Welcome back!

 

I hope that you are well rested after your break from work and that you are energized and ready to start a new school year.

 

This year, UTA is going to focus on member benefits and information.  Over the next 10 months you can expect:

 

• to get information about important sections in your contract  that are helpful to be aware of

• to get more information about CTA and NEA member benefits and how to access them

• to get more information about what CTA is doing at the state level that affects us

• to get more information on resources available through CTA and NEA on topics such as Special Education, Equity, Human Rights, Women’s Rights, LGBTQ+ issues, new teacher resources, curriculum and instruction resources, etc.

• to be surveyed regarding health benefits.

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We will be working on negotiating changes to special education language as our focus in year 2 of the 3-year contract.

 

We continue to have a representative, Anne Smith, on the CTA State Council so that we can be more aware of and involved in CTA issues.

 

We want to engage members socially and professionally and find more ways to recognize and support each other. 

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We want to send even more people to CTA conferences this year.  Keep an eye on your emails for conference information.

 

We are looking for volunteers to help make some of these goals a reality.  We need volunteers for the following committees:

 

Equity Committee

Member Benefits Committee

Membership Engagement and Day of the Teacher Celebration Committee (for the Day of the Teacher in May)

Newsletter and Website Editor(s)

 

Most of these committees will only meet a few times the entire year.  Please consider helping out to make your union stronger and more effective.  Your Site Directors and Site Representatives have taken on the larger task of attending monthly meetings and communicating concerns to regularly to and from your site.  We need other members to step up and help out with the smaller commitment of being on a committee that meets a few times a year to increase the efficacy of our union and to make sure that we all have access to information that allows us all to reap the benefits of UTA/CTA/NEA programs and resources.  No experience is required, we will provide all of the training, materials and support necessary.

 

If you are willing to come forward and participate on one of the above committees, please contact the UTA office at upland_teachers@upland.k12.ca.us.  This is an easy way to get more involved in YOUR union so that we can all benefit from each other’s support.

 

For more information on any of these committees, please feel free to contact me.

 

I wish all of you a successful opening of school and a great school year!

 

Debbie