From the President: The importance of community relationships
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127 5, 8 July 2022, page no.7
Recently, I had the privilege of representing the Queensland Teachers’ Union at the Labour Notes conference in Chicago with Wide Bay Organiser Scott Welch, members of Executive Paula Nunan and Nikki Roos, and State Council delegates Rosa and Phil Monsour.
Before the conference kicked off, Scott and I were warmly welcomed by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), to learn and share stories in solidarity. Boasting 25,000 members in the city of Chicago, the CTU has coverage of ancillary staff and teachers. It was interesting to note that while there are clearly differences in pressure points between these two member groups, their focus and goals remain largely the same.
It was also interesting to see how the CTU actively engages and seeks community partnerships in campaign action. We took part in a rally that really exemplified this unity. The CTU and its community partners came together to bring attention to the lack of fairness, justice, equity and safety for women who had reported incidents of significant crime, a true illustration of the people power of Unions. The reciprocal relationship between community groups has been developed through these types of combined action. When the Chicago Teachers Union demonstrates, these community groups stand in solidarity – it seemed everyone we met knew firsthand that a win for education is a win for the entire community.
It struck a chord with all of the QTU members at the conference. Our Union hasn’t thrived for 133 years without community relationships, but with the challenges that lay ahead for the QTU, right now is clearly a great opportunity to strengthen our bonds with relevant local organisations. We all know the opportunities we can create by demonstrating the real social outcomes of our campaigns for fair funding in education, changes to standardised testing and fighting for meaningful action on the widespread teacher shortage. I ask you all to now turn your attention to seeking out the important links in our organisation that can help us connect with relevant community groups. These are important questions to ponder and talk to members about in the coming months.
During conversations with CTU organisers and officers, it was highlighted that workload and the impact of standardised testing was an issue of shared concern. Conversations centred on high stakes testing and the fact that there had been a visible narrowing of curriculum offerings. Also of shared concern was the fact that big edu-business is developing and targeting education systems, schools and parents and drawing big profits from it. QTU members know better than anyone that our students are much more than a point in time test in literacy and numeracy. Big business cannot be allowed to dictate the necessity of testing and assessment regimes in our schools.
As the QTU, we echo the call to action from Chicago. All unions, and their members, must continue to oppose the bulk data-gathering of standardised testing, which is used by edu-business to create large profit returns each year - we all know that this money is needed in our schools. We must continue to trust our teachers to plan, teach, assess and report in line with the curriculum, and actively support the importance of professional autonomy as intrinsic to the work that is done in schools.
One of the biggest takeaways from the visit with the Chicago Teachers Union, and the United States in general, is that principals and associate principals are prevented from being in the same union as the teachers in their schools. This is a clever but cynical tactic to divide and conquer the workforce. The Queensland experience, as we know, is in stark contrast to this. School leaders and teachers are proudly represented by the Queensland Teachers’ Union, with the employer being the Queensland Government. This allows us to campaign together and find common ground as unified members of the Queensland Teachers’ Union, as it should be.
It was a privilege to spend time with the CTU and we look forward to a continued working partnership with them into the future.