Before I started teaching, I never really gave much thought to how much more was involved with this profession than simply the day to day classroom experience. I knew about grading, report cards, and extra curriculars, but I had never considered the federation side before. I had never really known anyone who was part of a union, nor did I really have a sense of what a union did for its members.
Since becoming a contract teacher three years ago, I have become active in many aspects of our union. Having participated in the union in several different ways now, I’ve found that I have more respect for and understanding of everything they do for both teachers and students. My practice has evolved, my network has grown, and I have become a better teacher because I have been involved. Here are the three primary ways that I have been involved in my union at both the local and provincial level, just in case someone out there might not have considered what is available to them:
Local Steward: I owe my involvement in the union to a colleague of mine who urged me to get involved. In my first year as a permanent teacher, she was our school steward and brought me along to a few of our local meetings. When she had to take a leave of absence, I filled in for her for the last few months of that school year, then carried on as steward the following year. It was a daunting prospect, to be certain, but I found that the other stewards and my local executive were very supportive of me as a new member and a new steward. I enjoy going to monthly meetings, finding out about new developments and collective bargaining, helping my colleagues when they need it… it isn’t always easy, but even when the meetings are several hours long and have gone way past their expected end time, I have always found the experience rewarding.
As steward, I have also had the chance to participate in discussion of and voting on motions to help people in crisis. Both my local (OCETF) and ETFO have given considerable amounts of money to those in need. At times, I have seen my local executive suggest a certain amount of money to donate, then watched as fellow stewards suggested raising the amount to be given. I have never heard anyone suggest that helping others was a mistake, or that we should think of ourselves and lower the amount.
Provincial and Local Committees: While I haven’t sat on any committees at the local level, I was urged to apply to a provincial committee by the same colleague who pushed me to take over as steward. I have been a member of the ETFO New Members’ Committee since last year. In our meetings (as several other bloggers here can attest, as they’re also members of the committee!) we have had some productive and fascinating discussions about the challenges being faced by new members, the similarities and differences around the province, and how we can better connect new members all across Ontario so that we all benefit from one another’s experience. Being a member of the committee has been fun and very low stress, with two meetings in Toronto a year (in addition to a few e-mail exchanges when necessary). Provincial committees can have a profound effect on ETFO through creating and preventing resolutions at the Annual General Meeting or by presenting them to the executive for action.
One of the things I got to do as part of this committee was pilot the Teacher Workload Survey that we were asked to fill out recently. We went through the survey as it was being developed and provided feedback on what was good, what was missing, what needed to be changed or taken out… I appreciated having the opportunity to have a direct impact on something that will, in theory, serve to make our professional lives a little better.
Annual General Meeting: Last year was the first time I attended the ETFO AGM in Toronto. My local sends a large delegation to the meeting and last year they strongly urged people to sign up if they had never attended before. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I submitted my name. I still didn’t know what to expect when I attended the meetings leading up to the AGM. Even if someone had described it to me – a massive room full of teachers voting democratically on resolutions to decide the direction, governance, and policies of their union – I’m not sure I would have really imagined it properly. Maybe I’m a bit of a union geek, but the AGM, as it turns out, is a REALLY neat exercise in democracy in action. Resolutions are brought forward, justified, debated, defended, and ultimately voted on by teachers. Some resolutions are put forward by locals, others by committees, others still by the provincial executive. Teachers vote independently, giving individual members a say in the direction their union takes. It was really cool.
That makes me sound like a nerd, doesn’t it? (Don’t worry, that’s nothing I haven’t heard before!)
Those are just three of the ways that you can become involved with your federation – simple but rewarding ways for you to affect change in your profession. There are many, many more opportunities out there, too. Teaching isn’t just about getting into the classroom and delivering a curriculum. We are a community. We learn from each other, we help each other, and we help others, too.
