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The Connection
1136 N. Military Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54303
920-496-2440
800-472-5582
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June 4, 2021
MEMBERSHIP EDITION, Vol. 5, #9
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Hello friends,
The Region 3 Roundtable will debut on Tuesday August 10th at 3pm. One good thing to come out of last year is how convenient Zoom can make our union meetings! The Roundtable will be a place to learn best practices around New Hire Events.
We'll be featuring breakout rooms based on locals sizes so you can learn from locals similar to your own. The majority of our Roundtable will be time to collaborate, brainstorm and work as a team.
The Roundtable will be every other month and focus on the topics our leaders want to strategize around. Future Roundtable Topics:
October
Recertification Elections and Meet & Confer
December
School Board Elections
Have a topic your local union wants to learn more about? Let your director know!
Start assembling your team and register today!
In Solidarity,
Kristin Lytie
Regional Director
WEAC Region 3
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Upcoming Events:
June 9, Wednesday, Executive Committee Meeting, 6PM
July 15, Thursday, Zone B Meeting, 4:30PM, IN PERSON
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You have an opportunity to keep members in the loop AND respect their time by holding 10-minute meetings! It's also a great time to get feedback from people in the building.
Get out there and BE VISIBLE!
How can we have 10-minute meetings during the pandemic? Now is probably the BEST time to reach out to your members! Facebook live, Google hangouts, Zoom...
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The May 10-Minute Meeting topic:
The State Budget
Right now, Wisconsin legislatures are discussing the future of our schools and they need to hear from educators that are actually in the classroom. The ESSER and GEER funds were a much needed boost to many of our districts and will help them recover from the problems Covid-19 created for our schools but that is a one time band-aid and we can't expect that money to substitute for our state budget for the future. Right now, Region 3 is assembling teams to reach out to local politicians like Kristina Shelton in the 90th senate assembly district and Lee Snodgrass in the 57th. We are also putting together a team to meet with State Senator Devin LeMahieu. Live in one of these districts? Join our team! If you live in another, feel free to write an email to your local politicians to let them know you care about public school funding!
Contact your legislators HERE.
Some of the issues educators want to discuss are:
- Broadband Access
- Restoring Collective Bargaining
- Fully Funding Special Ed
For more details about how the 10-minute meeting works, click here. For previous 10-minute meeting topics:
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WELCOME
NEW MEMBERS IN MAY:
10!
We're stronger
every day!
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Back to School Membership Recruitment Training
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The Region 3 Back to School Membership
Drive Training will
take place on
Tuesday
July 20th
@3:30PM
This training will teach you how to identify new hires and how to involve local union members in creating an organizing culture in your school.
We are currently gauging if people would prefer to meet in person or via zoom for this training. You can select your preference in the registration.
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Registration for the 7th Annual Wisconsin Public Education Network Summer Summit, hosted by Sun Prairie Area School District and sponsored by WEAC Region 6, is now live! Visit our website at WisconsinNetwork.org/Summit to register for the August 2 Summer Summit and the post-summit dinner catered by Salvatore's at the Loft at 132 in Sun Prairie.
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Region 3 Covid-19 Updates Survey
Some districts have rewarded educators for the tremendous workload that teaching through Covid has created with bonuses and some districts have made a commitment to not make educators teach simultaneously next year.
What is your district doing?
Is your district doing something innovative that you think educators in other districts would benefit from?
Please fill out this survey to share what's happening in your district.
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The Just One Campaign successfully recruited 20 new members!!!
Just One is a membership drive that utilizes early enrollment while rewarding current members
for their organizing efforts!
The Just One Campaign concluded at the end of the day May 31st. Winners of a gift card will be notified via email and featured in our weekly newsletter and Members-Only Facebook Page.
The Just One Campaign is wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean that the important work of growing our Local Unions stops! Potential members can join their local association and pay nothing until September 2021 (receiving up to 5 months free)!
This excludes representation, but it's still a great opportunity for interested parties to learn more about who your local union is and what you're working on!
Potential members can still sign up with early enrollment HERE until September 1.
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Are you retiring this year? Do you know someone who is retiring this year?
The WEAC membership year is September 1st through August 31st, and even though you are "leaving" active employment in June, there is an obligation to continue paying dues through the end of August.
Not only does this commitment to membership support your active colleagues, it provides you with access to union resources and support to ensure you are treated fairly and that your employer upholds its commitments related to your retirement.
Here are some resources to share with the newest class of retirees:
Retiree Resources
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Cancellation of your current WEAC membership requires a signed letter sent to the Membership Department. Here is a sample letter that needs to be mailed to the address on the letter. This letter MUST include the date and your signature!
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Retirees should consider enrolling in WEAC-Retired. Membership can be a one-time payment. Here is a brochure detailing the benefits and an enrollment form.
Term life insurance offered through NEA can be increased at a very competitive rate and remains in place as long as you are an active or retired member. If you would like to review this and other member benefits afforded to WEAC & NEA members, please visit www.weac.org/memberbenefits.
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New contracts should have been issued by May 15th. While we know you are excited to turn it in, please be sure to read and review it to see if there are any changes. Some districts are adding language stating that they now have the power to lay off and non-renew outside of the timelines defined by state statute.
School budgets are secured and planned the year before so to say a district suddenly does not have the funds to keep staff on for the full school year feels disingenuous. Rather, this feels like an attempt to retract their commitment to you as an employee. Especially since so many of our districts have Fund 10's in the millions of dollars.
Even though this concerning language exists in a few contracts we have not seen districts act on this language yet. However it's a lot easier to remove something from your contract before it's formally put in. Once the language exists in your contract for a few years it is a lot more difficult to remove.
If you see negative changes in your contract:
- Contact your union leadership and Region 3 Director
- Hold off on signing them
- Have a union meeting
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Wisconsin Labor History Society
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Region 3 has been an Organizational member of the Wisconsin Labor History Society for a number of years. The Society is a volunteer-based organization working to record and catalogue the historical labor events of Wisconsin.
THE SOCIETY IS DEDICATED TO:
- Telling the public of the contributions of labor to Wisconsin.
- Getting labor’s story in the schools and colleges.
- Preserving documents and records of workers and their unions.
THE SOCIETY IS SUPPORTED BY:
- Membership dues and contributions.
- Volunteers who donate time and skills.
- Local unions, labor councils, other groups.
The Society conducts an annual Labor History Essay Contest and a high school student from Pulaski tied for first place, while students from Appleton West and Peshtigo received honorable mention. All of the essays are in the WLHS Spring 2021 Newsletter.
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Plan now to attend WEAC’s flagship leadership training, Summer Leadership Academy, Monday, July 26-Wednesday, July 28 at St. Norbert College in De Pere.
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Leaders for Just Schools
Educators interested in advancing equity in Wisconsin Public Schools are invited to WEAC Leaders for Just Schools workshop. It’s a free, three-day workshop July 26-28 at St. Norbert College, De Pere.
What It Is:
Join Wisconsin Public School Educators for WEAC Leaders for Just Schools program, part of a national program to build a national network of educators advancing equitable outcomes for students. Created by educators for educators, the curriculum allows participants to:
- Dive into understanding equity;
- Investigate how bias impacts conditions of teaching and learning; and
- Explore ways in which they can improve school culture so that every student has the opportunity to succeed.
The curriculum is grounded in real-life experiences, so the content is real, relatable and actionable.
What You’ll Learn:
By participating in the Leaders for Just Schools program, you will:
- Learn to advocate for students using levers in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to combat institutional inequities in their schools and communities through the lens of racial justice in education;
- Be prepared to build student-centered inclusive plans to create just and equitable learning environments for all; and
- Have a network of support as they share what they've learned with their school communities and implement change.
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PDI Presenter Application - Call for Proposals
WEAC is committed to building the knowledge and skills of its members through professional learning that is job-embedded, practical, and connected to both student learning and educator well-being. To that end, you are invited to submit a workshop proposal in an area of your interest or expertise for the annual Professional Development Institute (PDI) November 5-7, 2021, in Oshkosh.
Presenters must be WEAC members or a friend of WEAC in a job category ineligible for membership. Sessions are 90 minutes long and should be interactive and engaging. Presenters typically present twice over the course of the weekend. This is an opportunity to share your favorite unit, pedagogical expertise, or unique school program with your colleagues across the state.
Members selected to present will receive complimentary registration, meals, roundtrip mileage reimbursement, and a hotel room for two nights (if needed). No other stipend will be awarded to presenters. Applications are due Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Please direct questions to baasj@weac.org.
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WEA Trust Stock a Classroom Grant
Are you a WEA Trust Health Plan member and a Wisconsin public school teacher, instructor or education personnel? WEA Trust welcomes you to share how you would spend $1,000 for your instruction area for a chance to WIN a $1,000! Whether it's a classroom, library, gym or shared space your students learn in, the Trust would love to know what would make it better.
Details:
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What: To support educators buying their yearly classroom supplies
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Who: Any public school education personnel who is a WEA Trust health plan member
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When: May 17, 2021, to June 18, 2021
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What: A $1,000 grant. 20 winners will be drawn at random and contacted through the provided email or phone number. Awards will be distributed in July.
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REMINDER - License Background Checks Due by June 30
Those holding teaching or pupil services licenses issued by the State of Wisconsin are required to submit a background check to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) every five years. For lifetime or master educator license holders, the year in which you submit your background check corresponds to the year your license would have expired prior to the lifetime license law going into effect. Any license holder who last renewed their license in 2016 must submit an application for a background check by June 30, 2021. For provisional license holders your background check is due 5 years after your lifetime license begins.
Applications are only accepted online by logging into your Educator Licensing Online (ELO) account. The cost for a background check is $45. Not sure when your license background check is due? You can Check DPI’s online database here. For questions related to your license or the background check process please email baasj@weac.org.
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This is an 11.0101(10)(b)(1) communication with WEAC members
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WEAC Region 3
1136 N. Military Ave.
Green Bay, WI 54303.
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