New Teacher Diaries
Taking part in Lobby Day made union come to life
Mar 4, 2007 2:24 PM
On Tuesday, March 13, I attended my first UFT Lobby Day in Albany. It was more than an educational experience. For the first time in my teaching career, I really felt like I belonged to a union. Lobby Day made the union come to life for me. I was surrounded by like-minded teachers and we were all there for the same reason: to be heard by people who might actually be able to make a difference.
The day began quite early. We met at a collection point in Queens at 6:30 a.m. to board the bus to Albany. I knew only two other teachers from my school — our chapter leader and a union delegate. As the bus began to fill up, it was obvious that most everyone else knew one another and had done this before. The energy on the bus, even at this early hour, was quite exciting. We had bagels and coffee — the first of many meals given to us that day. Finally, my union dues paid off! We took the time to talk about non-school-related issues and I was left feeling thankful for some time outside school to get to know my colleagues.
When we arrived in Albany, there were tons of other buses unloading, teachers already walking the streets carrying big UFT folders and signs. Police had some streets blocked off and were directing traffic as we pulled up to the building. I hadn’t realized what a big event this was. At the armory, there were teachers of all kinds, although I was surprised at the lack of younger teachers present. We listened (or tried to — the sound was not great and there were still people filing in and talking all around) to speeches by politicians, Randi Weingarten and others. To my surprise, three students addressed the crowd. It was nice to hear their voices. After all, this was a day not only about what we need as teachers, but what we need so that we can give our students the best possible education.
When a parent leader said, “Our school system is not for sale,” the 1,500 teachers, students and parents nodded and cheered in agreement. These words struck me. No matter how much money and power the chancellor and his administration have, I was thinking, we as teachers are here to say we don’t like what he is doing with our school system and we won’t stand for it! Randi’s final words roused the crowd. “Are you ready?” she asked. Our initial response wasn’t loud enough. “If I can’t hear you, how will they hear you in the Legislative Office Building?”
With our UFT pins, “Class Size Counts” and “Have You Listened to a Teacher Today?” in hand, we marched off, fittingly right past the State Education Building. I found myself excited about the day ahead. After lunch, we headed to our scheduled appointments with legislators who represent the areas where our schools lie. On the bus ride up, we had reviewed some talking points — our main issue to discuss was class size. New York City classes are on average much larger than those outside of the city are. So we are not asking for anything that others don’t have; we are just asking for equality. I think smaller class sizes would be great. Sadly, I’ve become accustomed to working overtime just to make my large classes a bit more manageable. I grade papers early in the morning before my day begins or late at night after I eat dinner. I incorporate peer editing into my lesson planning because I know I will never get the time to sit and talk with each student.
I was part of a large group of teachers — all of different ages, teaching different subject matter and coming from different schools — who had appointments to see three Queens lawmakers. The biggest disappointment of the day came when we entered the first legislator’s office and found out that an emergency session of the Assembly had been called. We were not able to meet with any of the three legislators personally and instead spoke to their aides. I was surprised at how attentive most of the aides were, but I was disappointed that there was no true discussion. The aides listened as our leader led off with prepared remarks. Teachers followed with stories to back up his ideas about what the union would like to see regarding certain pieces of legislation. One teacher spoke of his inability, because of class size, to fully assist his students in learning the Bill of Rights. He pleaded for smaller classes, as did another high school math teacher in our group. Through listening to our leader and fellow teachers, I learned a great deal about issues such as class size, 25/55 and the SAVE law.
As the day wound down and we waited in the building lobby to leave, a teacher asked me if I was a union representative or delegate. “Nope,” I replied. “I’m just a teacher.” When I said this, she replied, “You’re never just a teacher.” I smiled. She was right, and that’s what this day was all about.
Bimsmile is the pseudonym of a second-year teacher. A version of this post first appeared on the UFT blog, edwize.org, where “New Teacher Diaries” is a regular feature.
