The Greater Albany Education Association Is Building Solidarity

 

I attended a spirited union contract rally held by the Greater Albany Education Association (GAEA) in Albany yesterday. Several hundred teachers and their supporters gathered to support one another and build unity behind a set of commonsense and flexible demands that can be read here. It was hot and there wasn't much shade, but the union provided burritos and water and the speakers kept us engaged. At the end of the rally most of those who had gathered to make their collective voice heard went inside the school building for a listening session. 

Unlike many rallies that I have attended over the years, the speakers at this one managed to get right to the point and tell some hard truths in just a few minutes about contract bargaining, the real balance of power in union contract negotiations, and the hard choices facing the teachers without either sugarcoating or being defeatist. The teachers understand what they're up against and they're preparing themselves for having to make some tough choices. They're determined, they're supporting one another and they have a strong sense of community or solidarity developing with one another. The rally was multigenerational and the union's demands speak to many different concerns.

There are ways to tell how a union is doing and what it's internal culture is like, and this tells you much about the union's capacity to build and win. I showed up early and offered to help set things up and the members gave me some tasks to do alongside of them. This is a sure demonstration of a union putting members first, the members knowing that it is their union and their struggle, and the kind of openness that builds bridges.

This is a difficult moment for educational workers in Oregon. Municipalites and school boards have been doing tax abatements and expanding and rewarding school administration for so long that funding programs and increasing pay and benefits packages for teachers and support staff has become difficult. The work isn't getting easier and Covid has left us scarred and we have a loud and increasingly dangerous minority of folks who oppose public services and public education. Meanwhile, the kicker kicked and Intel got $90 million---with more money leaving public funds for private industry---and working people in Oregon just took some hard losses in the primaries. Municipalities and school boards are competing with one another for grants, special funding, tax dollars and spare change, and most state, county and municipal services seem to be locked in competition with one another for any available funding as well. Common sense should tell us that this is a downward and no-win spiral.

Yesterday's rally showed a joyous determination to take the high road and fight with dignity for educational workers and the Greater Albany communities.

The next GAEA bargaining session will be held on Tuesday, June 18 at 2885 Cedarwood Ct. SE in Albany from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The union is asking that teachers and their supporters wear red and pack the house. Let's help do this!

Photos from GAEA.