Jun 22, 2022 | Blog
Last December, we profiled a brave group of educators from the New America School charter system. They’re seeking to become the first charter school educators to unionize in the state of Colorado. Since then, bus assistants from Cherry Creek and Deaf/Hard of Hearing Interpreters from Littleton have joined in calling for their districts to recognize them as a union and immediately begin bargaining with them.
Cherry Creek Bus Assistants are vital in making sure our students arrive at school and return home safely every day. They are responsible for making sure the most at-risk students arrive at and depart school safely. Currently, bus assistants in the Cherry Creek School District start at a little over $14 per hour, which is nearly $2 less than the minimum wage in Denver, and $1.50 less per hour than their counterparts in Aurora and Littleton. For context, the King Soopers workers who won their strike against the grocery chain this past year negotiated a starting wage of $16 per hour in 2022.
In addition to the low pay, experienced assistants have not seen their pay increase even as the starting wage has increased. The most senior Bus Assistant with over 20 years of experience in the Cherry Creek School District makes less than $20/hr.
Bus Assistants are demanding that the Cherry Creek School District show respect by voluntarily recognizing them as a union, giving them a seat at the table. They demand that the district work with their union on pay, benefits and working conditions. They demand that their pay be competitive with other metro area school districts and that they be reclassified as Bus Assistants rather than as paraprofessionals as they are now.
In March, Deaf/Hard of Hearing Interpreters (all seven of them!) unanimously agreed to form a union and ask the Littleton School Board for recognition. The Interpreters are vital in making sure that all students are able to learn in a safe and welcoming environment, and are able to learn the skills they need to advocate for themselves in life. Yet, they are treated as disposable by the district, with little input in how they do their jobs and support their students, extremely high turnover rates, and little pay.
“All educators and public employees should have the fundamental right to form a union in the state of Colorado,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and CEA president. “We’re at a tipping point in time where educators are ready to leave the profession and not having a say in their workplace is a big reason. The 39,000 members of the CEA stand in solidarity with the educators in NAS, bus assistants in Cherry Creek and the interpreters in Littleton and we pledge to support in any way we can to help them achieve recognition.”
All three groups have an incredibly uphill battle to fight to win recognition as unions. The New America School board has already rejected the NAS teachers’ bid to become a union and they are moving into the next phase of their organizing plan. Both the Cherry Creek and Littleton school districts are dragging their feet in hopes that the Bus Assistants and Sign Language Interpreters lose their will to continue.
Furthermore, in this year’s legislative session, a watered-down collective bargaining bill for Colorado county workers made its way through the Colorado state legislature but it does not include K-12 entities and actually strips some protections away from county employees such as the right to strike.
The time to stand with our colleagues and fight is now. Please watch your social media and CEA communications for opportunities to take action to support these brave educators.
Jun 20, 2022 | Blog
The last two years have seemed and felt like ten. Prior to 2020, we were facing problems like chronic underfunding, the beginnings of a great educator exodus, attacks from those wishing to dismantle public education, and attacks from those wishing to destroy unions not only in our state but across the country.
I guess none of that was enough because in March 2020, the universe decided we needed a global pandemic. And then in 2021, the universe gave us relentless attacks on our profession, a concerted effort to roll back all of the racial and social justice rights that have been achieved over the last 50 years and extremist school board candidates pushing these attacks. But through it all, we’ve shown the world that when we join together, we are unstoppable.
Whenever I finish a 16-hour day and then have to be a mom and a wife, when I lay my head down at night, I’m comforted by the fact that I have the privilege of working side by side with teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, bus drivers, food service workers and many others across the state. This gives me hope — that we are on the right path to making public education as great as it can be because our students are counting on us.
We don’t have the vast resources that our opposition has but we have the momentum in public opinion and we have the people power of over 39,000 members across Colorado. We have the subject matter experts and we have the people who are committed to their professions. We have the trust and confidence of parents. We have the love and support of our students. All of which, our opposition does not have. But we need to harness our collective power because our opposition is raising money and firing up their base like never before.
We must remember that we’re in this for the long haul. And election season is approaching fast. The 2021 elections were a reminder that elections matter and bad elections can give us bad school boards. We need to come together to make sure we elect pro-public education candidates who care about our public schools and whose words match actions.
In a world where obstacles are continually put in front of us, we must rise to the challenge of advocating for the public schools our students, their families and our fellow educators deserve. When we advocate together, we know that we will be successful. The power of our union is the power of us.
I wish you rest and rejuvenation over the summer and I look forward to coming back together in the fall, fired up and ready to go for our students, our professions, and public education.
Amie Baca-Oehlert is a high school counselor and president of the CEA.
Jun 13, 2022 | Press
MEDIA RELEASE
June 13, 2022
Contact: Linda He, LHe@coloradoea.org, (720) 498-0928
Cherry Creek bus assistants stand up for union rights at board meeting
Demand to be included in transportation union unit
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLO. – Tonight nearly 50 bus assistants who work with special education students and their allies demanded union rights at the Cherry Creek School District board meeting. After three months of stonewalling by board members, a draft policy was finally on the agenda, although the board did not vote on it. Nearly 80 percent of bus assistants have signed union cards.
“I’m committed to working with our most vulnerable students but even after more than 20 years, in this job I earn less than $20 an hour. I have to live with my mom because it’s not a living wage,” said Heather Music, a Cherry Creek bus assistant. “We’re here tonight to stand up for ourselves and our students so that our union is recognized, just like it is in other metro districts.”
Cherry Creek Bus Assistants United gave public comment in support of a policy that would resolve disputes during the recognition process, so that workers would not have to wait a year before further negotiations. Workers would like to ensure that the Cherry Creek School Board passes a policy that will not only allow them to be recognized as a union, but provide a pathway for future unions in Cherry Creek.
“I have worked as a bus assistant for nearly 14 years, and year after year I have seen very insignificant increases to my pay – sometimes as low as 11 cents an hour,” said Tina Brown, a Cherry Creek bus assistant. “This is why we are demanding a union in order to bargain for meaningful pay increases, so more assistants can afford to stay in this profession and provide consistency for our students.”
As required by law, bus assistants work exclusively with special education students, handling medication and managing behavior and other needs during transport to and from school. Cherry Creek bus assistants are seeking to be included in the Cherry Creek Transportation Employees Association unit and to have union recognition just like bus assistants in other metro districts, like Jefferson County, Boulder Valley and Westminster.
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The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
Apr 15, 2022 | Press
CONTACT
Jason Malmberg
720-261-0273
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2022
Adams 14 & CEA Educators Cautiously Optimistic After State Board Vote
District will move to co-govern with management consultants
The following statement can be attributed to Jason Malmberg, middle school music teacher and president of the SD14 Classroom Teachers Association:
“Today, educators, students and families are breathing a little easier after the State Board of Education voted to grant Adams 14 time to produce its innovation and partial management plans for the district, Central Elementary and Adams City High School. There will be no school closures which is a major victory for the students, families, educators and community.
“Our district has been in constant turmoil since the State Board of Education forced a private for-profit management partner on us, a failed experiment that left us all demoralized and frustrated. We’re cautiously optimistic that under co-partner management status, district staff, educators, students and families can come together to build the community schools we believe will provide the wraparound services that lead to greater student health and academic growth.
“District 14 educators are eager to collaborate with Dr. Loria, the district, and a new partner to provide the academic, social, emotional and other support our students need to learn, thrive and make their dreams come true. We are encouraged to develop a plan that will be envisioned with authentic community input as we heard loud and clear from community members that they want a collaborative school design process that prioritizes the needs and strengths of the community.
“With a strong sense of community pride, our students will continue the Adams 14 legacy when many of them will become third and fourth generation graduates of their public schools in May and in years to come.”
The following statement can be attributed to Amie Baca Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association, the voice of 39,000 educators:
“No matter what we look like, where we live or how much we have in our wallets, we all want exceptional public schools that inspire imagination, cultivate critical thinking and encourage collaboration to ensure our children can live fulfilling lives – that includes the hardworking families and educators in Commerce City. The Colorado Education Association will continue to support the students, families, and educators of Adams 14 by supporting our community school model and its expansion throughout Adams 14.”
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Feb 10, 2022 | Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2022
Colorado Education Association Members Rally with Coalition
Calls on Lawmakers to Introduce Collective Bargaining Bill
DENVER – Today members of the Colorado Education Association (CEA) participated in a rally on the west steps of the State Capitol as a part of the coalition Public Workers United Colorado, calling on lawmakers to introduce a statewide collective bargaining bill. The proposed bill, sponsored by Rep. Daneya Esgar (D-HD46) and Sen. Steve Fenberg (D-SD18), would give all public employees in the state of Colorado the right to form and be recognized as a union.
“Coloradans want all of our students to thrive and succeed, and public school educators are actually the experts on how to make that happen,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, high school counselor and president of the Colorado Education Association. “The problem is our voices are too often dismissed and even disrespected in some circles. That’s why all K-12 educators absolutely deserve collective-bargaining rights.”
“Every single worker in Colorado deserves the right to choose a union with collective bargaining rights, especially public workers like us,” said Jennifer Muñoz, secretary and member of Jefferson County Support Professionals Association. “We are the ones working for Colorado students and parents every day, both in and out of the classroom. We are experts in our field, and can speak firsthand to the challenges Colorado students and educators currently face, and how we can all work together to overcome them.”
The bill has yet to be introduced and the CEA and its partners are continuing to work with the bill sponsors and stakeholders to introduce legislation to ensure all public workers, the very workers who have been on the frontlines in our communities, across the state are covered.
About the Colorado Education Association
The Colorado Education Association is the voice of 39,000 educators, working together in a strong union to ensure all students get the exceptional public schools they deserve, in every neighborhood across the state. As Colorado’s largest labor union, CEA works collectively with all education stakeholders to ensure Colorado’s standing as an excellent state in which to learn, live, work, and raise a family.
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