If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – and NEA-New Hampshire will be right there fighting with you.
This year, Middleton Education Association bargained for their first contract ever. While the first vote before the legislative body was unsuccessful, they didn’t give up. They reorganized and engaged in a comprehensive public education and voter mobilization campaign to ensure their second attempt was successful.
In June, the Middleton Education Association’s contract passed—by just one vote—after failing 97-134 just months before.
“It felt historic,” said Alison Hayford, co-president of Middleton EA. “It felt like this is the beginning of this chapter. I just felt really proud because I knew we worked really hard and put in a lot of hours, building it from the ground up.”
Quote byAlison Hayford , Middleton Education Association Co-President
Hayford has been an educator for seventeen years and has worked in the district since 2020 as a part-time art teacher. She shared that she and her colleagues were a little nervous and fearful about speaking out in their community. But they learned that “having a union isn’t a big radical thing."
The seventeen members of Middleton EA worked hard to pass the contract because they saw it as an investment to create a community in which they know people will stay, because they can depend on a contract.
The Middleton EA contract focused on working conditions for educators, including: protected planning time; sub pay if they have to cover another class; a sick bank; and professional development funds to help staff continue to learn and grow as educators.
Educator working conditions are student learning conditions and Middleton EA knew that happier and healthier teachers who feel valued by the community and school will be better and more effective teachers. To get that sense of security and protection, members did things that were outside of their comfort zone. With the support of NEA-New Hampshire staff through the M.O.M. Program, they went to school board meetings, called voters, and sent postcards.
During their end-of-year party, NEA-NH Eastern Region UniServ Director Peter Miller dropped off the batch of postcards for them to personalize and address to voters in their community. They stopped everything to write them—some members still in the pool.
“It really bonded us as a staff,” Hayford stated.
Hayford also credits important one-on-one conversations with stakeholders, including budget committee members, and a commitment to transparency as key ingredients to their ultimate success. While the budget committee did not recommend the first contract proposal, after renegotiations and open dialogue, the local budget committee did recommend the second contract.
“There seemed to be a lot of feelings of distrust. Peter encouraged us to reach out to the budget committee members. We asked them what they wanted to know about the contract and what was not clear. Just asking that question, I think helped sway a vote back into our favor because that person felt heard,” Hayford commented.
In reflecting on their efforts to unionize and pass their first contract, Hayford noted the importance of acknowledging the political climate and the threat that teachers are under.
“It doesn’t feel as secure as it used to, to just be a teacher and do your job. There are outside threats to this. By myself, I can’t do much. But together, we can protect what’s sacred to us. [The union] is how we have a voice,” Hayford said.
She amplified and modified an often-repeated adage—educators may not be interested in politics, but politics are interested in you.
Hayford concluded: “We just want to teach, but we can’t do our job if we don’t fight for our rights and our pay.”
