For a document version of the message below click here.  To visit the Rank and File Caucus website click here.  Please feel free to forward this message to other union members!  Be careful when replying-all to only reply to lists you are part of. 

Greetings fellow members of OEA!

My name is Divya Farias and I am a special education teacher at Oakland High.  With the help of fellow Rank and File Caucus members, I am sending out monthly bulletins to share with fellow members of OEA.

Please note that all Rep Council (RC) and Executive Board (EB) meetings are open to all members to attend.  I highly encourage you to come! Also note that all EB decisions, as always, are subject to approval by the RC. Below you will find some highlights from the September meetings. There were two meetings in September (a special meeting 9/6 and a regular meeting 9/20) but for the sake of brevity I have condensed highlights into one update for the month.  

Highlights from the Sept 2023 EB meetings:

 NEW BUSINESS  (see page 2 for a detailed list of all NBIs)

• Some contracts were approved (without objection)
  • $10,000 for facilities upgrades to OEA headquarters
  • $3500 contract with Pecolia Manigo to support organizing with OEA site reps 
• Banking moves (without objection)
  • OEA to close its current credit card and open a new account
  • OEA to close its old bank account and open a new one with safeguards 
• Donations were approved to some organizations (out of the crisis fund).
  • Wellstone Democrats ($1000) – I voted No
  • EBASE ($1500) – I abstained
  • ACCE ($2500) – I abstained
• EB to decline the membership of Craig Gordon
  • Motion passed.  I voted No along with one other person.  Everyone else voted Yes. 
• The EB approved a recommendation of draft Rep Council standing rules. I voted No along with one other person. 
• New appointments were made to a number of committees.  All appointments passed with no objections.  I abstained on both rounds of appointments.  The list is long so click here to see who has been appointed. (#3 and #4 were passed in Sept.) All of these committees had appointments approved:
  • Visual and Performing Arts – a faculty council we we won in the 2023 strike that will interface with OUSD to determine how our arts funding, including Prop 28
  • Substitute Teachers – a contractually created group of up to three substitutes who meet monthly with OUSD Labor Relations
  • Black Thriving Taskforce – a taskforce won in the 2023 strike that interfaces with the district  as a result of the Reparations for Black Students resolution 
  • Community Schools Steering Committee – a joint committee we won in the 2023 strike that will interface with the district regarding the $86 million we are receiving from the state’s Community Schools Grant that will be disbursed to schools designated Community Schools 
  • TK/K Joint Committee – a joint committee that interfaces with OUSD regarding TK/K issues, won in the 2023 strike
  • Communications 
  • Newcomer – will negotiate with OUSD this year regarding reopeners on Newcomer issues
  • Special Education Committee & Caseload/Class Size Review Committee – formerly known as the SpEd Faculty Council, this group will interface with OUSD regarding SpEd issues including the workload model won in the 2023 strike
  • Re-opener Bargaining Team
  • Early Childhood Education Re-opener Team – will negotiate this year regarding unfinished items for ECE
  • Consultation Committees 

 REPORTS 

• The President emphasized some of our wins at the moment, including: a major raise, the hiring of Black Thriving TSAs, all psychs starting at Column 2, and more.  Also made a request for folks to volunteer at the OEA office because our office manager retired and our assistant resigned. 
• The 2nd VP emphasized the need for participation and ground game to get our D5 endorsee, Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, to win the school board election. The hope is that if we can get a school board majority of 4 (out of 7) we would have friendlier labor negotiations. To sign up to support the campaign click here.
• The treasurer released this monthly report and shared that finances are still in the process of getting sorted and accounted for following a lot of ins and outs from the strike. 

 MY 2 CENTS 

Regarding the appointments I abstained on the appointments to the “committees” because I have concerns about how appointments are being made.  Many of these committees are not actually committees; they are faculty councils– which means, as per our contract, they are to be elected by the faculty in the associated work area.  Not appointed by the president.  In addition, several of the joint committees listed were agreed to in MOUs from the 2023 strike and thus I think all OEA members should have been made aware of the available committees and how to serve on them if interested.  I think it’s important that all of the committees and councils listed above be representative whether contractually specified or not. Educators in each work area should be able to elect the person who is representing them in conversations with the district and educators should know who is representing them so they can offer that person feedback and ideas. This is not a matter of trust; I think everyone who has been appointed is well-equipped to do a good job. Rather this is about process.  I think that democratic elections would help put much more member power and heft behind anyone who is representing OEA members at the table with OUSD. 

Regarding the Rep Council standing rules Just as I had some issues with the Executive Board standing rules, I have some concerns about the Rep Council standing rules.  I’m concerned particularly about the way virtual Rep Council has become almost webinar style, where reps cannot chat the group nor each other, and where attendees can only speak when Unmuted (see the Rank and File Caucus’s Let’s Reimagine Rep Council from last year). These conditions, which are not required by Rep Council’s standing rules, severely reduce transparency. They prevent reps from seeing how many others are in line to speak on an item and creates obstacles for any rep attempting to use parliamentary procedure to address violations of democratic process.  Frankly, although I do enjoy the luxury of being at home during union meetings, I really think it would be healthy for the union to finally return to in-person Rep Council and Executive Board meetings as was always the case before the pandemic.  Despite my opinions, I voted No on the Rep Council standing rules mainly because I don’t think the Executive Board should be making a recommendation to the Rep Council about standing rules. I think that’s for the site reps to decide and vote on, and I don’t see the need for Executive Board to be involved. 

Regarding the membership of Craig Gordon Many of you have been made aware of an upsetting situation regarding retired teacher, substitute, and very longtime OEA activist Craig Gordon.  After OUSD unlawfully  fired Craig for union activity in 2022, OEA and CTA filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge—supported by a complaint from the Public Employment Relations Board—which is finally set for hearing November 6-9. After this unlawful firing, Craig continued to be recognized as a member and a substitute rep. He filed three grievances and participated at Rep Council meetings. In April Rep Council approved a motion Craig submitted that criticized an action by the OEA president.  In August, OEA officers told Craig that he no longer qualifies for OEA membership, because he isn’t an OUSD employee. As a matter of law and common sense, since his unlawful firing is not final Craig continues to be an OUSD employee. Why would we choose to kick out a member whose termination we believe to be unlawful? In addition OEA Bylaws do not authorize individual officers to determine who is a union member. Rep Council holds the ultimate authority to make that determination.  

After Rep Council voted to affirm Craig’s membership with a vote of 61 yes and 13 no, the Executive Board voted to decline Craig’s membership with a vote of 12 yes and 2 no.  I voted NO in the first place because I read the bylaws to say that Rep Council is the policy-making body of OEA.  This means EB is not in a position to overturn an RC decision.  EB’s job is to execute policy made by RC.  I view EB’s vote on this issue as an undemocratic move to overturn RC’s decision. RC is made up of site reps who were elected by their coworkers from each school site. It’s very concerning to see OEA’s democratic process thrown askew. 

At this point, a great deal of RC and EB time has had to be spent fighting the leadership’s selective move to oust Craig from OEA, when it could have been spent organizing next steps in response to a laundry list of site and district-wide issues with OUSD. Craig should be allowed into OEA meetings just as all OEA members are. For more information about Craig’s situation read and sign the open letter here.

Once again, please reach out – let’s discuss and build the union we want! My email is postmistressgeneral@gmail.com. The next EB meeting is on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.  I’m not sure of the time yet; I just know there is an exec board retreat during the school day. Happy to update when I have more information!

In solidarity,

Divya