Editorial: We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For!

By James Brown, MNPS Chief Steward

In what came to be one of his great rhetorical flourishes, John F. Kennedy said to us, “ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country”.

There's a very basic truth in what President Kennedy said. He was not speaking merely of simply turning out to vote, though voting is certainly a part of a citizen's obligation. He was telling us that we have to get involved so we can be informed.

So it goes beyond voting. As citizens, we need to know what's going on in our community so we can ultimately cast an informed vote. We need to know who our elected officials are, including local representatives on city councils and school boards. We need to know what those people stand for and what they're working on. And they need to know what's important to us.

When I'm out and about, members will commonly ask me what “the union” is doing about the new handbook, or they'll ask how “the union” is defending our benefits. What people seem to forget is that “the union” is US! It’s not the folks in the office on Nolensville Road—they are there to give us the tools and training we need to succeed, but its up to all of us to pay attention, get involved, and look out for ourselves. “The union” is only as strong as its weakest member, so we have to ask ourselves… when was the last time I attended a school board meeting? Have I spoken to my school board member about the changes that Dr. Register has made in our support employee handbook? When was the last time I’ve been to the union meeting? What have I done to strengthen our union in my workplace?

As the holidays get closer, let’s take a moment to reflect on how much better our workplaces would be if all of us—food service, ed. assistants, secretaries, campus supervisors—did our part and worked together to build strength and solidarity. What if we all asked not what the union can do for us, but rather what have we done for ourselves? Right now, people all across the country are starting to understand this—especially the people involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement. So whether it is getting a fair disciplinary procedure, or having a voice in our handbook, or asking for a school board that is not just a rubber stamp for the school director, we have to remember that we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. If we don’t do our part and get involved, we get the government (or employer) that we deserve.