Professional Oklahoma Educators

Oklahoma teachers choose independence over labor unions

The trend away from teachers unions continued this spring when teachers in three Oklahoma districts elected nonunion local teacher groups to represent them - a move that locks out the teachers union for three years in each district.

Teachers in Colcord, Mounds and Verden Public Schools held elections in May, following in the footsteps of Hanna Public School teachers, who kicked off this year’s union decertifications with an election on April 7. The four districts join Bridge Creek, Macomb, Strother and Dibble Public Schools in selecting a non-union, independent professional teachers association to represent them.

Verden teachers will be represented by the Verden Professional Educators, and Colcord teachers will be represented by the Colcord Association of Professional Educators. Professional Educators of Hanna will represent Hanna teachers, and the Mounds Oklahoma Professional Educators will represent Mounds teachers.

All of the elected teacher groups are local chapters of Professional Oklahoma Educators, a nonunion and statewide professional teachers association that currently serves more than 4300 Oklahoma educators. The local chapters will function independently, and teachers at each district will select their own local representatives from among the staff.

“The teachers are essentially representing themselves without interference from a state group” POE Executive Director Ginger Tinney explained. “It’s an approach that’s been very successful in other districts because it eliminates the adversarial tone that often results from an outsider coming in to take over the communication between teachers and the district.”

The representation process is part of the Collaborative Communication Model, which all four districts will implement. Tinney co-wrote the model in response to teachers’ concerns with the union’s secretive collective bargaining methods.

According to Tinney, the new model is all about team work and accountability.

“We need a system that allows teachers to stay informed and involved so that they can work with school administration to make the best choices for students,” Tinney said. “The Collaborative Communication Model offers that.”

POE has experienced a more than 30 percent leap in membership during the current school year alone. Tinney attributes the growth to an increased demand from teachers for greater professionalism and higher accountability in their association.

“This is a movement that will continue to grow as more and more teachers learn of its success,” Tinney said. Teachers want to be a part of this process, and they are choosing independence, collaboration and professionalism over the divisive models of the past.”