Where the EFF beats the WEA
Technology and getting the message out. The gap has been there for months, but recent developments show that the gap has ballooned dramatically.
As an example, consider the union dues lawsuit. The EFF got out in front with their blog, Teachers vs. Union, which had video clips and links to the associated legal documents. Over at the WEA website you could find a statement from Charles Hasse, if you dug around a little.
"Well," I can hear some thinking, "The EFF had a lot more invested in that particular fight than the WEA did. It makes sense that they would have put more in to it." I'll grant the point, but I'll ask this in return: who controlled the message on this? If you were a reporter doing background on the story, which site would have served you better? If someone picked up a paper and read about the issue, which side presented a better case?
The most important fight was the one at SCOTUS, which good money says was also lost by the WEA. The battle of the message? That was a rout.
Last week the EFF made their first foray into video podcasting, talking about the passage of the much-maligned HB2079. It's well done, professional looking, and gets the point across. This week they introduced a podcast called Education Reformer, available off their website, aligned with ITunes, and with a transcript posted right on their website for anyone interested.
What does the WEA have? A website and WE magazine. Anymore, that's not enough. Dr. Homeslice has a great article on what Web 2.0 can mean for collective bargaining and union organizing, and right now I don't see that my WEA is getting that message.
I think that this is a chink in the armor that has the potential to get bigger in the next few years as the older generation retires and gets replaced by new teachers who have grown up with the internet as a matter of course. Two points:
1) Those who fought the battles of the '70s and '80s know how hard the profession had to fight to get collective bargaining and earn the gains we have. Many new teachers don't have that background--the association has always been there and always been powerful, to them--and as a result there's not the fire that you see from some of the experienced folks.
2) A side effect is that the WEA narrative becomes passe, because it's the only one they know. If a group like the EFF comes along and presents a good case, visually appealing, accessible through the technology that the new teachers use....we're setting ourselves up for a fall.
The WEA has the resources. They have the personality. During a legislative session like the one we just had I think it's criminal they don't do something like a weekly podcast to get the message out. Give us interviews with our elected WEA exec board, where they talk about the union and why we're still vital. Bring in the experts on ProCert, National Board, retirement, and all the other things that really matter.
Where is the voice of the WEA?
As an example, consider the union dues lawsuit. The EFF got out in front with their blog, Teachers vs. Union, which had video clips and links to the associated legal documents. Over at the WEA website you could find a statement from Charles Hasse, if you dug around a little.
"Well," I can hear some thinking, "The EFF had a lot more invested in that particular fight than the WEA did. It makes sense that they would have put more in to it." I'll grant the point, but I'll ask this in return: who controlled the message on this? If you were a reporter doing background on the story, which site would have served you better? If someone picked up a paper and read about the issue, which side presented a better case?
The most important fight was the one at SCOTUS, which good money says was also lost by the WEA. The battle of the message? That was a rout.
Last week the EFF made their first foray into video podcasting, talking about the passage of the much-maligned HB2079. It's well done, professional looking, and gets the point across. This week they introduced a podcast called Education Reformer, available off their website, aligned with ITunes, and with a transcript posted right on their website for anyone interested.
What does the WEA have? A website and WE magazine. Anymore, that's not enough. Dr. Homeslice has a great article on what Web 2.0 can mean for collective bargaining and union organizing, and right now I don't see that my WEA is getting that message.
I think that this is a chink in the armor that has the potential to get bigger in the next few years as the older generation retires and gets replaced by new teachers who have grown up with the internet as a matter of course. Two points:
1) Those who fought the battles of the '70s and '80s know how hard the profession had to fight to get collective bargaining and earn the gains we have. Many new teachers don't have that background--the association has always been there and always been powerful, to them--and as a result there's not the fire that you see from some of the experienced folks.
2) A side effect is that the WEA narrative becomes passe, because it's the only one they know. If a group like the EFF comes along and presents a good case, visually appealing, accessible through the technology that the new teachers use....we're setting ourselves up for a fall.
The WEA has the resources. They have the personality. During a legislative session like the one we just had I think it's criminal they don't do something like a weekly podcast to get the message out. Give us interviews with our elected WEA exec board, where they talk about the union and why we're still vital. Bring in the experts on ProCert, National Board, retirement, and all the other things that really matter.
Where is the voice of the WEA?
posted by Ryan at 10:18 PM
3 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
In this district, the voice of WEA is limited to those few teachers who have an axe to grind.
More and more people choose to become "fees payers" each year because The Union does not represent our most professional and hard-working classroom teachers.
BRAVO!! Well written.
--don
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