A message from RTA Negotiations Committee Chairperson, Michael Harrelson

We shall not be moved
Like a tree that’s planted by the water
We shall not be moved

This is the chorus from a traditional spiritual that was adopted in the early part of the 20th Century by both the American Civil Rights Movement and workers trying to unionize. It perfectly stated the feelings of the men and women fighting for equality and struggling for their own slice of the American Dream. It is one of my favorite songs. It has such wonderful lines about hard working people fighting to be heard – Black and White together, We are fighting for our children, The union is behind us. When I hear it sung (the new Mavis Staples version is moving) it reminds me that the things we so often take for granted, our rights as workers and the open, tolerant environment in which we live, only exist because a long time ago someone took incredible risks to make equality possible for all of us.

What these great people achieved is clearly evident every day but, for the most part, we are blind to what they accomplished. Too much time has passed and we have grown complacent about the rights they fought so hard to attain and codify. The five day work week and the weekend were created by unions recognizing that workers needed – deserved – time to rest. Equal pay for equal work (the teachers’ salary schedule was developed to correct the old practice of paying “breadwinner” male teachers more than female teachers), non-discrimination in hiring and employment, the 40-hour work week, extra pay for extra work (over-time and extra-curricular stipends), workplace safety rules, paid sick days, due process and the right to bargain are just a few. I could easily fill this page with more.

There have been steady improvements in working conditions for all of us since the time when a song like We Shall Not Be Moved was sung to bolster the spirits of people fighting to be treated fairly. Building on the successes of other civil rights and labor organizations, the teachers of Ramona won their battle to be recognized and treated fairly when they negotiated that first contract in 1975. I’ve been here since 1978 and in those thirty-one years I have seen the teachers of Ramona work, and sometimes fight, very hard to improve their contract. We should be proud of what we have achieved and never lose sight of the fact that it didn’t come easy. More than that, we must be dedicated to the proposition that, even in hard times, we will not hurt ourselves and our families by agreeing to start taking steps backwards.
We teachers are not blind to the fact that we are in the middle of a very difficult economic period. We watch the news. It doesn’t take a letter from District leadership to educate us about what we can plainly see for ourselves. “Informational letters” are nice but what we really need from the people that run this district is an assurance that the burden of hard economic times will not fall disproportionately on the shoulders of Ramona’s teachers. Since the Superintendent’s letter went out RTA has heard from teachers that they believe they are going to have to give up rights and resources. Nonsense! We fought hard for everything we have and it is going to take more than management’s unrealized fear about the future to take them away from us. The Ramona Teachers Association bargains facts not fear.
RTA has shown that it can be an indispensable partner when adversity is at hand. We are more than willing to help. If the worst case does present itself then we are willing to share the burden. Share the burden, not bear the burden. No changes in working conditions, hours or wages can be imposed by the District. Your bargaining team’s mantra is, “No steps backward.” Maybe that is better stated:
Teachers of Ramona, We shall not be moved

Like a tree that’s planted by the water, We shall not be moved