Nearly 400 delegates representing 160 districts around the state gathered this weekend for the 2024 CEA Representative Assembly at Mohegan Sun’s Earth Expo. CEA’s largest governing body elected new officers, voted on a budget, new business items, and amendments to the constitution and bylaws, and honored exemplary educators.
“As delegates to this 176th CEA RA, you make up the highest governing body of our union,” said CEA President Kate Dias. “There is nothing beyond the Representative Assembly. Your Board of Directors and your officers fill the time between when the Assembly can meet, but this group, all of you, are the highest decision-making body of this organization. We represent over 43,000 members, and we have a big responsibility to make decisions that are really good for all of us.”
In uncontested elections, CEA President Kate Dias and Vice President Joslyn DeLancey were reelected to three-year terms last night.
Darien teacher Katy Gale was reelected to a second three-year term as NEA Director.
Today delegates reelected Darien teacher Katy Gale to a second three-year term as NEA Director over Amity teacher Peter Downhour by a vote of 222 to 99. Gale will begin her next term September 1, 2024.
In her remarks to delegates, Dias discussed the different eras of teaching—from aspiring educators looking forward to entering the profession to retirees—but said that regardless of where educators are in their career journey, all are in their activist era.
“We all have embraced the passion to do the activist work of our profession—we all want to fight for what is right.”
Dias said that the activist fight looks different for different educators depending on the roles they take on, from elected leadership to being part of the support network to those who are bringing others into the movement.
“We are showing up for each other, and that matters so much. A sea of red cannot be ignored,” she said.
Amendments, budget, business items
Bloomfield Education Association President Gail Jorden spoke in favor of a constitutional amendment to ensure ethnic minority representation on the CEA Board of Directors.
Amendments to the constitution and bylaws approved by delegates include the following:
- Ensure ethnic minority representation on the CEA Board of Directors always meets or exceeds the percentage of ethnic minority teachers in Connecticut.
- Creation of a new membership category, apprenticeship membership, for students enrolled in teacher preparation programs and working in schools under the Connecticut Apprenticeship Teacher Program.
- Any sale of CEA properties and/or buildings valued in excess of $1 million requires a vote of the CEA RA.
- The CEA Pride Committee is now a CEA standing committee.
- Formalize the election of a second CEA-Retired representative to the CEA Board of Directors.
Delegates also adopted a new budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year with a $0.76 dues increase and passed a new business item to investigate alternatives to conducting elections via paper ballots printed in the CEA Advisor.
Read more about the CEA Representative Assembly in your next issue of the CEA Advisor.
