The FUSD school board removed FEA’s recognition rights from board policy in 2014. Regaining these rights had been a long-time goal for FEA. FEA President Derek Born says he was inspired by recent union victories in the news to launch an organizing campaign this year.
Finding Union Leaders
On April 10, 2022, Born asked the FEA executive board to authorize the creation of a steering committee on the issue of gaining recognition. Five days later the FEA Board approved this action. This committee of about eight FEA members were chosen for their passion about labor unions. The committee members met regularly to brainstorm ideas and come up with an organizing plan.
Jim McDermott, an FEA union site representative at Coconino High School, speaks on union values.
Going Before the Board
The committee decided to ask all FUSD staff to sign a petition stating that they wanted FEA to represent them exclusively when bargaining with the District. They also decided to regain majority status by asking employees to join FEA after they signed the petition.
Born says they needed this action to be public, so on May 10, 2022, the committee asked the Board to restore exclusive bargaining rights into the policy. They told the Board they would be returning in two weeks with petitions signed by a majority of FUSD staff saying they want FEA to have exclusive recognition rights.
FEA President Derek Born talking about their organizing strategy and its effectiveness.
Packing the Board Room
Victory for FEA
In September, the District ran the election for formal recognition and FEA won 97% of the votes, meaning that they are now, once again, the official representative and advocate for FUSD certified and licensed professionals.
FEA reached majority status within a month of forming their committee and only a couple months later gained recognition for bargaining rights from the District.
"Now that the district knows we have majority status, there's no question about FEA representing staff," said Born. "Our organizing campaign raised FEA's visibility and we gained respect, recognition, and democratic validation."
