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Be willing to be a beginner every single morning. 
-- Meister Eckhart
Q & A with Kent King
MSTA Executive Director Kent King talks about the Supreme Court’s ruling on collective bargaining and what it may mean for Missouri teachers.
(This interview appears in the fall 2007 issue of School & Community magazine.)
Q: You’ve been studying this ruling since the end of May. What’s your take on it?
A: The court decision basically stated that school districts have to meet with teachers and live up to any agreements that are made. It creates an opportunity for teachers to become involved and empowered at the local level where, in some cases, they may have never had the opportunity before. The ruling is one step in a journey to claim what’s rightfully theirs: Respect, recognition and reward.
Q: What does the ruling mean for teachers this year?
A: The practical application is that teachers may not see much of a change right away. In many districts, teachers already are sitting down and negotiating with their administration. But in those places where it doesn’t occur, it means the end of business as usual. You get to have your say even if you don’t get your way. The court decision did not prescribe a process by which school districts and employees will interact and stated that due to a lack of state statutes on the issue of bargaining collectively, school districts will have the final say on the process until the General Assembly acts. Legislation will be introduced this upcoming session to set the rules, and MSTA will be a part of that process — as it always has been.
Q: What does the ruling mean for CTAs?
A: It gives the CTA an opportunity to reflect on its purpose and mission and what its members value at the local level. It could be wages, benefits and working conditions, but it might also include educational programs and procedures. For too long, teachers have not been at the decision-making table and they should not only be at the table, they should be at the head, facilitating the meeting.
Q: What should CTAs do to prepare for the negotiation process?
A: Come to the MSTA convention and get training, go to our Web site, and contact MSTA about our next scheduled workshop on bargaining collectively. You need to look at our legislative program to see what we hope to implement to improve the voice of teachers. Now is your time to become more active in this arena.
Q: What kind of legislation will MSTA introduce?
A: Unlike the traditional union approach, one that wants to monopolize who represents teachers, we’re calling for an approach that is more collaborative in nature. MSTA has always believed that all groups and educators at the local level should get a seat at the table where all can be heard. We live in a society founded on a representative form of government, and this model will work in a local school district as well. Hopefully, we’ll fashion something with no strikes, no lockouts and no exclusivity. Everyone gets a say.
Q: Is MSTA creating a model for bargaining collectively?
A: Yes. We‘re creating a sample model, but we also will provide real-world models that are currently in place. CTAs can use these models to construct a negotiation structure that fits their particular needs.
Our staff will be available to assist when questions arise, keeping in mind that the actual negotiation process occurs with the teachers and the board or administration team at the local level. If you need help, we’re going to teach you, but in the end you’ll be at the helm steering the local CTA ship because that’s how negotiations work. MSTA will supply you with the tools, training and support you need to be successful.
Q: Will MSTA become a union?
A: Truthfully, we’ve always done what a union does. We’re involved in the political process and the negotiations process. We fight legislatively for funding and defend teachers when employment-related problems arise or when legal assistance is needed. We will continue to do all those things.
Q: Why did MSTA oppose collective bargaining in the past? Isn’t that also part of being a union?
A: Real simple: freedom of choice. MSTA’s philosophy has always been freedom of choice, which is why we walked away from the National Education Association in 1972. We didn’t like being told that we had to join a national union in order to be a part of a local group. We don’t like agency shop, where you have to join a union as a condition of employment. We’re the Show-Me state — being stubborn on the rights of an individual teacher or a group is all right.
We also couldn’t ignore the fact that traditional collective bargaining usually leads to work stoppages, strikes, lockouts — all of which hurts kids. In the public sector, these tactics simply don’t work very well. In too many instances, you have to cut staff or programs to live up to the terms of the contract if taxpayers don’t fund any increases that are agreed to.
There has to be a more professional way.
Q: You often talk about a three-pronged approach when it comes to empowering the profession. Would you explain that?
A: Bargaining collectively by itself doesn’t solve the problem that teachers currently have, which at its root is the fact that nobody is really listening. That’s why I encourage our members to look at least to a three-pronged approach.
One, we’re going to provide workshops beginning at the state convention that deal with negotiations and the tools involved in that process. Along with that, we’ll be introducing our legislative program designed to impact salaries and some benefits, namely a statewide salary schedule.
It is MSTA’s goal to provide teachers a state-funded salary schedule that recognizes their commitment and training as well as being mobile, transferable and competitive. (See the Agenda column on page 4 in this issue.)
Two, we’re going to provide training for those interested in school-board elections and provide the tools and techniques necessary for successful elections at the local level. We need strong education candidates to help direct the programs at the local level.
Three, we’re encouraging our members to become even more active in the election of state legislators through our PAC and through campaigning for the candidates of their choice.
Q: Looking ahead to future years, what do you see as the defining issues?
A: The biggest issue for educators is follow-through on a vision to recapture our position as respected professionals on the issue of public education. The hardest part of this journey won’t be the first step; it will be the third, fourth and fifth steps.
Our tough job will be for the teacher to take the necessary action to ensure that the child’s best interest has a parent and a professional classroom teacher working cooperatively for that child’s future. It doesn’t depend on me; it depends on all of us.
Closing the door to your classroom and hoping things will get better will no longer cut it. If change is going to happen, it’s going to be because teachers finish the journey they have to undertake. You, the classroom teacher, are the voice they need to be talking to, but you have to talk.