Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for February 12, 2009 HEARTS & MINDS

On January 16th, CAT Tracks published an unsolicited letter from a CAT member who was insulted and hurt by the BOE's much delayed initial monetary offer. (See "A CAT Speaks".)

Tuesday night, the BOE made its second offer...an $85 "improvement" on their initial offer. After reading yesterday's "Negotiations Update", another CAT (from another attendance center) was moved to speak out.

My fingers keep typing and deleting "commentary" that reflects MY emotion. As I indicated in the "intro" to the January 16th post...it is unnecessary. The letter below easily stands on its own merits.

I would offer an "historical" perspective...

(With a couple of notable recent exceptions, namely Dr. Sam Harbin and Bill Rogers) the administration of Cairo School District Number One has "waged war" on its union-minded employees since 1978...the year of the first Cairo teachers' strike, in which CAT gained recognition as the exclusive bargaining representative for the District's certified personnel. A succession of school board members and superintendents (and sometimes principals even got into the act)...a succession of administrators have chosen a road of confrontational actions while sometimes (but most often not) mouthing platitudes of collaboration. Their actions have clearly overshadowed their words...

Despite their words to the contrary, their actions have spoken loudly...buttressing a feeling among the members that the underlying goal is to "break the union". At the very least, there must be a deep (or maybe not-so-deep) animosity, jealousy, resentment, and/or basic disrespect for teachers. Sometimes, the actions border on "shock and awe"...closing the school district and refusing to make up days missed in 2002, publicly professing that "it will hurt the teachers more than the District." More frequently, it's the day-to-day "little things"...an announcement from the podium at a Regional Institute (held at SCC with educators from five counties) for Cairo employees to form a line to receive their paychecks; making teachers "sign in" for the first day of school (at SCC), as if CSD #1 is so large that administrators cannot identify or keep track of their handful of employees; crying "wolf" (i.e. broke) while spending freely on travel, lawyers, administrators (putting "on hold" creating new administrative positions...until after negotiations)

The list goes on, and on, and on... (Insert your own personal hurts/slights here!)

Other administrations, in other "wars", have recognized a basic tenet. In "warfare", physical might - power - is good...it's better to have it than not! With physical might, you can win a lot of "battles". However, if you are to truly prevail...to "win the war", you must do something much more important. For an administration to be successful, it must "win the hearts and minds" of those it would "rule".

By this standard, the administration of Cairo School District Number One - since 1978 and before - is fighting a losing fight.

On January 16th, you read an unsolicited example of discontent. Today, you will read yet another example. I would venture a guess...a certainty. For every member who is moved to take the time to compose their thoughts, there are many, many more who will read and feel their passion and utter a resounding...AMEN!

Give CSD #1 administrators time...with each action, with each proposal, they are losing the hearts and minds, one employee at a time...

Hey...you should have read all the things I deleted! I am STILL fired up from Tuesday night!!!

However, as I told the writer of the letter below...it is so refreshing to hear from the rank-and-file...and it seems that it always comes at just the right time...at a time when administrative stonewalling starts to grind you down.

The BOE and Superintendent seem convinced that the rank-and-file have no minds of their own...that you are mindless sheep, blindly following the Bad Shepherd.

The CAT leadership knows better! THAT is why the CAT leadership keeps "fighting the good fight". YOU won our "hearts and minds" years ago...

THANK YOU for your continuing support!

Read Another CAT Speaks