When you see a blue “Support Ann Arbor Teachers” shirt being worn, it’s not teachers begging for more money. It symbolizes teachers’ unity in frustration at the district’s decisions.
Educators across Ann Arbor are cutting back on the unpaid service, including clubs, tutoring during free periods and after school, supervising students during lunch, and all other unpaid work after school hours.
Skyline teachers are taking this action to stand up against years of rising expectations and limited compensation. Teachers have reached an impasse in contract negotiations and need the district to recognize the amount of time and effort spent on their jobs and how much work happens behind the scenes.
As of February 9th, all clubs and activities during teachers’ lunch or prep time will be shut down until further notice until a fair contract is agreed upon.
“The club that I advise [The Ethics Bowl], all totally understood,” says AAEA Union Representative Gabriel Rettaliata. “It’s not what we would prefer…But a lot of what’s going to be happening is that teachers have to prioritize how we spend lunchtime and planning time…so the in-class student experience is not adversely affected.”
As a school community, many students are unaware of why this change is happening. “It breaks my heart,” says AAEA Union Representative Megan Stark. “I love students who come in to talk to me at lunch, who see my room as a safe space, and just support students in any way that I can.”
If students want to express their concerns, they can. “You can write letters to the Board of Education,” says Skyline Principal Casey Elmore, “or attend school board meetings.”
Many staff members from Skyline rely on their elected union representatives to ask questions and bring up concerns to the administration and district. “Many of our colleagues voted me into this position as one of their representatives… and that isn’t something I take lightly,” says Stark. “They know that I will brainstorm with them to help answer any/all of their questions… and if I can’t answer it, I will find someone who does. I always show up for them if they need it.”
Within Skyline, teachers come together through picketing protests to express their level of concern. “It’s been nice to see the solidarity within the building,” says Rettaliata. “People [teachers] are just reaching a breaking point…all of the stuff that we do, all the extra stuff that we do, and then we are not being compensated for all that.”
The work-to-rule action comes from years of teachers expressing concern about not having enough time to do their job to the fullest. “It feels like I am always behind [with grading] because, truthfully, there are just not enough paid hours in the day to do my job well,” says AAEA Union Representative Carley Bartholomew. “But it is also important to show my students that I am worth more than unpaid work and so are they.”
