Monday, January 10, 2022

Walking Alongside

When educational assistants at Hanover School Division needed a union, they turned to CLAC—and a key organizer who helped give them a voice in their workplace

Guide Magazine

By Alison Brown

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO, LEONA WOODMASS and her fellow educational assistants (EAs) were frustrated. They needed a voice and someone to have their back with their employer, Hanover School Division, located about an hour southeast of Winnipeg.

At the heart of the problem was job insecurity and the need for a union that not only understood the issues of Manitoba’s complex education system, but that could help them retain their jobs. Leona and a few other key EAs began looking into different unions that could help them. Eventually, they turned to CLAC and found that the union’s approach was just what they were looking for.

But having CLAC Local 306 certified as their union was not a simple matter. It took a lot of convincing to sway the minds of a majority of EAs—many of whom belonged to a community that traditionally did not favour unions—and go with CLAC.

I spoke with Leona on the eve of her retirement to hear her experiences of those early years, to learn about the struggles to unionize with CLAC, and to gain insight into what makes this complex sector tick.

Tell me about your long career in education.
I became an employee of Hanover School Division [HSD] approximately 20 years ago. I was hired to work at Steinbach Regional Secondary School [SRSS], a large high school in Steinbach, Manitoba. My family and I had moved to the area from Winnipeg, where I had worked as an EA in a K–8 school. I was familiar with EA work and found that I really enjoyed the high school environment. I’d say I prefer working in high schools because you can have great conversations with teenagers, and they can blow their own noses!

What made you want to look into unionization for you and your fellow employees?
At the time, every June at the end of the school year, all EAs in the division were laid off. According to government protocol, that allowed for an application for EI. Here was the problem: no EA was guaranteed a position the following year—no matter how long they had worked for HSD. If an EA was not hired back, there was no process to address the circumstances that left them jobless.

Every EA I had worked with expressed the unsettling anxiety that came each June. People weren’t enjoying their summer break because they were worried about their employment. The problem solver in me thought that if we had some kind of structure, representation, or path accepted by both parties—someone to walk alongside us—everyone would be happier, more productive, and loyal. Even though the prospect scared me, I knew unionization was the solution.

What drew you to CLAC?
Pauline Dirks [retired EA] and I had been looking at a couple of different unions at the time, and Pauline knew someone at CLAC.

Initially, I was not drawn to one solution. I knew that the EAs needed to have a voice. I was calling people, collecting information on all our options, and trying to present them to everyone.

In our presentations, Pauline and I, along with our colleague Elizabeth Schoenrock, attempted to be respectful of choice. We never wanted to be accused of pushing something on our coworkers.

What impressed me about the CLAC model was that they saw themselves as a union that would prefer to come alongside the employer rather than fight them, because we weren’t there to fight with our employer. We needed a union that had a level of integrity and would work peacefully with our employer—to not be a pushover, but also provide us with a strong voice.

How did your coworkers feel about unionizing?
We kept our meetings low-key, and we tried to listen more than talk. But we always indicated that HSD had to have a way of communicating with us as a collective group. We needed representation, a voice.

But unionization isn’t a familiar concept in our community. We didn’t receive any push back from our coworkers, but there was some hesitation and fear of the unknown.

Steinbach is known as being in the Bible Belt of Canada. There’s a high concentration of Mennonite people or people with a Mennonite background, and Mennonites were not historically the kind of people who welcomed a union.

In our presentations and meetings, we emphasized our need to have a voice. That was the number-one selling feature.

Some people were afraid that the employer would fight against unionization through job loss. A lot of people said they appreciated the fact that they didn’t feel pushed into anything and that they had all the information they needed to make up their own minds. In the end, all the hard work getting a union paid off: all the personal hours of calling, dropping off brochures, calling again, and arranging meetings.

How did it feel when the final vote came through and the EAs of HSD voted to join CLAC?
I remember that moment very well. It wasn’t like, woo-hoo, open the champagne bottle, or anything. There was no elation. I felt a sense of peace that we had done well, but the work was just beginning. I didn’t feel like it was my vote either—it was our vote, as a group.

It’s been 16 years since that moment. I will never forget what it felt like. Looking back, all the hours I put in have been worth it. Although HSD has yet to thank me, I feel that seeking representation by CLAC was the right thing to do. Our contracts have provided security, structure, benefits, and support for staff.

But most importantly, we gained a voice. A seat at the table. Accountability for both parties.

Other than unionization with CLAC, what have been the bright spots in your career?
The people. Always the people. I love math, so for me, I get pretty pumped when kids finally understand math. That’s when I do want to break out the champagne.

I love math because it’s concrete, and I’m a pragmatic human being. I love showing kids who can’t wrap their head around a math problem that they can always break it down or approach it from a different angle.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in education?
Be open to the kids. Kids will always tell you with their body language or their eyes what they need, even if they can’t articulate it verbally. If you’re there to just follow instructions, you’re not going to like it very much, because kids don’t follow instructions.

Just listen to them. You’re not bigger or better or smarter or anything else than those kids. You’re equals. It’s a case of walking alongside them, building a relationship, and trying to find the best way to help.

In a way, it’s like how the union, employer, and members all must see each other as equals, walk alongside each other, and build a healthy relationship.

Pi DAY

There’s an international day for everything it seems, and math is no exception. March 14 is the International Day of Mathematics (IDM), as proclaimed by UNESCO on November 26, 2019.

The date was chosen because it was previously celebrated as Pi Day in many countries. Some countries write Pi as 3/14 and the mathematical constant Pi is approximately 3.14. IDM is a day where students and the public are invited to participate in various activities in schools, museums, libraries, and other spaces. The theme for 2022 is Mathematics Unites. Go to idm314.org to learn more.

Source: idm314.org

Leona Woodmass

Walking Alongside

Pi DAY

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