As a Sequoia student, you likely know that many of Sequoia’s teachers are part of a union. You may have heard a teacher mention the association in a class discussion, or even done some research on it yourself. What you may not know is what the teacher’s union actually does, and more importantly, what a union can do for you in your future careers.
The Sequoia District Teachers Association (SDTA) represents all non-management certificated employees in the district. This not only includes teachers, but also nurses, special education workers, librarians, counselors and more. The SDTA acts as an exclusive bargaining agent, meaning they negotiate the conditions of teacher’s contracts.
The union is made possible through the work and funding of dedicated teachers.
“You don’t really have to participate, but I think 95% of us, maybe a little bit more, pay dues. We pay like roughly 150 bucks per month to support the union,” special educator Dylan Shelley said. “You can participate just by doing that. You could go to meetings. For me personally, I was on the bargaining team for roughly 10 years.”
The union also has many roles that go beyond just bargaining, including the Equity, Communications and Social Committees.
“So I personally am on the Equity Committee,” English teacher Karol-Ann Coleman said. “We meet once a month to come up once a month to come up with ways to offer sensitive training for teachers who may not be aware of their implicit biases.”
The union is constantly making strides to help workers all throughout the district. On the MySDTA.org bargaining section, you can see the most recent ratified agreement, including information on wages, health, hours and more.
“We changed the work year for our head counselors because it was too long and too much work. We made some clarifications on transfers. We increased our dental coverage. That was a big deal,” Union President Edith Salvatore said. “We expanded the Willie Brown [program,] which is where you work part time but the district still pays as if you were full time into your retirement program. And we got to expand that from five to 10 people per year.”
There is, however, always more for unions to do.
“I mean, there’s a lot around pregnancy disability,” Salvatore said. “The birthing parent has to give up their sick leave for at minimum six to eight weeks […] That means those people are heading into retirement with less leave.”
If you are a senior, you may soon have to think about your full-time job. Being part of a union has many benefits in many fields, and is important for much more than just teachers.
“If you love democracy, why wouldn’t you want to have democratic institutions in the workplace?” Dilley said. “There are some industries where the industry is gonna give people good wages and healthcare because the threat of the union is there.”
A union can help build community between workers in any industry.
“You’re not alone, you’re not all by yourself. I mean, it can feel very isolating,” Coleman said. “Unions in general are there to help you, and to be invested.”