UESF Structure
Building representatives are key union people at the work site.
Besides their District jobs for which there never seems to be
enough time, they serve the union in myriad ways including
the chairing of Union Building Committees (UBCs),
as members of the UESF Assembly and any shared decision making body at the site, as liasions to UESF staff, assuring distribution of union publications, and encouraging membersą participation in union activities, committees and trainings.
So, with schedules that are already full, why would anyone
choose to be a building rep? The Bulletin interviewed a few reps to find that out.
Ren Volpe at Leonard R. Flynn Elementary
says the main issue for her was wanting to help a unified staff
deal with very frequent changes in administration. Because of
high administrative turnover, "union issues come up so frequently."
She added that she wants to work in a collaboratively and
democratically run, rather than top-down school environment.
Avery Allen of San Miguel Child Development Center
states that his motivation to be a building rep comes from knowing
that unions are the single most effective means for improving working
conditions and one's standard of living.
One of his biggest challenges has been in getting
other staff members involved... to understand how their participation
as individuals is crucial for a strong and effective union.
One of Allen's most recent rewards has been in helping to build a
Union Building Committee (UBC). He explains, "We strive to be solution, rather
than gripe-oriented... as we make our center a better place for children to
learn and for us to work."
He looks forward to working with the UBC to achieve as equitable a
distribution of working hours as possible and to ensure that the staff
has a voice in budgeting concerns
Judith Christensen of Lakeshore Alternative Elementary School
stepped up to run for building rep and reactivate the UBC after realizing
how much less stressful and more empowering it would be if a system were
developed in which the usual complaints she'd heard in lunchtime
conversation could be dealt with proactively.
"With a large group of Lakeshore teachers who will be retiring at the end of the year,"
explains Christensen, "it is important to record and improve upon many of the
procedures and unwritten policies that have helped our school to run smoothly."
Christensen says that finding the time to effectively function as building rep
is her biggest challenge, but she's found the rewards of working positively
with teachers, staff, parents and administrators well worth the effort.
She is proud that the UBC is seen by the School Site Council as a constituent
that can help solve problems.
She wishes there were more opportunities to meet with other
building reps to share teh łnitty-gritty how-tos" of the job and wishes
she had time to really learn and understand the details of the union contract.
Building Reps believe in democratic
process, participation and problem-solving
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