I have a good relationship with my principal. We talk all the time. Will that change when we Unionize?
Unionizing will not harm good relationships with administrators at our school sites or at the district level. We all know that good communication and mutual support are critical ingredients for building teamwork and fixing problems. Because of that, a key best practice for resolving conflicts when you have a union contract is to first try to fix the issue locally informally, and at the site level.
While unionizing will not undermine our good relationships and direct communication with administration, it will help us limit the harm of bad administrative decisions. That is because once we are union, changes to our teaching conditions cannot be imposed unilaterally. Our experience and input must be considered. This engenders mutual respect, which in turn is the basis for good relationships.
A key principle many of us have embraced in Clovis is that kids are best supported when adults like each other. We are confident unionization will protect that where it currently exists and help it develop where it is needed.