On Thursday, Nov. 14, educators and community members continued to strike for a fair contract, smaller class sizes, and increased support for teachers in elementary and middle schools. As members of the Greater Albany Education Association union and supporters have been striking, there has been a shift in where to be during the morning.
Starting around 7:15 a.m., all strikers gather in front of their respective schools. Around 8:30 a.m., if there are any other schools in a distance close to one another, they will gather and strike together. Typically they will continue to strike together until 10:30 a.m.; however, in the last two days, around 9:00 a.m. strikers from all schools will leave their picket lines to congregate together in front of the district office to show their support for educators in the GAEA union who have been designated as “negotiators” by their fellow union members. At 10:30 a.m. all strikers disperse and will regather at a designated location at 1:00 p.m.
For educators a part of the GAEA union, witnessing community support has been the highlight of striking while standing out in the cold and rain.
“Just from [the] simple things. From people honking to people bringing us coffee, to having good conversations about what it is that the teachers are doing,” social studies and government teacher Erik Ihde said. He believes the best thing community members can do to support the teachers is ask good questions.
“…like, hey, is this all just about money? And the answer is ‘No. It’s not’. It’s about having great conditions for our kids to learn in. The more positive conversations people can have [about why we strike], the better,” Ihde said.
One of the biggest concerns educators a part of the GAEA union have is getting themselves and their message out to the community. The Greater Albany Public Schools district is able to communicate their side of the story through ParentSquare, an email newsletter that every single parent in the district directly receives.
“[It’s] been a really common thing [that] parents are only hearing [about the strike] through ParentSquare, and we, [educators], don’t have the right to communicate through ParentSquare. We’re working on [sharing our side of the story],” science teacher Mike Garnier said.
Thankfully as word spreads by mouth and on social media, the community turnout at rallies has grown larger day by day. Today, on the 14th, there was an observable increase in strike participation from high school students who came out in support of their educators. The WAHS cheerleaders who were present, in support of their teachers, were there from the picket line this morning to the rally this afternoon.
