SEPTEMBER 2 UPDATE: WE HAVE A DEAL. NOW BACK TO THE WORK.

Good evening, everyone.

It was a great first day back in the classroom with the people we are actually here for—our students.

I am grateful we reached a tentative agreement and avoided a strike. I am sure many of you are too.

Serving on the Bargaining Team this year taught me an enormous amount about collective bargaining: how difficult the process is, how many competing interests have to be reconciled, and how hard people on both sides of the table work to produce a CBA.

I am proud of the work our Bargaining Team did.

But I also think we need to acknowledge what happened Monday night.

We did not reach a tentative agreement until nearly 10:00 p.m. on September 1—the night before students were supposed to return.

Teachers and staff didn't know whether they were going to work or picket the next morning. Families didn't know whether their children were going to school. Students didn't know whether school would open.

I heard from members who were furious about the completely unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty.

Then, at 10:48 p.m., SEA announced:

“We have a TA!”
and celebrated our unity and strength.

I'm grateful we have a TA too.

But what was missing was any acknowledgment from SEA governance of what members, families, and students had just been put through.

Not one public apology. Not even an acknowledgment.

We can celebrate the Bargaining Team's accomplishment while still asking whether our union was led through this process competently.

Those aren't contradictory positions.

A union is its rank and file—not its leadership.

Effective leadership rallies the rank and file; it doesn't leave members confused, defensive, anxious, or afraid to question leadership.

Now we will have an opportunity to read the complete tentative agreement and decide whether to ratify it. Please read it carefully when SEA releases it and make your own decision.

And while bargaining may be coming to an end, our work on SEA governance is not.

The recall petition has already been signed by more than 900 people.

Please continue sharing it with your colleagues. Encourage them to read it. Encourage SEA members to sign and complete the signature attestation (click link here).

We can be grateful for a contract.

We can be proud of our Bargaining Team.

We can be thrilled to be back with our students.

And we can still demand better leadership from our union.

Good luck to every educator and staff member beginning this school year.

Now let's get back to the kids—and keep working to make SEA the union its members deserve.

HONOR THE BYLAWS. LET THE MEMBERS VOTE.