One of the reasons we bump from one crisis to another is because we “don’t have a plan”.
We don’t have a plan in large part because of the insidious nature of the bureaucracy UTLA has created. Bureaucracies run themselves and defy oversight. Bureaucracies stifle long range planning because bureaucracies assume the management mechanism will fix what is wrong and only minor adjustments need to be made. History has proven that to be wrong.
Members and chapter chairs still wait days for responses from Area Reps. Some information assistants are so lacking in training that they often give wrong information. Membership lists still contain the names of retired or deceased members, wrong addresses and incorrect telephone numbers. Many members are not even listed. Our current president assumes that managers can fix all the internal problems that beset UTLA. I believe the elected president must come to grips with our internal problems and start the process to fix our union. I will do that.
My plan will be two-fold. While UTLA increases the pressure on LAUSD to cut back on waste and to include us in the decision-making process as full partners, I will direct the energies of my office to fixing what is broken within UTLA.
Each year will start with a calendar planning session. All officers and managers will sit together and determine month by month what activities we as a union will participate in. We will look at our list of activities and prioritize our involvement in meetings, campaigns, conferences, trainings, etc. Obviously, we do some of this planning now, but not in the depth necessary to allow us to have a clear picture of what the year ahead looks like for our union. This type of comprehensive planning will give us a better idea of where to put our human resources.
As far as conferences are concerned, I realize that many are important, but I want to state here and now that I will be a stay-at-home president. Too much work must be done to fix our union, and that work must be done here in Los Angeles at UTLA headquarters.
I will review the job description of Area Reps with an eye towards reorganizing our professional staff. Their energies must be redirected towards direct services to our members and chapter chairs. Area Reps may have to be retrained to meet the ever increasing changes that teachers encounter in the classroom. I will institute an on-going training program for information assistants and grievance coordinators. The work of the professional staff in all its various parts will be my responsibility as President.
UTLA’s internal organization must be strengthened. At this time, our eight regional areas are pulling in many different directions. I believe the autonomy the eight areas have gained in the recent past is healthy. That autonomy has led to unique programs and vital outreach efforts as well as healthy debate within UTLA. I want to build on those efforts particularly in the areas of Chapter Chair Training, Community Outreach and political involvement that furthers the cause of public education.
Part of long-range planning is to get more people involved in the process and cut back on the number of meetings that we go to. City-wide and area officers as well as other responsible leaders must start visiting schools again on a regular basis. UTLA leaders need to hear your concerns at your school site. Teachers and Health and Human Service Workers need to know that officers care about what happens at the school site.
Once elected, I will call for a city-wide rally to bring our members together. This meeting will be followed by tri-annual city and/or area meetings designed as town hall events so that the leaders of this union can hear the members and respond to their concerns. For too many years our leaders have been separated from the members. That must stop!
Those who lead must be seen. Our visible force must show the district that a new era is coming. Let LAUSD know that we intend to work with our friends in the district, oppose those who squander our financial and human resources, fight for clean safe schools, and organize the community to demand equitable salaries and benefits.
Under my leadership we will become full partners in the decision-making process in LAUSD.
True leadership demands a vision for the future and a plan to make that vision a reality.
My name is A.J. Duffy. I am a candidate for President of UTLA.
My first contact with A.J. Duffy was early in his term as West Area Chair (1996-2002). He called me to introduce himself and to find out how things were going at my school.
“How interesting,” I thought. “A.J. Duffy the UTLA West Area Chair, calling to tell me that he was available any time that I needed help.” This simple contact gave me an instant sense of belonging to UTLA. A feeling I had not had for many years. I must admit to a certain degree of doubt. He said he would be there for me but only time would tell.
That doubt was swept away several weeks later when I left an urgent message on his answering machine. I needed an answer to a question for a meeting that I was having with my principal and a teacher the next day. The next morning I had the answer waiting for me on my answering machine. A.J. Duffy had left the answer to my question at 11:30 PM.
I thought to myself, “This man is for real.” He meant what he said. His promise of support and help was genuine. Again, I had sense of belonging to UTLA. Needless to say he was there for me and for every other chapter chair on the Westside whenever we needed help.
One day not too long after that first contact, I called A.J. Duffy again and told him that I was going to be less active because my husband had just been diagnosised with leukemia. His response was warm, nurturing and caring. Many times during those two difficult years of treatment he called just to see how my husband, Michael, was doing and how I was holding up. I found that very comforting. He was always available and generous with his time; for that I am eternally grateful.
Unfortunately my husband, Michael, did not survive, but my professional relationship with A.J. Duffy has grown. My respect and admiration for him have only increased over time.
We teachers need someone who is unique and responsive. We need someone who will restore our strength as a union and our individual of sense of worth and dignity.
That someone is A.J. Duffy.