2017 Statewide Advocacy Conference Agendaand Session Descriptions

FRIDAY
Date/Time / Title / Description
7:00 pm – 11:00 pm / Pizza and Beer Reception
SATURDAY
Date/Time / Title / Description
7:00 am – 8:15 am / Breakfast
8:30 am – 9:15 am / Opening Speaker OEA President, John Larson / “Thriving in a Changing World”
9:15 am – 12:15 pm / Intermediate Grievances: ID issues, past practice, investigatory meetings and non-constructive responses / Level: Intermediate
Description: Intermediate Representational Skills: Defending the standards your members and local have achieved Identifying Issues
9:15 am – 12:15 pm / Introduction to Grievances and Worksite Representation / Level: Foundational (New Building/Association Reps 0-2 years)
Description: What does it mean to represent members? What is my role when representing members? This session is designed to introduce the basics of representation including; the duty of fair representation, understanding the contractual grievance procedure, and determining whether an issue is a grievance or a gripe.
9:15 am – 12:15 pm / Introduction to Building Representative Goals & Roles / Level: Foundational
Description:This 3-hour training is an introduction to your new role as a building rep. We will discuss the four hats you will wear: organizer, communicator, advocate, problem solver. Participants will receive a copy of the OEA Building Rep Manual, learn the basic of being a building rep, and have your questions answered.
9:15 am – 12:15 pm / Advanced Advocacy / Level: Advanced (Participants need to be familiar with the grievance process, non-renewal and non-extensions, how sick leave/FMLA works, have previously participated in an investigatory meeting, and worked with a member on a plan of assistance.
Description: The Advanced Advocacy course is designed for local leaders and/or building reps who wants to be ready to take the reins when one of your members in in trouble and *it* is about to hit the fan. You will learn how to be proactive in an investigatory meeting, take charge of a grievance meeting, navigate a plan of assistance, mitigate a non-renewal, and power through the myriad of family leave issues that come up each year.
Materials to bring: Most current collective bargaining agreement and current District Evaluation Handbook.
9:15 am – 12:15 pm / Unpacking Bias / Level: Foundational
Description: Designed for all members who are committed to addressing incidents of bias and prejudice surrounding conduct, speech, or expressions, with additional learning on bias surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity. This session teaches school personnel how to create a safe school climate for students and staff. Participants will explore their own cultures and implicit biases, and dive deeper into how those implicit biases affect our interactions with students.
Date/Time / Title / Description
12:15 pm – 1 pm / Lunch
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm / How to Organize a Town Hall on Institutional Racism / Level: Foundational
Description: In this engaging workshop, participants will examine the importance of town hall symposiums in addressing institutional racism, engage in meaningful discussions and strategies to implement town hall symposium in their schools, and leave prepared to organize and run a town hall symposium to support students and families in their communities.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm / Engaging Early Career Educators: Strategies & Tactics / Level: Foundational
Description: We are experiencing a dramatic change within our educator workforce with the entry of large numbers of early career educators. These newer educators thrive on collaboration, teaming, social engagement, and community service. They are interested in improving the profession, want to see student-centered changes, and desire personal recognition, but they typically have little experience with unions. This session is designed to help union leaders explore ways to become more relevant to newer educators.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm / Member Engagement: OEA Best Practices Statewide / Level: For Activists
Description: We know that engaging members both new and existing is a vital part of our future as a union. In this session, we will explore data regarding what we know works, participants will have the opportunity to share their ownexperiencesregarding engaging members, and attendees will leave with a bank ofideas and best practices for engaging members statewide.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm / Special Education: Allying with Parent and Family through the IEP Process / Level: Foundational (This session is meant for those who understand the IEP process and who are looking to connect with parents and families to help them better support their children through the IEP process.)
Description: In this session, you will be introduced to the opportunities of becoming a parent and family ally in the IEP process to better support your students’ success at school. You will have an opportunity to explore the reasons why someone would want to pursue this partnership, discover where specific opportunities may exist in your local context, hear from local associations who have collaborated with parents and families, and organize a plan to put these new skills into practice.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm / Preparing your Local for a Voluntary Union Environment / Level: For Officers and Organizing Chairs
Description:This Spring the Supreme Court is expected to invalidate Agency Fee Provisions for Public Sector Unions. This training is designed for local leaders that will explore the strategies and tasks required to prepare your local to thrive in a union voluntary world.

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