March 12, 2021
Hello friends,

Next week voters should be receiving their ballots in the mail. We've got to get the word out that everyone should be voting for Dr. Jill Underly. Her opponent, Deb Kerr, may be a few points behind right now but she's got money pouring in from people who want to see vouchers and charter schools expand and take money from our public education funds.

Bill Moyers, one of my favorite journalists is here to remind us that:

"The only answer to organized money is organized people."

We can win this if we organize our people! Telling your family and friends why this race matters and asking them to vote for Dr. Jill Underly on April 6th is one of the most important things you can do to help win this.

We are also recruiting members to make videos of why they support Dr. Underly! Videos will be shared with members or the general public, whichever you feel comfortable with. Interested in making a video? Email Christina Brey, WEAC Media Relations, BreyC@WEAC.org.

If that doesn't speak to you we are also recruiting volunteers to get out the vote via text. It's a quick and effective way to boost name recognition for Underly and let people know the election is April 6th. As you can imagine a state superintendent race might not be on everyone's radar so we've got to bring them out!

Our Region 3 President Nathan Ugoretz and Vice-President Jackie Baumann have sent out over 3,500 texts! That's impressive but they need help reaching our 40,000 members. Will you lend them a hand and help us win this?

In Solidarity,
Kristin Lytie
Regional Director
WEAC Region 3
UPCOMING EVENTS
All Meetings Virtual

March 18, Thursday National Board Support Sessions, 5PM

March 18, Thursday

March 23, Tuesday
Zone B Meeting, 5:30PM

March 31, Wednesday

April 7, Wednesday

April 7, Wednesday
WR3 Executive Committee Meeting, 6PM

April 8, Thursday

April 14, Wednesday
WR3 Gathering, 4:30PM

April 23-24, Friday-Saturday
WEAC RA

May 8, Saturday
Region 3 RA

May 12, Wednesday, Executive Committee Meeting, 6PM
(Tentative)

June 9, Wednesday, Executive Committee Meeting, 6PM
The State Superintendent Election is April 6 and, if you haven't yet voted by mail in 2021, you'll need to request an absentee ballot.
WEAC recommends Dr. Jill Underly for State Superintendent. Find out more about her at weac.org/elections.
  • Mar 17 - Register by mail
  • Mar 17 - Register to vote online
  • Mar 23 thru Apr 4 - In-person early voting *
  • Apr 1 - Request regular absentee ballot
  • Apr 2 - Register at municipal clerk's office
  • Apr 6 - Register at polling place
  • Apr 6 - Return absentee ballot
*Check with your municipal clerk for specific days and times.
Tell your family & friends
VOTE for Underly!

Let's be real... the DPI race will boil down to name recognition. Voucher school advocates will be pouring $$$ into ads for Jill's opponent. Let's battle $ with word of mouth!
Spring Elections Are
Right Around the Corner!
Be A Public School Advocate!

There are many ways to get involved in promoting legislation and candidates for strong Public Schools.

Text Out the Vote. Text other WEAC members about the importance of voting for Dr. Jill Underly – it’s fun and easy! Members who sign up will be contacted for a 15-minute virtual training and will then be able to help us text out the vote. WEAC Texting Corps Sign Up
Sign Up for Alerts. When you’re in-the-know, you can quickly take action on legislative or election alerts. Sign Up for Education Advocacy Alerts
Be a Communication Activist. WEAC is looking for educators who are interested in talking with reporters about the issues that matter to us. Be part of a network that shares information and receives media training to be ready to speak on behalf of Wisconsin educators. Sign Up by Email
Volunteer for Phone Banks. WEAC is partnering on phone banks every Tuesday in March, from 5:15-7:45 p.m. Be sure to indicate you’re volunteering on behalf of WEAC on the sign-up form. Volunteer Here
Back Home Contact Teams. With the state budget debate and legislative session in full swing, WEAC needs a few volunteers to meet with elected officials about our issues. You and others from your legislative district will receive support to reach out and meet with your legislators. Sign Up by Email
Share Your Story. Who knows better how policies impact students than we educators? Volunteer to tell your story about why you support pro-public education candidates, or why certain provisions in the governor’s proposed budget make sense for your students. You’ll receive more information and be invited to talk about your real-life experience relating to the topics you choose. Get More Information by Email
Be sure to indicate that you’re with WEAC on the form. See you on Tuesdays!
ELECTION PHONE BANKS
Every Tuesday until election day, April 6, you have the opportunity to volunteer for virtual phonebanks to educate voters about the candidates running for State Superintendent and encourage them to make a plan to vote. 
A short training on phone banking will be held at 5:15 p.m. each Tuesday, followed by phone calls until 7:45. Sign up for one or all Tuesdays this month, and invite interested friends, families and co-workers to join you. 
#Just One 
Campaign Kickoff!

Join us Wednesday, March 31st to kickoff the Just One Campaign:

A membership drive that utilizes early enrollment while rewarding current members for their organizing efforts! 

As we’ve all come to learn, sometimes it’s Just One person that can light the spark and move people in a new way. Region 3 is inviting locals to have a friendly competition and get “Just One” new member between April 1 and May 31, 2021. New members who join in April and May via Early Enrollment will pay nothing until September 2021 (receiving up to 5 months free). The members who recruit people will have a chance to win a $50 gift card to businesses School House, Target, Starbucks, etc.

Want to participate in the Just One Campaign?—Fill out this FORM. 

Region 3 will be doing a training and informational session on the campaign on Wednesday, March 31st via zoom 6-7:30pm. Your local union can make this their own by having a building challenge within the association! During this session we will:

  • Give an overview of the campaign specifics and Early Enrollment
  • Help you identify potential members
  • Practice conversation techniques 

Register for the Kickoff Workshop on Wednesday, March 31st from 6pm to 7:30 HERE.
NEGOTIATIONS 101
Join Us April 8, 6-7:30 Via Zoom
Region 3 is excited to bring together leaders from all over our corner of the state to discuss how their local union does negotiations. In some ways working virtually is really an advantage. Now from the comfort of your couch you can ask experienced union leaders how you can make negotiations work for your local union!

What's the difference between "Meet and Confer" & Negotiating?
What should we look for in a salary schedule?
How can my union influence decision makers?
 
These are just some of the conversations we'll be having during this 1.5 hour training. Register HERE and bring your team! 
Membership Engagement Surveys - Be a Team Player!

Several Locals in the month of February circulated Membership Engagement Surveys to update contact info, solicit feedback, and see what roles and activities members might be interested in helping out with. If your Local isn’t proactive in recruiting new leaders—be it a Building Rep or a member who maintains your Local Facebook Page—the bulk of the work often falls on the plate of one or two leaders. But unions are at their best when members are working together as a team! As a member, are you willing to be a team player and help out where you can? And if you’re a leader, are you actively looking for ways for more members to get involved? If you’re interested in getting more involved or want to conduct a Membership Engagement Survey for your Local, please reach out to your Regional Director or email region3@weac.org!

So far Membership Engagement Surveys have identified 17 members who are willing to take on a greater role in their Local Education Association, including 3 new Building Reps!

Here’s a snapshot of what a Membership Engagement Survey could look like:
WEAC Region 3 Representative Assembly
May 8, 2021

The WEAC Region 3 RA will be held virtually Saturday, May 8. Delegates to the RA will be electing the following positions to the WR3 Executive Committee: Treasurer, Secretary, ESP Member-at-Large, and Zone Leaders. 

Presidents received an email from WEAC Region 3 on Monday, March 8th regarding delegate registration. The deadline for registration of delegates is March 29. If your local did not receive this email, please email WEAC Region 3 at region3@weac.org.

Once Region 3 receives delegate certifications, a registration link will be emailed to all certified delegates. 

Watch for more information and nomination forms in the coming weeks.
WEAC Representative Assembly
April 23-24, 2021

The 2021 WEAC RA will be held virtually Friday, April 23, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. and reconvene on Saturday, April 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Local Association presidents should have received an email from WEAC the week of February 22nd regarding delegate registration. The deadline for registration of delegates is April 5. RA packets will be mailed to all registered delegates and most documents will be posted online. Click here for more information.  
2021 NEA Representative Assembly
June 30 - July 3, 2021

The 2021 NEA RA will again be held virtually the first week of July. The NEA Constitution and Bylaws provide that each local affiliate is entitled to one delegate for every 150 members or major fraction thereof (76). A local with more than 75 members but less than 226 members, will be entitled to one delegate. A local with more than 225 but less than 376 members will be entitled to two delegates, etc. The deadline for reporting delegates is April 10.

Local presidents should have received all needed information. See below:
Important Dates for WTCS Locals:

April 7 - 27, 2021
Voting period (complete details to follow).
CPI for Total Base Wage Negotiations
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) has advised the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) that the CPI-U increase applicable to one-year collective bargaining agreements with a term beginning July 1, 2021, is 1.23%. That applies to all K-12 and WTCS contracts, and is a decrease from last year's 1.81%.
Wisconsin State Statute 118.22 governs the renewal and NON-renewal of full-time teacher contracts
 
This important deadline is approaching: 
 
For full-time teacher contracts that a District does NOT want to renew for the 2021-22 school year, the school board must notify with a preliminary notice of non-renewal on OR before Friday, April 30th, 2021.  This timeline applies regardless of the reason for non-renewal, i.e., performance, economic reasons, declining enrollment, etc.

A preliminary notice of non-renewal must be voted on and issued by the school board (not an administrator).
 
Many teachers have already been given some kind of indication that the District is thinking about non-renewal. These teachers may be on a plan of improvement. For teachers under this scrutiny, the preliminary notice of non-renewal may come well before the deadline of April 30th. 
Union members who may be in danger of non-renewal, as well as leaders and building reps working with those members, should contact the Region 3 office as soon as possible. 

Once preliminary notice of non-renewal is given to an educator, they only have five calendar days to request a hearing before the school board.

Please do not wait until the preliminary notice has already been issued!
Individual Contract Deadlines:
  • April 30 - preliminary notice of nonrenewal
  • May 15 - final notice of nonrenewal
  • May 15 - issuing individual contracts
  • June 15 - accept or reject individual contract
Background Check Applications are Open
 
The DPI background check application is now open for teachers whose license would have expired in 2021. Members can check to see if they are due for a background check by logging into their Educator Licensing Online (ELO) account. Background check applications are due no later than June 30, 2021. It is advised that members submit their application sooner rather than later. Remember this is your responsibility! 
WEAC Join Now ONLINE
Member Sign Up
WEAC online member sign-up, Join Now, is now available to provide a convenient and fast way for educators to become members of our union.


In a series of simple screens, educators can enter their information to become a member. This feature is especially useful during one-on-one membership conversations. While the process is entirely online, it is recommended that organizers and leaders stay with educators through the sign-up process to answer any questions that might arise.
For an overview of the Join Now experience, click here.
WEAC
NEA
WEAC Weekly
Webinar Wednesday

On Wednesday, March 17, be sure to register for Let’s Get Digital. Engage students with digital reading strategies. Differentiate and maximize your planning time with EdTech tools like self-grading Readworks. Customize your lessons quickly with digital sorts and graphic organizers through Google Slides, Google Draw, and Padlet.

The registration link can be found HERE.
2021 NEA ESP Conference

The 2021 NEA ESP Conference will be held virtually March 19-21, with a special ESP of the Year celebration on Friday, March 26.
Registration for the 2021 NEA ESP Conference will open February 15-26, and will be offered FREE of charge to NEA members! NEA has increased their capacity to 2,000 participants. Spaces will be filled on a first-come first-served basis. Conference participation is limited to NEA members only.
Attention all Region 3 Members! 

The Green Bay Education Association's Organizing Committee is hosting Dr. Byron McClure on Saturday, April 10th from 9-11 am. Please consider joining us for this virtual opportunity to learn more about social-emotional learning!

In this online seminar presented by Nationally Certified School Psychologist Dr. Byron McClure, participants will learn how a school and district identified student needs using data and addressed these needs through effective implementation of an integrated social-emotional learning (SEL) program. Dr. McClure will share how to seamlessly blend SEL with other initiatives (such as Restorative Practices) and guide participants how to use his digital SEL lesson plan guides. Participants will leave with ready to use SEL lessons that can be implemented immediately in their classrooms, etc.

Thanks to a NEA Grant received by the Organizing Committee, each participant (up to 150) will receive their own copy of the digital SEL lesson plan guides to use in their work. The first 25 participants to register for and attend the online seminar will also receive a copy of Dr. McClure's e-book Circle Talk: Building Authentic Staff Relationships.

This online seminar is free to attend for current GBEA/Region 3 Members.

See this FLYER for more information! If interested, please sign up ASAP using this GOOGLE FORM link. 

Region 3/GBEA National Board Support Sessions
WEAC, Region 3 and GBEA have organized ongoing monthly National Board Support for the 2020-2021 cycle. Sessions will be held virtually until further notice and facilitated by Sarah Johnston (Marinette).
Find the schedule with registration links HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the meeting. Please save this email. 
WEAC
Attention Local Treasurers

The new and improved WEAC Local Treasurer Training Videos are now posted, along with accompanying documents, on the WEAC website for your use. 
To access the videos you can simply click:


These seven separate training videos cover various topics that may be of interest to you and will serve as a resource to use in navigating the responsibilities of being a local treasurer. We hope you find them useful! As always, if you have any questions or need any help, please just let us know.
Thank you for your work for our members and for what you do every day with our students.
This is an 11.0101(10)(b)(1) communication with WEAC members.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s agent or committee. 
Region 3 encourages Locals to get involved in their district's school board elections and/or referendums. Please contact your Region 3 Director for school board candidate screening questions and information on the types of assistance available through Region 3 PAC.