CAT Tracks for September 12, 2003 SPIRITS ARE HIGH!

The Newell's paid a visit to the Benton High School Education Association on Friday...

Arriving just in time for lunch, we were privileged to sit in for the "noon meeting"...remember those?! Attendance was great and spirits were high. There were no signs of fatigue or concern...only a sense of strong commitment to winning a fair settlement.

We were recognized by BEA President Mike Salmo and Vice President Julle Whaley and asked to address the group. I shared our common experiences...the proverbial "been there, done that". It is amazing how similar their experiences have been to ours - down to paying a professional negotiator $150 an hour to drive down from Springfield for a 10 minute negotiations session! I told them that they were in a good position - that their Board would NOT be able to "blow off" the school year like our Board did...that all they had to do was to continue to stay united and the Board would have no choice but to sit down at the table and negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution of the outstanding issues...WITHOUT any "dock days"!

Julie (as an IEA Board member, member of the IEA Executive Committee, and former President of the CAESP) told the group to "hang tough"...that the resources of the Illinois Education Association were firmly in place to support their efforts. She gave them encouragement in their fight for "what you need". Julie's appearance was ESPecially important in that BEA is a union of teachers, teachers' assistants, and secretaries. Support professionals need to see and hear from fellow ESP's who have risen to a position of trust and authority in the parent organization.

Friday was especially upbeat because members of the BEA got their first strike checks. They received concrete confirmation that the IEA was there to support them...that they would be able to pay their bills and NOT be "starved" into submission. Another "upper" was that members of the Harrisburg Education Association joined BEA on the picket line in the morning and (more significantly) brought a donation from their members in excess of $500!

Following lunch, we joined BEA members on the picket line and "worked up a sweat". (Okay...I've gotten out of shape. BEA members were very happy that the temperatures had cooled significantly from the 100+ heat indices of the previous weeks.)

So...the future looks bright for the members of the Benton High School Education Association. They have taken the best shots that the Benton BOE has had to offer...and remain strong and united. They WILL win...it's just a matter of how much longer the Benton BOE will stay in denial.

HIP, HIP, HOORAY for the BEA!

POSTSCRIPT: Quote of the day...from Mark Twain..."In the beginning, God created idiots. That was for practice. Then he created school board members!"