Hello VESPA Members, I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe. I wanted to let you know that the office hours have changed. I will be in the office Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 4:30pm. I can also be reached on the president's cell phone at (805) 616-1510 or by email at vespapresident@gmail.com. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. I would also like to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication to our students and to VESPA. This has not been an easy year but I know together we can get through these tough times. I appreciate all that you do...it does not go unnoticed. I am so proud to represent such an amazing group of ESPs!!!
Here's some information from our VESPA and VUEA Organizing Chairs... The short update this week includes planning for Tuesday’s board meeting, an ongoing survey, and your site representatives coming to talk to you briefly one-on-one. Tuesday’s Board Meeting The VUSD Board will be discussing compensation and negotiation in closed session this Tuesday, starting around 5PM. The open session will start around 7PM, as usual. Public comments are welcomed at the start of either session. This means we need a group of people to show up to attend before closed session, at 4:45, and others to show up at open session, around 6:45PM. Anyone who can speak at either session, if you would like please do! Even if you do not wish to speak, please come and bring community members and colleagues along with you. At least one member of the board has indicated that they do not believe enough teachers and ESPs care enough about the current offer to warrant a better offer or to be listened to. We need to show them they are wrong! We need to pack the board room at 5PM ANDat 7PM.Pizza and drinks will be provided at each session. Please take a quick moment to let us know which session you are planning to attend: BOARD MEETING ATTENDANCE SURVEY Ongoing Survey We have a GREAT number of responses from last week’s survey! 649 members have responded and 81% would strike given the current offer. This is excellent in the face of the board’s claim that not enough teachers and ESPs are concerned and CTA’s request that we demonstrate a widespread willingness to participate in labor actions. If you have not yet given anonymous feedback to the survey, please do. (It is NOT yet a strike authorization vote.): WHAT WOULD YOU STRIKE FOR SURVEY Site Representative one-on-one’s Your Directors will be visiting each of you in the coming weeks with a brief face-to-face survey to gauge member level of commitment to our labor actions. You will be asked six yes-or-no questions regarding which actions you are willing to take to ensure a better deal from the district (wearing red, attending board meetings, attending rallies, striking if you are personally dissatisfied, and striking if union membership ratifies a strike). The more people who participate in actions now, the less likely a strike becomes and the less time this whole process will take.Please respond honestly to your reps: this effort is intended to take measure of membership determination and secure further CTA backing and support. It will also serve to send a message to the district and inform our negotiations. Directors, look for info coming soon! Reluctant Sites If you are working at a site on which you feel there is limited support for our labor actions and you would like your association leaders and our CTA representative to come and speak, please let us know. Thanks for reading! Stay strong and see you on Tuesday!