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Candidates Recommended by KC-PACE and/or TEA-FCPE
2012 Election
Don’t know your district? Click here to look it up.
Tennessee Senate
Evelyn Gill – Dist. 6 – Knox County
Doug Overbey – Dist. 2 – Blount & Sevier Counties
Tennessee House of Representatives
Gloria Johnson – Dist. 13 – Knox County
Joseph Armstrong – Dist. 15 – Knox County
Andrew Farmer – Dist. 17 – Jefferson & Sevier Counties
Anthony Hancock – Dist. 18 – Knox County
Bob Ramsey – Dist. 20 – Blount County
Jim Hackworth – Dist. 33 – Anderson County
“The TEA Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed candidates statewide who support public education. Endorsements are made based on interviews and questionnaires between the candidates, the local association and the TEA Fund.”
TEA members may view the full list by logging in to the TEA site at: http://teateachers.org
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What is the Representative Assembly?
The National Education Association Representative Assembly—the RA—is the highest decision-making body within the over 3.2 million-member NEA. With over 9,000 delegates, the RA is also the world’s largest democratic deliberative body.
Over the course of eight business sessions spanning four days, RA delegates debate the vital issues that impact American public education and set Association policy and activities for the year ahead.
Is the Representative Assembly the same as the Annual Meeting?
No. The Annual Meeting is the six-day period of time that includes the Representative Assembly. The first two days of the Annual Meeting are devoted to delegate registration and a wide range of pre-RA meetings, conferences, and exhibits.
How do NEA members become delegates?
In balloting conducted by NEA affiliates throughout the country, NEA members elect their peers to represent their concerns at the RA. The delegates represent NEA local and state affiliates, student members, retired members, and other segments of the NEA membership. The elected delegates determine NEA’s strategic plan and budget, legislative program, and resolutions. Delegates also vote, by secret ballot, on proposed amendments to the NEA constitution and bylaws and elect NEA’s executive officers, Executive Committee members, and at-large members of the NEA Board of Directors.
Why is the annual meeting held over the July 4th holiday?
Traditionally, July 4 was chosen because it was convenient for many educators. It was a time when most schools had finished the regular school year. In most cases, July 4 did not interrupt summer school sessions. Now that many schools have to make up snow days, the school year can run through the later part of June.
Is the RA always in the same city?
No. The site of each year’s NEA Annual Meeting is determined by the NEA Board of Directors. Future meetings will be held in Washington, DC (2012), Atlanta (2013), Denver (2014), Miami (2015), Washington DC (2016), Boston (2017), Minneapolis (2018), and Houston (2019).
What factors determine where NEA holds its annual meetings?
The NEA Board of Directors decides the location of the annual meeting. These decisions are limited by the size of a city’s convention center, hotel availability, dates and affordable pricing. Many convention centers do not have enough space for the general session (the Representative Assembly).
How many people support the convention while it is going on?
Several convention center personnel such as laborers, food service workers, security personnel, and cleaning personnel help us during the Annual Meeting. Also, there are about 300 NEA staff and almost 250 volunteers who support the convention.
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From Jennifer Faddis, Public Affairs Specialist, Knox County Schools
If you are interested in becoming a substitute teacher with the Knox County Schools, the $39.95 assessment fee for training is being waived for a limited time.
Weekly training sessions begin Monday, June 11 and continue through August 11, 2012 with morning sessions from 8 to 11:20 a.m. or afternoon sessions from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Training sessions will be held at the Sarah Simpson Professional Development Center located at 801 Tipton Avenue, and space is limited.
Using skills, materials, and strategies designed by STEDI, an effective substitute training program, the local training sessions are designed to equip substitute teaches to:
· Handle classroom behavior situations
· Be prepared and professional
· Teach students with special needs
· Assemble a Substitute Pack
For more information or to register, please call Human Resources at (865) 594-1929 or visit http://www.hr.knoxschools.org/ for more information.
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Critical Thinking: Strategies and Practices for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom February 16, 2012 4:30 – 7:30 KCEA Office
Strategic Goal: AA 1: High Expectations and Academic Rigor
Knowing the “facts” will be insufficient for our survival and success in the 21st Century. In this information age, productive citizens will be those who can bring well-developed critical thinking skills to bear on the challenges and problems of the day. This workshop provides an introduction to strategies for teaching critical thinking in all subject areas.
(All teachers, all grade levels)
Building Academic Vocabulary April 12, 2012 4:30 – 7:30 KCEA Office
Strategic Goal AASG1: High Expectations and Academic Rigor; AG2: High Quality Instruction
Since true vocabulary development involves more than recitation of the definition or looking up words in the glossary, this workshop is designed to help develop additional vocabulary strategies for K-10 teachers across the core curriculum. Using the key terms identified through the Tennessee Academic Vocabulary project, participants will be introduced to a six-step process and a comprehensive approach to teaching academic vocabulary based on the strategies identified by researchers, Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering.
(K-10 teachers in reading/language arts, math, science, and social studies) 3 hours unscheduled in-service credit
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 WE DID IT!!!
KCEA won 81% of the total votes to represent educators the Collaborative Conferencing process!
Voting Breakdown:
There were 2,571 certified votes (about 60% of eligible voters).
2,466 (57.32% of all eligible voters) voted “yes” for collaborative conferencing. There were 105 “no” votes (2.4% of all eligible voters).
Requesting representation are the following totals:
Knox County Education Association (KCEA) – 2,073 votes for 81% of the total vote
Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET)- 232 votes for 10% of the total vote
Unaffiliated – 208 for 8% of the total vote
None of the above – 26 for 1% of the total vote
Congratulations! Thanks to all who took the time to vote!
It is clear that the majority of certified employees of Knox County Schools want a voice in how our schools are operated for the best interests of our students and employees.
We know that a lot of people worked very hard to make this happen. THANK YOU!!!
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Resources on the Importance of Unions from
http://www.we-r-1.org/upload/weareone_teaching_toolkit.pdf
The Importance of Unions in Building — and Rebuilding — the Middle Class
David Madland, Karla Walter and Nick Bunker. 2011. Unions Make the Middle Class.
Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress. Available online March 31, 2011: www.americanprogress.org.
This comprehensive report explains how unions act to raise wages and benefits for all workers, give the middle class a voice in corporate decision
making, promote greater political participation and help to build career ladders for working families.
Matt Vidal with David Kusnet. 2009. Organizing Prosperity: Union Effects on Job Quality, Community Betterment, and Industry Standards. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. Available online: www.epi.org/publications/entry/book_organizing_prosperity.
This book tells the story of how unions have improved living and working conditions for workers in multiple industries, from hospitality workers in Las Vegas to technology workers at AT&T and child care workers in Pennsylvania.
AFL-CIO. What the Freedom to Join Unions Means to America’s Workers and the Middle Class. Available online: www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/upload/freedom_union.pdf.
This fact sheet shows the way out of the economic crisis must include restoring workers’ freedom to form unions, speak for themselves and negotiate for a fair share of the wealth they create.
Harley Shaiken and David Madland. 2008. Issue Brief: Unions Are Good for the Economy and Democracy. Available online: www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/efca_brief.html.
This brief statement summarizes how unions are beneficial to the economy and are good for democracy.
Lawrence Mishel with Matthew Walters. 2003. Briefing Paper: How Unions Help All Workers. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. Available online: www.epi.org/publications/entry/briefingpapers_bp143/.
The economic analysis in this report shows that unions reduce wage inequality by setting a standard many nonunion employers follow and by playing an important role in securing labor protections through legislative action.
Lawrence Mishel. 2007. The Right to Organize, Freedom, and the Middle Class Squeeze.
Available online: www.epi.org/publications/entry/webfeatures_efca_testimony_20070326.
In this testimony to a U.S. Senate committee hearing, an economist explains how unions promote opportunity and fairness in the workplace while reducing income inequality in the national economy.
Workers’ Rights as Human Rights: The State of Our Freedom to Join Unions and Bargain Collectively
International Commission for Labor Rights. 2011. Collective Bargaining Rights are Fundamental Human Rights—Denying Them is Illegal. Available online: http://nlg-laboremploy-comm.org/media/ICLR_legal_analysis_on_collective_bargaining_rights_.pdf.
This brief statement documents how courts and agencies around the world have held that collective bargaining in the public sector is a fundamental right and essential element of the freedom of association guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and international law.
Human Rights Watch. 2000. Unfair Advantage: Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States under International Human Rights Standards. Available online: www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2000/uslabor.
This comprehensive report provides greater detail on the freedom of association under international law. It provides case studies of how employers have violated the freedom of association in U.S. workplaces that employ service workers and manufacturing employees.
Fighting for Workers’ Right to Organize & Collectively Bargain. Tools and resources by Jobs with Justice. Available online: www.jwj.org/campaigns/workers.html.
Hart Research Associates. 2009. Public Opinion Regarding the Employee Free Choice Act, National Survey Results.
Available online: www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/upload/Employee_Free_Choice_Act_polling_memo_1.pdf.
This poll shows the vast majority of U.S. adults agree it is important to have laws that give employees the freedom to join a union and bargain collectively with employers.
Richard B. Freeman. 2007. Do Workers Still Want Unions? More Than Ever. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.
Available online: www.sharedprosperity.org/bp182.html.
This briefing paper by a Harvard economist shows that 85 percent to 90 percent of workers want to have more say in their workplaces, with the proportion of workers who want unions increasing significantly over the previous 10 years.
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Voter Registration Information Lookup Look up your Tennessee voting information: Polling location, district, eligibility, and more!
Benefits of KCEA/TEA Membership for Education Support Professionals
Professional TEA/NEA UniServ staff to help members when needed
Strong, effective representation if employment problems arise
Leadership training
Professional Development on issues that affect ESP members
Liability insurance protection - $1,000,000 in on-the-job coverage
Assistance in winning better pay, working conditions, job safety, and health benefits
Lobbying representation on issues important to schools and school employees
Studies and publications from TEA/NEA to keep us knowledgeable about education and our careers
Discounted insurance plans (home, life, investment) designed specifically for members
TEA/NEA discounts on credit cards, hotel/motel rates, travel, and more for members
Respect that comes with the support and backing of the largest, most effective employee organization in the country - NEA and its affiliates
Pictures See our pictures from the March 5th TEA Teacher Rally in Nashville, TN:
Rally Pictures
Legislative Action
Contact your legislators today!
Call and write you Representatives about bills that attack teacher rights. Your voice will make a difference!
Getting your message to the right people is quick and easy with TEA's Legislative Action Center:
Legislative Action Center
National Petition to Support Educators, Workers Rights LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD FOR EDUCATORS AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS
"We believe that educators, school support staff, nurses, firefighters and other middle class workers are essential to the well-being and safety of our families and communities. ...more... UV Index from the US EPA SunWise Program
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