Educators Need A Single Voice In Consultation

Since the 1980’s I have been the chairman of the Houston Federation of Teacher’s Consultation Committee and have represented HFT in consultation with HISD since then. When I began doing consultation, HFT had one seat in the consultation meetings, the Congress of Houston Teachers had two, and the local TSTA affiliate had four. At that early time, HFT was already advocating a consultation process where the employees had the right to chose an exclusive representative. Just a few years earlier TSTA had been the exclusive representative until HFT and CHT were able to win their seats in a proportional election. In 1995, the last time an election was held, HFT won three seats and the CHT and TSTA each won one seat. Other organizations, while on the ballot, failed to win enough votes to earn a seat in consultation. Since the 1995 election HFT has almost doubled in size to nearly 7000 employees, the large majority being teachers, while the other organizations have seen a decline in membership. I’d be very surprised if one of those organizations had even 300 members. The way the current system works, it makes no difference how many seats an organization has, in practice each group is given an equal voice, equal opportunity to prepare an agenda, and an equal opportunity to be “the voice” of teachers. It is time to end the consultation system that gives an equal voice to all employee organizations. A system that allows a large unified voice to be undermined and fragmented by smaller, less diverse, and less representative groups. HISD employees need a single voice speaking on their behalf.

HFT asked the administration to present to the HISD Board of Trustees a proposal that would allow HISD employees to decide by ballot what type of consultation system they wished to have. The ballot would have contained two questions. First: Do you wish to have an exclusive consultation voice or continue with the current proportional system? Second: Which organization would you elect to be that exclusive voice? Each interested organization would appear on the ballot including a “no voice” choice. Obviously if the employees said no to exclusive consultation the results of the second vote would be moot. The Federation fully expected to win both of those votes. Organizing teachers to turn out and vote in elections is one of the things we do best. Despite our confidence in the eventual outcome, we are always seeking to increase employee unity. Last month the HFT Executive Council approved a proposal to the Congress of Houston Teachers, which would have ensured CHT a direct voice in consultation regardless of the outcome of the vote. Under this proposal CHT would have been given an advisory seat on the HFT Executive Council, a permanent place on the HFT Consultation Committee, and a permanent seat on the HFT consultation team in the monthly meetings with HISD administration. For reasons known only to them, the CHT governing board turned this proposal down allowing HISD to continue to play organized teachers against each other. Divide and conquer has been an effective strategy of the strong against the weak since the beginning of time.

It is sad that HISD Board President Larry Marshall has decided to pull this policy proposal from the agenda. He along with the other eight trustees owe their positions to the concerned citizens who have taken the time to go out and vote. All the Federation has asked HISD to do is to allow their employees to vote. Unfortunately Mr. Marshall and the majority of the board are unwilling to believe that their employees can responsibly exercise that most basic of all American privileges.

Andrew Dewey

Executive Vice-President

Houston Federation of Teachers