IEA Region 24 Update February 15, 2107 The region update this afternoon is going to focus on the upcoming elections and the opportunities we all have as union members to have a voice and to use our collective voice whenever we can.

National Education Association NEA Illinois Education Association IEA IEA Region 24 ETA IEA Region 63 DUEA DUTU DUSA ESSO ETA Officers ETA Board of Directors ETA RA Building Reps Our local union is the ETA, the Elgin Teachers Association. Being part of the ETA means we are affiliated with the Illinois Education Association, the IEA, and the National Education Association, the NEA. This gives us the opportunity to bring our local voice to the state and the national levels. Each of our organizations conducts business meetings that we elect representatives to attend. It’s at these meetings or Representative Assemblies where our collective voices come together to listen to updates, discuss issues and vote on business items. The NEA is comprised of the state associations. The IEA is comprised of regions throughout the state of Illinois. The ETA is the largest IEA local in Illinois, we are our own region. The other IEA unions in U-46 combined are Region 63. We are 2 of the 67 Regions that are the IEA. Within the ETA we have elected positions. We have the Officers-the highest level of elected members at the local level, the Board of Directors-the officers and the section directors who represent the voices within their sections, the Building and Department Representatives who meet monthly at the RA- who represent the voice of the members at their sites, and then we have the general membership. The best part of it all is any member can be a representative and have a voice at any of these levels. ETA Members

Yearly Timelines Spring Election NEA RA Fall Election IEA RA Dec Jan Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Nov Fall Election IEA RA Dec Jan Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Nov We hold 2 elections each year. Members have 2 opportunities each year to have a voice at the state level and the national level. During the fall election we elect delegates to be or voice at the IEA RA, which occurs each spring, in March or April. During the spring election we elect delegates to be our voice at the NEA RA, which is always held over the 4th of July.

March 7th Election ETA Officer Positions - Secretary & Treasurer ETA Section Directors - ETA Board District Committees NEA Delegates In the materials you received when you signed in this afternoon, one envelope hold the election materials for the March election. During the March election we are electing ETA Officers, Section Directors, members to District Level Committees, and NEA Delegates. This is a manilla colored envelope. The manilla envelope is for March. Manilla for March. We will send out a reminder before the March election.

Elections - Be Informed IEA Legislative Updates Recent years have shown us that decisions made by lawmakers are reaching us in our classrooms much quicker than ever before. We feel the impact almost immediately. For some of us it is uncomfortable, but it is so important for us all to be aware of what is going on at the state and national levels. It is important to know because those decisions hit us and our students so fast. If you go to the IEA website, you will find legislative updates. This is a good source of information of the bills being proposed, who is supporting them, and IEAs position on them with the explanation why.

Elections - Loss of Voice VIDEO: Voices of WEAC | Illinois Education Association We as ETA members have many opportunities to have a voice. We have building level committees and district level committees written into our agreement. We have the opportunities that were just outlined at the local, state, and national level. Although sometimes we don’t feel like we have a voice because we don’t feel listened to, we have not lost our opportunity to have a voice. Unions in the states that surround us have lost their voice. Here is what losing your voice, or losing your collective bargaining rights is like.

Local Election-School Board Donna Smith Traci O’Neal Ellis Jeanette Ward Sue Kerr Cody Holt Eric Loera Student SEAT UP VOTE 4-4-17 We have members of our school board that do not support us as a union. Two of them have stated the support Rauner’s turn-around-agenda, which is not in our favor. The School Board Election is on April 4th. 3 of the current member’s seats are up for election. All 3 current members are running for re-election. It is not in our best interest for 1 of them to be re-elected. Veronica Noland Phil Costello

ETA Support Candidate Interviews Invited all candidates 3 accepted invitations Conducted Interviews with Region 63 Reps We went through a process to decide which, if any candidates, the ETA would support for the upcoming school board election. Our Region GPA and her dedicated teammates invited all of the candidates to come and interview with the ETA and Region 63 representatives. 3 candidates accepted invitations. 3 did not respond. Collectively Region 24 and 63 conducted the interviews, then discussed the pros and cons of each candidate. Collectively the team decided to endorse 3 candidates for the school board.

ETA Supports Melissa Owens Veronica Noland Donna Smith We support electing Melissa, Veronica, and Donna to the School Board on April 4th.

ETA Supports - You can help Yard Signs - Google Form Mailers (as easy as 1 2 3) Find 5 Canvassing Phone Banking You as ETA members are encouraged to become involved in promoting the support of these 3 candidates. We are going to make yard signs. There is a Google Form you can fill out if you would like signs delivered to your yard. Or you can leave your information the old-fashioned way on paper this evening. Our GPA team is going to tell you about these other opportunities in a few minutes.

ETA Supports - You can help There are several of you who have been working with Jen and Jeff and Joyce. You participated in the interviews, you went to canvassing training, you stuffed envelopes, you canvassed, you visited Springfield last weekend. If you have already become involved in this work in some way with our GPAs, please stand up. Let’s give them a round of applause. I’m going to turn the microphone over to Jen Joyce and Jeff they are going to give some more details about how to become more involved, in small ways or big ways over the next few weeks. Just remember every bit counts!