Meet Jay Inslee

Join us Friday, June 8th Big E Brewery event with Jay Inslee and other state legislators.

Mix, mingle and get to know your WEA endorsed candidate for Governor, as well as candidates for State Legislature from the 1st, 21st and 32nd Districts.

Date: Friday, June 8, 2012 Time: 3:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Big E Ales (Ellersick Brewery) 5030 208th Street SW, Suite A, Lynnwood, WA 98036

Directions:
From I-5 North: Take the 220th Street SW Exit (179). Turn right onto 220th. Turn left onto 52nd Ave. W. Turn right onto 208th Street SW. Big E Ales is at the far end of the industrial complex on the right.

From I-5 South: Take the 220th Street SW Exit (179). Turn left onto 220th. Turn left onto 52nd Ave. W. Turn right onto 208th Street SW. Big E Ales is at the far end of the industrial complex on the right.

It is not the time to give up. It is the time to get involved! (Sen Bernie Sanders, June 6, 2012)

We are already being badly outspent by those who want to shred our contracts and privatize our schools. Fortunately, educators can influence the outcome. Voters respect us. When we call them to talk about education, they listen. If thousands of us make these phone calls, it will make a big difference, as it did 8 yearsago when we helped defeat Dino Rossi (for Governor) by 133 votes. The nationwide assault on unions and public education is now focused on Washington state, which has the most competitive Governor’s race in the nation.

Each of us has a choice. We can take a few hours now to influence the election. Or we can do nothing. If we lose this election (Governor and Legislature), we will almost certainly lose our say in our work and profession. For example, teachers could be required to be at school anextra hour daily without additional pay. NESPA members could have their hours cut. Your pay could be cut. Your job security could rely on whether the principal likes you this year. (These things have actually happened in other states.) The choice is not a difficult one, for most educators.

Please join us in

Please volunteer to telephone voters (with a script) in June or July for Jay Inslee and Rosemary McAuliffe.

Wednesday's Meeting

Dear NESPA Colleague,

When I think about my parents and grandparents, I am struck by the sacrifices they made for me and my siblings. And I am grateful.

Thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the generations before us, most of us have choices and opportunities that they never had. It didn’t come easy. They fought wars. They organized unions. They built the world’s most productive economy. And the world’s best education system. These were gifts to us, a legacy.

Today, much of that is at risk. Efforts to privatize public education (charters and vouchers) and to transform our schools into test mills are well funded by millionaires. Unions, which were 35% of the workforce in the 1950s, are now only 12% of the workforce. Life is becoming harder as incomes decline, higher education becomes prohibitively expensive, and decent jobs become scarce.

We are fortunate to have the ability to make a difference, and to leave a legacy for OUR students, children, and grandchildren. As part a union (a gift left to us), we can each do a small part, and make a huge difference, together.

That’s what our FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE EMERGENCY MEETING is about. I hope that you’ll be there THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4^TH at the Inglemoor High School gym. (Sign in at 4:00 pm; meeting at 4:30 pm.) Please be there. Also attending will be State Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, Representatives Derek Sanford and Luis Moscoso, and WEA President Mary Lindquist.

Please invite EVERYONE you work with: teachers, paras, office, and others. Carpool if you can. Click here for directions.

Teaching is caring for the future. I am grateful for your participation.

Kraig Peck

WEA Staffperson for NESPA & NSEA

Northshore Emerency Meeting!

For all Northshore Educators (NSEA, NESPA, NEOPA)

Wednesday, April 4th at Inglemoor HS Gym
Sign in at 4:00, meeting starts at 4:30

In the past 10+ years, we have never had an emergency meeting.

Why now? What's at stake?

• the future of our students, our children, our grandchildren
• our ability to bargain or to be part of a union
• education as a profession
• the future of public education in Northshore and Washington

Important Message from Our Colleagues in Ohio and Wisconsin

Last year, the Ohio Education Association fought hard (and won!) against an Ohio state Senate Bill (SB5) that would strip public employees of their right to bargain. Elections have consequences, and if the wrong people get into the right seats, we could be facing a similar battle here in Washington.

In 2011, the lives of Wisconsin teachers changed overnight. Wisconsin is not alone. Attacks on collective bargaining rights have taken place in Indiana and Ohio, too, as have attacks on tenure, retirement and other important issues. In Wisconsin, contracts were replaced with highly restrictive policy handbooks. You can make sure it doesn't happen here by being politically active, building community relations and developing a plan. We can learn from Wisconsin.

From NSEA Blog

NESPA Day Flyer

Check here for NESPA Day classes

http://www.weacascade.org/images/stories/nespa/nespadayflyer2012.pdf

Professional Development

Check out some professional development opportunities in our area.

http://www.weacascade.org/images/stories/nespa/traininginfovolume1-2.pdf