Newport Teachers hold informational picket as they struggle to be heard by the administration and the public

"No valedictorian has ever gotten up there and said, it was the consultant that saved my life," said union organizer Alexander Lucini. "No, it's the teacher."

The Teachers’ Association of Newport (TAN) held its second informational picket in front of Pell Elementary School this morning. Over 150 teachers and supporters were in attendance. Tuesday is the first day of school for teachers to report, students begin their school year on Wednesday.

Here’s the video:

Here’s a partial transcript of the video above, edited for clarity:

Alexander Lucini; NEARI Organizer: So we're back. Although we never left, y'all did a great job last week. We were heard, we were felt. Your voices are making a difference. I'm going to turn over the bullhorn very quickly to our leader, our strong voice, our president here at TAN, Jen Hole.

Jennifer Hole; TAN President: I want to thank all of you for the support that you've given to us. When I say us I mean the TAN Leadership, especially myself and Beth who have spent countless hours this summer trying to ensure that our contract is followed, ensure that settled labor law is followed, and to make sure that our kids get the services and supports they need and deserve.

I read the district mission statement for the umpteenth time yesterday, and it's just so ironic that the word “supports” is in the mission statement, and yet the administration has stripped every interventionist from Pell Elementary School except for two part-time math interventionists. They've stripped every interventionist from Thompson. It's completely unfathomable. Today, when we go inside, we're going to be the professionals that we always are. We're going to do all the things that we know that we need to do. I'm going to ask that when the leadership of the district are speaking, as hard as it's going to be, please use your phones. Check Facebook, Instagram, or whatever it is that you need to do - and ignore them the way that they ignore us.

I appreciate all of your support. I know that today is going to be absolutely chaotic with all of us trying to get our classrooms set up. I can tell you right now, I've never even laid eyes on the room that I'm being moved to, so I feel your pain, but I know that we will be fine. We will get through this. The school day today - if it starts at 8:30 for us, it ends at three o'clock. Please make sure that you have vacated your building by three o'clock, if not earlier if you're allowed to.

Alexander Lucini: We know what the district's plan for reorganization is. They say reorganization. What they mean is cuts. That's what they meant. We spoke last week. We asked [Superintendent] Colleen [Jermain] about her plan. There is no plan. We have local media that has not listened to us, has not given us the opportunity to explain what's been going on. They've just been taking it from one person.

It's important that we inform folks about what's going on here. The cuts to our Multi-Language Learner [MLL] supports and the cuts to our interventions. The things that our most vulnerable students need have been cut from the district, but we still have the same amount of central administration jobs.

We still have outside consultants. We still have all of the things that satisfy those at the top of the ivory tower. They're not making a difference for our students. All of you here today in red, you are the ones that make the difference for the students. You are the ones that are going to meet them at the thresholds tomorrow morning. You are the ones that make the difference. No valedictorian has ever gotten up there and said, it was the consultant that saved my life. No, it's the teacher. You are the ones that do it, and we're here today to remind everybody about that. What we want is respect. We want respect for our students. We want respect for our contract. We want respect for our profession, and we want respect for all of the individuals in this city that we represent, work for, and provide support for

Jennifer Hole and Valerie Lawson

.Jennifer Hole: I think it's also important that we all remember if you had the pleasure of attending the Job Placement Process [JPP] in the springtime, you were witness to how chaotic and unorganized [it was] and how much it violated our contracts. A big part of what we're doing, besides what's best for kids, is we need to take back what is ours, and that is the JPP. Many of you ended up being involuntarily transferred into positions that you did not ask for. You didn't have the right to go to the JPP and pick a job that you are qualified, certified, and have the seniority for.

You may not have been affected by it. If you look around, so many of your colleagues were, and if that is taken away from us, we lose the ability to get jobs based on certification, qualification, and seniority - and [the superintendent] will be able to move you wherever she wants. You need to remember that. When we think about our "why" - our "why" is the kids, but our "why" is also about each of us. We need to stick together to make sure that they understand that they just can't do whatever they want to do because they feel like like doing it.

Alexander Lucini: Jen invested a tremendous amount of work this summer to come up with a plan because there wasn't one from central admin. We put that plan on the table. We asked to resolve this. We want to be able to put a hundred percent of our focus on the students, but we have one individual [the superintendent] who stands in the way of the progress that we want to make for our students.

I hope you all celebrated Labor Day. It's a very important day When we have a weekend, medical coverage and the ability to work with dignity, we thank unions. We need to be mindful of that. We also need to remember that Newport, Rhode Island is a union town.

“…a line of red…”

Amanda Scott, NEARI Organizer: Former Portsmith teacher here and now I work for NEA Rhode Island doing the same work Alex does. I want to say how proud I am to see this line of red today. Teachers around the state are not just watching you, they are with you. Around the state today is the first day of school for many for many of our teachers and support staff, and the work that you're doing right here, right now on this informational picket is so important... The administration does not know what is best for our students. You do. You are the ones who know what is best for our students

I serve folks in South Kingstown, North Kingstown Narragansett, and East Greenwich - all across this state. They are watching this. They are supporting you, so please know that you are not alone. When Alex says that this is a union town. This is a union state. That's right. Rhode Island is a union state NEA Rhode Island is here for you to support you. We're here on this line. We will be here every day until Colleen Germaine and this administration realize that what you are doing is for the students of this city. The wonderful MLLs in this city deserve to have the best opportunities, like every other student in this state. You are the strongest folks out here. Please stay strong, stay together. You know you are doing right. Rhode Island is watching.

Valerie Lawson, NEARI President: There's nothing more important than what you do every day in your classroom. It's so important. This administration and every administration needs to abide by your contract.

Over 15 years ago, I was the local union president in East Providence. I was a social studies teacher for over 32 years, and we had a rogue school committee and superintendent. So on behalf of all of our members across the state, our 12,000 members, we are here with you today. We are here with you in your fight to protect your students and your contract. It's so great to see so many of you here and showing your commitment to Newport, this community, and your students. As you begin your day and as you begin this week, know that we're here with you. We'll always be with you. You are on the side of right and you will win because you are on the right side. You support kids in public education and there's nothing more important than what we do every day.

Alexander Lucini: We've worked very hard to resolve these issues over the summer. We currently have four grievances moving through the proper channels. We also have four unfair labor practice charges filed with the State Labor Relations Board. The defendant on that side is our school committee.

Jennifer Hole: Something that was brought to my attention this morning was that our superintendent and some other members of the administration are telling the school committee blatant lies, such as we've all known that we need to get our MLL certificates for the past two years. That's not true. That is a blatant lie. When the school committee is only listening to half of the story, as is most of the media in this town, the lies suddenly become the truth. It's not true. If we were told to get our MLL certifications, we would've been working on a plan so that everybody would get their MLL certification. We have not. We've been working on a plan. We've been trying to get MLL Professional Development during the school year. We can't even get that. So if you hear something that you know is not true or if you're not sure about it, ask [someone in union leadership] if it's true. I promise you - if it sounds ridiculous - it's a lie.

Alexander Lucini: We're at the table.We don't want to be on the menu. All we want is respect. We want respect for the kids that we're in front of every day. We want respect for the profession that we hold so near and dear to our hearts. We want respect for our individual personalities and the individual people we are because we all go home to families as well. That's what we want.

Alexander Lucini

Here’s the TAN press release:

Teachers picketed outside the City Council meeting on Wednesday while TAN President Jennifer Hole gave an impassioned plea inside chambers to the council members to step in to stop Superintendent Colleen Jermain from continuing to run roughshod over the teacher contract and settled labor law. 

“Colleen Jermain has stripped our schools of every math interventionist, removed the reading teachers, and eliminated behavioral specialists,” said Hole. “She and her administration are setting up the students, families, and teachers of Newport for absolute failure. Rather than come together and try to solve problems and resolve differences, the Superintendent has dug in her heels in the interest of winning, not in the interest of our students.”

In addition to picketing, TAN is “working to contract,” meaning that teachers will only perform duties outlined within their existing contract.  An informational picket is a public opportunity for Newport teachers to inform the community and amplify their concerns; it is not a job action nor is it a strike.

The Union has filed four grievances and four unfair labor practice charges as a result of multiple contract violations and several infringements of labor law.

“While we did meet throughout the summer in an attempt to reach a global settlement on all issues, the Superintendent has refused to commit to any effort to correct the multiple errors created when she imposed the job fair without the Union’s involvement,” said Hole. “These errors have had a ripple effect across the district with many teachers placed in positions they have never held before and forcing many to seek emergency certifications just to stay employed.” 

In June, the Union voted no confidence in the Superintendent and Ronilee Mooney, the director of multi-lingual learners, over the Superintendent’s drastic restructuring plans. These plans were implemented without any input from teachers. Moreover, the teachers have lacked adequate support from the district to implement these restructuring plans for this school year, which will undoubtedly harm students.

“Our students deserve better,” said Hole.