Episode 31: Last Podcast for the Year

On this very special last REA Union Voices podcast for the year, we say goodbye to Jeri as her term as Vice President will end on June 30th. Jeri has been active in the Association for more than 30 years. We will miss her and wish her well. However, we do have a feeling she will continue to be involved in some capacity. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Hello, welcome to REA Union Voices. I'm Krista and I'm Jerry. And we are the president and vice president of the Richland Education Association. And this is going to be the last episode of season one.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Can you believe that? Yeah, can you believe it, Jerry? No, but I was thinking about how fun it'll be that I was on the ground floor of our uh podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

You know, I was thinking today as well. And I thought, all right, you know, kind of this little intro that we put together with the music that you found.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

And then the little intro and our outro, you know, at the end. And I was thinking, gosh, you know, we probably are gonna need to do something a little bit different because this is all Krista and Jerry.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Yeah. It'll have to be Krista and Becky. Yeah, so we'll have to you could keep the music maybe.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, maybe keep the music. I do like the music. Yes, no, I do like the music as well. But I was thinking about like our little saying and how we I just you know, I thought about it. It's like it's we're Kristen, I'm Becky. It's like, well, no, I don't want it to feel like it's a replacement because you're you're not being replaced, you're moving on. Moving up and outward. Up and out, yeah. Up and out, yeah. And so moving on. And so yesterday at dinner, you had said something about like how many years you feel or you know you've been. Do you want to tell them that?

SPEAKER_00 1:40

How many years I've been doing union working?

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Like how many years you've been doing union work?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Pretty much 30 years. Yeah. Pretty much, I think it was my second year of teaching that I got tapped for executive board, not just a council. Oh it was for yeah, because one of the members had to go off and she recommended, and so yeah, it was a health issue. Okay, and so you just yeah, I just went straight to the top. Straight to the top, straight to that for a little bit, and then um because it was um an appointment, it was different. So then I didn't I wasn't, so then I did the council.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

So I've bounced around and yeah, I get almost a little teary. Like I know. I was like, it's the union part on top of the education piece is almost as fulfilling because you know, how many teachers have you helped, how many contracts have you helped bargain? Um just that kind of stuff. Yeah. You know, that advocacy. You know, when you're teaching, you know you're you're doing the right thing, you're teaching, you're doing your stuff. You know, hopefully the kids learn something, they go on, and sometimes they invite you to graduation, you know, sometimes they avoid you, whatever. Um, but with teachers most of the time, you're making a pretty impact, pretty big impact. It's either their job, their working conditions, or you're helping them keep their job. You know, you're fixing a right. Right. Fixing a wrong.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Fixing a wrong, yeah. Fixing a wrong. Making turning a wrong into a right, I guess. Or and even what you said, fixing a right. Like, you know, I look at like the things that we have bargained, and I know we've talked about that, and that's why going through this contract, I mean, this is now decades of work of people who came before us. Yes. And then, you know, when I came to the district, I think I've shared it with everybody. You were the president then, you know, the first person that I met in um in Richland because you were working with my husband Jim and you know, when we were on the board together. And uh, you know, and that's why I think everybody, you know, we joke about Jerry being the REA historian. Yeah.

unknown 3:48

Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

It is kind of true.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

You know, it is kind of true, and it's because, you know, she's the person sitting on the board right now who has has the most history, yes, you know, who can, you know, go back to 2009. And you know, and I um I'm only saying that because that's when I came.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

And you were already.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah. Well, and it's for me, I feel like it's kind of just gone full circle. Because now you're the council president. Yes. You know, REA president. I've been I've been there, done that. And so it's kind of it is kind of fun to watch how everybody grows into those positions and just and does it all for the right reasons. I mean, we all know people who do things for other reasons, but I think you definitely, you know, you do it for all the right reasons. And you're super amazing, and I'm just really jealous too that you have Jim at home to help. That that has gotta be such a I can't, I mean, I use Jim all the time. Oh yeah. I mean, he was basically my work husband. We were yeah, and oh yeah, and yeah, and now the other woman. I shouldn't say that was a joke. That's a joke. It really is a joke. Um but yeah, how lucky you've had yeah to to have that.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Oh yeah. No, you know, for me, I think it was, you know, when I was running for vice president, I am not gonna get into it. You and I have already had the conversation, but I just felt like it was time and I was not expecting to do it because kind of like you, you know, I mean, I had been really involved, um, but in a different local in Central KitSApp from my second year um forward and had gotten pretty high up, you know, on the executive board tap to possibly be a future president. You know, I was the vice president of the of the council there. Oh yeah. And I thought, all right, well, I'm going to Richland. I am just gonna teach. This is perfect. Jim can do the union work, and I just want to focus in on my teaching. And then people figured out who I was, and then they started, you know, coming and asking questions. And so by the time I felt like, okay, I'm it's it's time. And when I ran for vice president, I knew my I wanted to become the president. Like, this is it, I'm going for it. And so for those two years, I think it was more when I was running for president, I started thinking of myself, and I thought, well, you know, and who my husband is. And yes, he's a secret weapon who's not very secret. But I started thinking, it's like I have I had had 13 years of me being kind of like the Padawan apprentice.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

You know, and it wasn't 13 years of just him always telling me what to do, but I started thinking it's like it started with that, where someone would ask me a question. I'm like, hold on a second. Yeah. Hey, this person's in here. What do I do? What do I say? Well, you need to say this. I have a meeting with my principal. What do I do? What do I say? You need to go do this. To all right. This is what the person is asking. This is what I think.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

What is that okay? Yeah, that sounds good. Only ask this, this, this, this, you know, all these. Okay, let me go back with my Jim now says this. You know, to this is what they asked, this is what I said. Is it okay? Well, yeah, you might want to follow up with, hey, I wanted to follow up with some you know, to this is what I did and said, and I feel like it's good. Right, yeah. You know, but believe me, being able to have it gives that's what gives me my confidence. I know when I go into a meeting, I don't have just the executive board and like a past president. I've got the executive board, I've got a past president, I have at least two Uniserve directors who are telling me this is the right thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Yeah, no, I get that. Yeah. So then I remember um, because it was a hard decision to leave the classroom full time, yeah. But I remember Kevin Teeley that long time ago. I said, How do you know when like you're ready to take that next step, right? And he goes, When you feel like you're gonna do more good out of the classroom than in the classroom.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 8:15

And that really hit me because I was like, that's how I felt. Because I really at that point love the union work, love the advocacy, and I thought, yeah, I think I'm ready for that.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

And then you do it, and then I think there comes a point where I'm like, yeah, I can I I'm ready to go back to the classroom. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm good in the classroom. Um, and obviously, this time being vice president, I knew I didn't want to be president. It was kind of like, come on, come on, you guys, we gotta get somebody else up here. And so this was perfect. This was perfect timing. Yeah. Like, I'm checking out. We had two people running. I mean, that was perfect.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Yeah, no, and I mean, and it was perfect for me to not only have somebody who I completely trusted and admired, respected, you know, all of that. Um, it's also somebody who I consider a friend. Yes. You know, that, you know, it's it's more, you know, so you know, like I said, to have somebody who I felt like has my back and you know, could watch me grow, you know, in this role. I mean, I think a lot of people coming in, and this might have been something where again, like this probably helped having Jim. I think there would have been a lot of people coming into this role with you as the vice president who might have been a little i uh intimidated or like oh my gosh, you know, and I and I to be honest, I have felt that way. Not so much anymore, but like my first year, I mean the first time Ken came to a meeting. You know, me following him. Yeah, I think you'd been out for a little while longer, so I didn't feel that.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Um but when Ken came to the first meeting, yeah, and I just was like, oh my god, oh my gosh, you know, okay, now I I want him to, you know, to to think I'm doing a good job. Oh, I totally had this. You know, yeah. And I think it's because I knew. I already knew from you that, well, Jerry supported me. You know, or whatever. You know, that yeah, but there was that, you know, that little bit of like, okay, yeah, you know, um, somebody who I had admired and looked up to and learned from, you know, not somebody who I always agreed with, and that's not what this is about, because you and I don't always agree. But there's that that sense of, yeah, you know, and I'll probably feel that a little bit like if when at the council level, like with Keith.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

When he shows up and it's like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Well, I think he kind of felt a little different when he found out I was a past president. He did not know I was the past president, and then he mentioned it multiple times. Jerry's a past president. I'm like, oh that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

We're all good. Let's go to Jerry. Would you make the same decision, please? Please back me up here.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

You know, but that's but I think that's how union union works too. I mean, we build our leaders, you know, we want to grow our leaders, and we've all a lot of us have been there, and then it's just fun to watch other people do it. Yeah, you know, and everybody has their different style.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Oh my gosh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Yeah, it's so it's that's fun too to watch the meeting dynamics change and all of it. And yeah, it's it's still really hard for me.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

I mean, it's it's a whole mind shift of like, okay, Jerry, you're just gonna be teaching and yeah, and you know, I mean, there's certainly a place for you in REA and at WEA Southeast if you want that. Oh, yeah. I completely understand though that that kind of stepping away. You know, that you should be able to be able to go back and have a you know, your last few years of teaching whenever you choose to retire. Yeah, but and just have it be that it's not gonna be calm, but maybe it'll be a little more calm. Yeah, less. But yeah, no, yeah, definitely we'd love to have you on the rep council, on the as a delegate to um Yeah, definitely for Southeast. I would say for Southeast, yeah, no, for sure. Um, gosh, what else? Oh boy, are we all getting text messages? I think we're the same person, probably. Oh yeah, no. Um but I think going back to what you said, it's my phone is ringing. We're just distracted. Going back to what you said about um Kevin Tealy, and Kevin Teeley was who was he the president for? He was the local Bellevue? Not Bellevue.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

I don't remember.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

No. Not Seattle.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

It was a was it the one before, was it the one Kim was?

SPEAKER_01 12:51

No, because I think Kim Meade was president. Now we're talking about people who people don't know. Okay, so anyway, but anyway, Kevin, Kevin was a long time, I mean, he was like a local president for like 30 plus years forever. And it wasn't a bigger local in Western Washington, but we just it might have been like no, Kim was Everett, like Lake Washington or something. Oh, I think it was a place like that. Yeah, and so you know, I like that statement about how when you feel like the union work is doing more good. And I remember when I was working on my national boards, and um, I mean, and mostly it was centered, of course, around my teaching, but in one of the portfolios, you had to do these things that showed like you as a leader, like training you've done and how it's impacted students and everything. And I did have one of my four was about my union work because I'm like, there's no way I can't use this because that was what I did so much of, and it's how I felt like I was giving back. Yeah, so you know, I might not choose to volunteer my time to go to the reading night to play a game with students, but that also was because I was at all these union meetings advocating in a different way, yeah, you know, and so I remember kind of having that thought too about how do I show that this work is meaningful and through my national boards, it was also like how did it impact students? Yeah, you know, and so you know, yes, um we do make decisions that are impacting the wages, hours, and working conditions of our teachers and certificated staff, but it's because our working conditions are our students' learning conditions, and so when you can lower class sizes or get teachers a raise so that they don't have to take on a second job or more planning time, yeah. More planning time, um, you know, compensation for a meeting, yeah, you know, after work, that makes them a better teacher because you don't want somebody who's working from 7:30 in the morning until three at and then they're having to go to their second job from five until 11.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Well, and it makes them feel valued, yeah. So, what's what are your plans for the summer, Jerry? What are my plans? Um visiting family. We've got one kind of little mini vacation, and that's to go see Chris Stapleton. We'll go see him.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Yeah, and where is he playing?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

He's playing in Portland. Oh, okay. So we'll go spend a nice little weekend there. It's a ride around our anniversary. Oh, wonderful. Yeah, wonderful. Um, other than that, just hanging out with the grandkids and the dogs and the kids. Yeah, football. They're doing practice already. So just relaxing, riding the motorcycle, and enjoying our beautiful Tri-Cities weather.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Oh, I know. Yeah, yeah. Jim and I, we are next week, we're gonna go um see my nephew graduate with his um nuclear engineering degree from Oregon State University. So go beavers. Yeah, I think we may have some. Uh maybe maybe one of the ten who listened to this podcast. I don't know. Um, and then at the end of June, we're gonna go to Miami and Key West and then end with a seven-day um Caribbean cruise. So Key West is on my backup list. I was actually looking at them.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

I was looking at it for time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Well, I'll have to let you know because it looks really cool. Okay. So yeah, and then other than that, just hanging out, um, probably taking the month of July off because I need a break. Yes. And then coming back in August and picking up where we left off and continuing the good fight.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yep, yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

And so this may be the last time we say this outro. So I'm gonna say it with Jerry. Here we go. And then we're gonna play our music, and we wish everybody a wonderful couple of last days of school and a wonderful summer.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Yes, rest, get some rest.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Yep. So one, two, three, Jerry, in union, there is strength.