives you a voice in the workplace

They Say ... You have a right to pay union dues

We Say ... You have the right to stand up without retribution to poor working conditions

Collective bargaining has always been the bedrock of the American labor movement. I hope that you will continue to anchor your movement to this foundation. Free collective bargaining is good for the entire Nation. In my view, it is the only alternative to State regulation of wages and prices - a path which leads far down the grim road of totalitarianism. Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor - those who would cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized - do a disservice to the cause of democracy.

John F. Kennedy 

               The collective bargaining agreement, or contract, establishes the rights and working conditions (including pay) for the members of CPEA, ESPCP, SCEA, SEA, UPCA, UPEA, and UPOP. Collective bargaining is the process used by the members of ESPCP to advocate for improved working conditions, fair wages, and to set limits on the power of the employer to act without representation.

 
      The power of collective bargaining is the power of the group to take united action. One employee has little power or influence and can easily be dismissed as a complainer or malcontent. Together, speaking with one voice at the bargaining table, ESPCP can promote the common interests and ideas of all members to address workplace issues.
  
     Through collective bargaining, you have the protection of due process and the ability to use the grievance process in situations where a supervisor or the employer acts unfairly or arbitrarily. Collective bargaining increases the wages and hours of employees in the bargaining unit. Over the last five years wages in our classified units have increased more than 25% on average. These are real gains for members worth thousands of dollars each year and would not have been possible without collective bargaining.
 
     In addition, member issues that involve potential loss of hours, layoff, transfer, and evaluation can all be addressed using the collective bargaining agreement, and the contract language providing employee protection is reinforced and improved as part of the bargaining process.
 
     The contractual agreement between the your local union and the District provides a venue for members of the bargaining unit to meet management as equals and stand up for the rights of workers to be treated with the respect they deserve, the respect they earn doing the important work that is necessary in providing a quality education of the students they serve.