Front Page Seattle Times Article on SEA election: “Politics plays role in teachers union vote for president”
The Seattle Times ran an important front page article today on the current election in the Seattle Education Association (SEA), “Politics plays role in teachers union vote for president”. I am running for President of SEA on the RESPECT ticket, a slate of social justice educators. 
The main criticism of our campaign cited in the article is that we have too many endorsements from outside the union–which only highlights how much support we have in the community and among social justice advocates. It should also be noted that we have scores of endorsements from leading educators in schools across Seattle. The most important part of the article is the end where the difference between our two campaigns is driven home when it is revealed that the incumbent leadership is endorsed by the pro-charter school/pro-standardized testing, Gates Foundation-backed reformer organization, Teachers United. Of course, Teachers United have a right to express their ideas in a fair and open debate. However, if the vast majority of the union membership believes that corporate reform policies of privatizing education and reducing teaching and learning to a test scores is harmful to public education–as we have expressed in numerous votes in the SEA–then we need a union that more rigorously opposes these harmful policies.
Those of us on the SEE RESPECT ticket in the election know that our union needs to be more powerful to defend public education.
You can support our efforts to revive social justice unionism to defend public education by:
1) Sharing our campaign with every educator you know–on Facebook, Twitter, email, and beyond.
2) Donating to our campaign at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/elect-respect-support-the-social-equality-educators-respect-slate?#home
3) Remind a Seattle educator to vote before Wednesday, May 7th.
Thanks to everyone for all your support!
