SVEA Updates: Elections, Salaries, Student Supports

Last week was big for educators in Snoqualmie Valley. We approved revisions to our SVEA Constitution & Bylaws, it was the last week of the statewide mask mandate, and the Washington State Legislature wrapped up the 2022 session. Each of these will impact our work as we finish out the school year and think toward the future.

Constitution & Bylaws Revisions Approved
With 217 voting YES, 2 voting NO, and 9 ABSTAINING, our membership approved updates to our Constitution & Bylaws proposed by our SVEA Executive Board. These changes will improve our structure and make our union more responsive to all members. These revisions:

• Expand our Executive Board to include elected VPs for elementary, secondary, and student services members,
• Allow our Representative Council to set stipends for positions and require those who receive stipends to fulfill their duties,
• Move elections to later in the school year with nominations being closed at the March Representative Council meeting, and
• Clarify association/building representation at large schools like MSHS, smaller schools like TRS and PPP, and member groups such as ESAs and special education teachers.

You can view our revised proposed Constitution & Bylaws here. 

SVEA Officer Elections Ahead
With our Constitution & Bylaws revisions approved, we now move ahead with election for several of our SVEA leadership positions. No matter your level of previous involvement or experience, these are all fantastic opportunities to amplify your voice and impact in our schools. Reach out with any questions or a nomination: nate@sveaunion.org. We will run nominations and elections for the positions listed below.

• President, term is two (2) years starting July 1, 2022
• Secondary Vice-President, term is one (1) year starting July 1, 2022
• Student Services Vice-President, term is one (1) year starting July 1, 2022
• Secretary, term is two (2) years starting July 1, 2022
• Diversity Representative, term is two (2) years starting July 1, 2022

Note: The position of Elementary VP will be open in 2023. Since our current SVEA VP, Amy Jones, works in an elementary position and was elected as VP in 2021, she will continue in the role of Elementary VP until her two-year term ends on June 30, 2023.

• NOMINATIONS: Nominations open 03/14/2022 at 7:00 a.m. (PT) and close 03/21/2022 at 4:30 p.m. (PT). All nominations must be made by Snoqualmie Valley Education Association members in good standing. A nominee needs to consent to their nomination and be a member in good standing to be eligible for any position. Nominations may be submitted by email to Nate Ziemkowski at nate@sveaunion.org or at the Representative Council Meeting, March 21, 2022, 4:30 PM on Zoom.
• ELECTION: The election of Snoqualmie Valley Education Association officers shall be by secret-ballot vote. The election for all open positions will be held electronically beginning 04/18/2022 at 7:00 a.m. (PT) and ending 04/22/2022 at 4:00 p.m. (PT). Only eligible members of the Snoqualmie Valley Education Association may vote for SVEA officers. All voting requires you having access to your home email address of record with SVEA.
• RUN-OFF ELECTION (if necessary): In the event no candidate for officer in a contested election receives the necessary number of votes, a run-off election will be held between the two (2) candidates receiving the most votes. If necessary, the run-off election will be held electronically beginning 05/16/2022 at 7:00 a.m. (PT) and ending 05/20/2022 at 4:00 p.m. (PT).

A paper notification of the election will be sent to your home address. Association elections must comply with a federal law called the Landrum Griffin Act. Currently the law is not being interpreted to allow electronic notice of nominations and elections in Association publications. We apologize for the paper and postage used in this notice, but we need to follow the federal law. 

School Without a Mask Mandate
As always, we continue to be united in supporting high-quality, equitable teaching and learning for our students in schools that have COVID precautions that make sense for the current hospitalization rates. Throughout this pandemic we've been committed to supporting public health experts’ advice. That continues to be the case. Please know that we will be here for you to address any possible challenges that will come from this change. Together in our union, we continue to raise our voices for more behavioral and mental health supports for our students, COLAs for recruitment and retention, and more sustainable and equitable school funding.

• CIVILITY: Some students and educators will have to or choose to wear masks and we need to ensure they are free to do so in their buildings without facing discrimination or harassment. The same is true for those students and educators choosing not to wear a mask.
• SUPPORT STUDENTS: We still have a huge unaddressed mental-health crisis in our schools. We’ve called on the Legislature to increase nurse, social worker, psychologist and counselor staffing. Our educator voices make an impact.

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Legislative Impacts
We're fortunate to have WEA advocating on our behalf in Olympia while we're in busy in our Snoqualmie Valley schools. Through WEA and WEA-PAC, we spoke out for what our students, our professions, and our schools and colleges need, and lawmakers listened. It has made a big difference.

• COLA: When lawmakers considered funding a smaller inflationary COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), WEA members sent more than 15,000 emails to let them know that we need our pay to keep up with inflation. By taking action together we won more money for our COLA.  K-12 funding will include a 5.5% COLA. The amounts are for all employees in these systems and are calculated based on funding provided by the state. This additional state funding must be negotiated locally, but fortunately our 2020-23 CBA (Section 21.2.5.3) ensures that this COLA will make it's way into our paychecks.
• STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH: From before Day 1 of this session, WEA members knew we needed to act to provide our students with more student physical, mental and behavioral supports.  We ran a public campaign at the beginning of session and 67 educators shared their compelling stories with legislators.  The Legislature heard us, changed the K-12 funding formula, and budgeted $91 million more  to increase nurse, social worker, counselor and psychologist staffing so when our students need help we have more resources for them.
• MOVING FORWARD: These huge accomplishments are only possible because WEA-PAC  is a strong non-partisan voice to elect pro-labor, pro-education candidates. It makes a difference when our lawmakers understand the importance of public education and supporting educators.  Now is a great time to join educators from across the state in WEA-PAC or to increase your contribution.

You can always can find more specifics on the WEA Advocacy blog.

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