CODAA Receives NEA/IEA Organizing Grant to Recruit, Welcome & Sign-up Members

CODAA recently received a $10,000 grant from the National Education Association (NEA) as part of the NEA Ed Summer organizing program to recruit, welcome, and sign-up new and formerly Fair Share members. Six CODAA members attended extensive training on July 12 and 13 to serve as Member Organizers. These are: Bonniejean Alford, (Sociology adjunct) Bill Enright (Political Science adjunct), Theresa Gant-Misher (English adjunct), Dorothy Hurlburt, (English adjunct), Loretta Pyrdek (English adjunct) and Stella Styrczula (CIS adjunct). Each Member Organizer will meet with bargaining formerly Fair Share bargaining unit members and newly eligible members between July 16 – August 31 to talk about the value of the union and the importance of supporting CODAA by signing a membership form. They will also be seeking to identify members who may serve as local leaders. Illinois is one of eighteen states to participate in the Ed Summer program.

CODAA would like to thank the National Education Association and the Illinois Education Association for their generous grant, which includes compensation for the Member Organizers. The grant proposal was developed by Michelle Gutierrez (NEA), Michelle Couturier (IEA), Cheryl Baunbach-Caplan (CODAA President) , and Bill Enright (Member Organizer and Group Leader). We would also like to thank all the IEA and NEA staff involved in the training and our dedicated Member Organizers for undertaking this important task.

Maintaining a strong membership is crucial in light of the recent decision by the Supreme Court in Janus vs AFSCME which overturned the almost 40 year precedent of being able to charge bargaining unit members “fair share” dues for the compensation and benefits they received. For more information, visit: https://ieanea.org/stronger-united/