Vision and Values Matter

Dear Education Austin sisters and brothers,

Just another reminder to vote to reelect Bruce Banner as Vice President of Classified Employees of Education Austin. You'll need to closely follow the instructions in the mail ballot and have your ballot postmarked by this Friday, May 23rd.

Vision and values matter. The vision and values that I have followed for the past 8 years have been of equality and justice for our Classified members in particular and all union members generally. These principles motivated my demands for equitable pay raises between Classified and Certified employees when I first started attending AISD budget councils in the mid-90s. These principles motivated my fight for Just Cause employment status for Classified employees and an end to at-will employment in AISD. These principles informed my proposals in Consultation and the grievances I've fought for both Classified and Certified members. Equality and justice have been my guiding stars through the dark night of Teacher and Public School employee unionism in Texas. They have served me well.

But through my tenure as Education Austin's Vice President for Classified Employees, I began to see the outlines of a more profound vision for our union's future, a vision based on the idea of expanding and deepening democracy in both the school and worksite but also in the union local as well. Part of this vision includes union local officers who are democratically accountable and responsible to our elected Executive Board, who in turn are accountable and responsible to our members and leaders at the campus and worksite level. This vision includes using relational organizing to grow our democracy by helping potential members become members, who then are encouraged to become active members, then leaders, and finally dedicated unionists. This vision incorporates equality and justice as foundational values that guide our democratic practice.

Why workplace and union democracy? Because the alternative is, in the best case scenario, a benign dictatorship, and it goes downhill from there. And that, I submit, should be unacceptable to thinking, feeling and free women and men.

This vision sees labor unity and solidarity as fundamental to our creating democracy and power for all members. "An injury to one is an injury to all" is not just a nice slogan. Benjamin Franklin said it best at the signing of the Declaration of Independence when he said, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." To me this means, "Solidarity forever -- or else!"

This vision esteems the old union aphorism of "Agitate, Educate, Organize!" Agitation simply means getting people to see there is a problem. That's why agitators are often seen as troublemakers when we just identify problems, like the boy in the fable who pointed out that the emperor has no clothes. Education means working the problem or the search for solutions. Organizing is implementing the solution to see if it works, or going back to the drawing board if it doesn't.

So this is the vision and these are the values that have animated my unionism and work for the past 8 years. But how does this translate to actual policy? Here are issues that I will pursue if reelected as your Vice President for Classified Employees:

• Continued agitation, consultation and struggle to win Just Cause employment status for all Classified employees and ending at-will employment once and for all.
• Pumping more money into both Teacher/Certified and Classified pay schedules to catch up with higher paying Texas school districts and to help recruit, reward and retain faculty and staff, while paying real Living Wages to our Classified Educational Support Professionals.
• Use of "no confidence" votes and campus/worksite organizing to hold administrators and supervisors accountable to their faculty and staffs, an initiative that I began 4 years ago.
• Development of a "unified indexed step schedule," with no more than 10 to 12 steps, for all employees' compensation, both Certified and Classified, and with "anniversary or seniority pay" to make the pay system fair for both new hires and veteran employees.
• Training of members and leaders in labor history so that we can all understand how we're fighting battles today in Texas that were won 40 years ago in other states, as well as to help our relational organizing in the district.

I will vigorously pursue these and similar initiatives, as well as the good ideas that you as members and leaders bring to your elected Executive Board and officers. For this vision for Education Austin's future, I again ask for your vote and support to reelect Bruce Banner as Education Austin's Vice President for Classified Employees.

Thank you again for your vote, your support and your membership in Education Austin.

In solidarity forever,
Bruce Banner
Vice President for Classified Employees
Education Austin
NEA/TSTA, AFT/Texas AFT, AFL-CIO

"A union is a way of getting things done together that you can't get done alone." Utah Phillips

P.S. The Hulkophiles amongst you can still check out the movie website and trailer here or at http://incrediblehulk.marvel.com. You can also can also check out my campaign blog at http://reelectbrucebanner.blogspot.com.

Experience Counts - A Tale of Two Complaints

Dear Education Austin sisters and brothers,

Just another reminder to vote to reelect Bruce Banner as Vice President of Classified Employees of Education Austin. You'll need to closely follow the instructions in the mail ballot and have your ballot postmarked by this Friday, May 23rd.

Experience Counts - A Tale of Two Complaints

Another reason that I can offer for your vote and support is my 8 years of experience as an officer and my 14 years experience as a dedicated unionist. The value of this experience can best be told as a story of two complaints I've handled, one at the beginning of my service as an officer and another more recently.

The first story is about the grievance I handled for a Teacher Assistant in 2000-01 who discovered he was being paid much less than a colleague who had less in-district experience than he did. I took his grievance and then had a huge research job in front of me to learn the intricacies and arcana of AISD Classified payroll and compensation systems. The grievance lasted a full school year but resulted in a $225,000 win for ALL AISD Classified who could show prior related experience. It also brought Classified Employees equal treatment with Teachers and Certified Employees by including notification of the district's experience pay system to new Classified hires.

The second story is about saving the $500 state-paid health insurance stipend for 300,000 Texas Classified Public School Employees and how the AISD administration nearly took it away from newly hired Classified Employees in Austin ISD. The experience I have gained in organizing members and leaders, in lobbying the Texas Legislature, in collaborating with our state affiliates Texas AFT and TSTA, and in working with press and media all came into play in stopping the Legislature's attempted $150 million mugging of Support Employees in Texas public schools. But once that was accomplished, the AISD administration failed to provide the $500 stipend to new Classified Employees. This was discovered completely by accident and could easily have been missed by someone without years of experience working with AISD's payroll and compensation systems.

A Bus Driver and returning member asked me one day why he was making 34 cents less per hour than two colleagues who were hired just two weeks before him. At first the discrepancy's cause was mysterious, but because of my work on implementing the $500 stipend permanently into Classified payroll, I realized that this was the same as the hourly salary increase Classifieds received when the law saving their stipend was passed by the Legislature. I brought this matter to the attention of the administration through the Consultation process, where they resisted recognizing the problem for months. Finally, after much consultation and outside work, I finally persuaded the administration that they were violating the law, had neglected to pay 400 Classified Employees their stipends, and had to adjust their salary scales UP by 34 cents. This work also resulted in an increase in the district's "Living Wage" from $9/hour to $9.50/hour and an increase in the Bus Driver starting salary from $11.50/hour to $12/hour. This was all because my experience as your Classified Vice President helped me see that one member's 34 cent/hour shortfall could become a $350,000 win for all new Classified hires.

In close, I once again ask for your vote and support to reelect Bruce Banner as Education Austin Vice President for Classified Employees.

HULK SMASH!

Just a clarification: There's another guy out there named Bruce Banner and apparently he's got a movie coming out on June 13. (You can check out the movie website and trailer here.) I'm not that guy, but the one thing we have in common is that you shouldn't make us angry, because you wouldn't like us when we're angry. Especially if you're a bad boss. RAAARRRR!!!

Welcome to my campaign blog!

REELECT BRUCE BANNER
AS EDUCATION AUSTIN'S
VICE PRESIDENT FOR CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES

A union member's best friend

A bad boss's worst nightmare

Hi and welcome to my campaign blog. I'm Bruce Banner and I am running for re-election as Education Austin's Vice President for Classified Employees in Austin ISD. I've served as your Classified Vice President since August 2000. During this time, I've poured my heart and soul, my blood, sweat and tears into the union and the Classified Employees that I have had the privilege of representing. Here are some of the things we've accomplished together:

• Won equal percentage pay raises to Teachers in 8 of the last 10 years, including the 11.7% two-year pay agreement
  
• Won experience pay for Classified Employees through a member's grievance
• Won option direct deposit for Biweekly Classified Employees after years of struggle
• Won the right to grieve Classified Employee terminations before the AISD Trustees
• Won enhanced rights and authority for School Bus Drivers and Monitors
• Won paid civic leave for summer Transportation Employees
• Won enhanced pay for elementary Clerk IIIs to Clerk IVs
• Won back pay owed to 300 new Classified Employees who were not given their $500 healthcare stipend
• Created a Classified Employee Orientation video for new employees
• Created the AISD "Classified Employee of the Year" award at the annual AISD Salute
  
• Enforced the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by a federal lawsuit and created improved overtime and comp time rules
• Enforced the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and protected employee leave rights
• Protected the Educational Aide Tuition Exemption for Teacher Assistants and college
• Stopped the "Zone" program path to Custodian privatization
• Stopped the Texas Legislature's attempt to take $500 from 300,000 Texas Classified Employees
  

and more.

I've initiated programs, training and consultation proposals aimed at ending so-called "at-will employment" for Classified Employees, by which they can be terminated at any time, for any legal reason or for no reason at all, without notice. ALL AISD employees deserve the right to "Just Cause employment" status like Teachers have, which provides for due process for the employee and the burden of proof to show cause for termination is with the employer. This matter is currently in Consultation. You can read about one member's struggle here in the Austin Chronicle.

I've been an innovator in creating power for Education Austin and our members:

• I was the first to file and win "whistleblower" grievances in AISD
• I was the first to advocate for strongly enforcing pro-employee work rules and laws in the absence of a collectively bargained contract
• I developed with staff effective and efficient tools for dealing with bad administrators and supervisors, resulting in the removal of several
• On behalf of the membership and union, I've received numerous awards for membership and achievement from the National Education Association (NEA), the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Texas AFT, raising the profile and status of Education Austin and organized Classified Employees.
  

I've brought technology to Education Austin:

• I won a National Education Association ESPIS Technology Grant and used it to purchase autodialer or "robocall" technology, relieving staff and officers of some phone call duty
• I introduced the use of listservs to Education Austin, which can send out thousands of emails instantly, in strategic coordination with the union's website
• I introduced online electronic surveys to the union and expanded their use to doing campus climate surveys to document poor administrations
• I also have produced the vast majority of the union's graphics and flyers over the past 8 years.

There is still much important work left to do:

• Winning full "Just Cause" employment status for Classified Employees.
• Expanding the use of Consultation to advance employee rights and powers.
• Improving Austin ISD Teachers and Support Employees pay to state and national levels
• Creating a new and unified "indexed step" pay system that is fair to new employees and veterans as well as Classified Employees
  
• Struggling with our allies to win collective bargaining in Texas
• Expanding and deeping our union and workplace democracy so that it serves ALL members and not just the few.

In close, I can say that I am proud of my work for you and Education Austin. Because there is still more good work to be done for Classified Employees in particular but also all union members in general, I humbly ask for your vote and support to reelect Bruce Banner as Vice President for Classified Employees. Thank you.

In solidarity forever,
Bruce Banner
Vice President for Classified Employees
Education Austin
TSTA/NEA, Texas AFT/AFT, AFL-CIO