After months of advocacy, the Durham Association of Educators is a big step closer to securing a seat at the table with the Durham school system administrators.
At its meeting Thursday, the school board stopped short of adopting a formal “meet-and-confer” policy, as DAE has requested. Instead, the board directed the superintendent, Anthony Lewis, to work with DAE’s leadership to develop a new policy for board review.
“It feels like finally all the things we’ve been saying, people were understanding,” Mika Twietmeyer, president of DAE, said in an interview with The 9th Street Journal after the meeting.
As she spoke, two DAE members — sporting the organization’s bull-logoed, red apparel — walked by and paused to high-five Twietmeyer.
Prior to the meeting, the DAE held an umbrella-filled rally in the rain.
“We are here tonight to say no to union-busting and yes to union rights and democracy,” DAE Vice President Christy Patterson said.
The board’s action came after two earlier proposals were tabled due to legal concerns.
“Are either of them ready for action this evening?” board member Natalie Beyer asked of the policies.
“I would say no,” replied Eva Dubuisson, the attorney present. “Neither.”
North Carolina is one of the few remaining states where public sector employees are prohibited from engaging in collective bargaining. Thus, a meet-and-confer policy must be carefully worded to stay within state law.
Further, North Carolina’s Equal Access Act orders that “schools not favor nor endorse an education employee association.” In response, the board directed staff to develop a broad meet-and-confer policy, one that could apply not just to DAE but to any group that represents over half of employees.
After the measure passed in a 4-3 split vote, the crowd of DAE members audibly gasped in excitement at the decision.
While superintendent Lewis did not set an exact timeline to complete the formal policy, he said “I think, from my seat, it’s not a matter of if, but when we will pass a meet-and-confer policy.”
Above: DAE members rallied in the rain ahead of Thursday’s school board meeting. Photos by Kulsoom Rizavi — The 9th Street Journal
