Unions mean workplace protections, collective bargaining, power in numbers, and more. Stamford Education Association treasurer and building representative and Westhill High School English teacher Kate Tobin shares what being part of a union means to her.
As a teachers’ union representative and executive board member, I know firsthand the kind of support our union provides. I am ever grateful we have a union our educators can turn to as a source of comfort and support, and to right wrongs. This job is hard enough. In states where teachers don’t have the same union protections we have in Connecticut, it’s so much harder.
I’m happy to be someone whose role is to help organize and pull together our membership in support of common goals and against obstacles to truly effective teaching and learning. When it comes to education, our members are the experts. They need to be respected as such. And when they are not, I help them find their collective voice.
We are always stronger together.
