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Chapel Hill-Carrboro NCAE Credits Organizing for its Growing Success!
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Since 2015, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Association of Educators (CHCAE) has increased its membership by 80 percent. This year alone, even with a pandemic raging all around us, it netted a growth rate of 30 percent. As a result, the local has earned the title of the fastest growing NCAE affiliate in the state, moving from one of the top 25 locals to cracking the top 10 list! The NCAE News Bulletin reached out to CHCAE leaders President Sally Merryman and Vice President Brian Link to talk with them about their secrets to success. Both stressed how proud and honored they are to have the local recognized by NCAE for its efforts. NB: What is the secret (or not) to the growth of your local?
Merryman: There is no secret and it’s not magic. It’s organizing! When we came on board back in the fall of 2015, we had no idea what we were doing. We didn’t have a full complement of ARs and many of them weren’t yet actively engaged. The load fell primarily on us and our fellow officer Kimberly Manning (former NCAE Black Caucus state president). Boy was it a lot of work! Slowly but surely we found our sea legs and learned to identify committed leaders who would amplify our collective voice at each of our sites. With a little bit of gentle but prolonged encouragement/nagging, we now have a district-wide set of team leaders as well as ARs at most of our worksites. This has helped us have a direct connection and increased visibility to most of our established members and prospective members too.
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NCAE News Bulletin
Link: Cause, communication, courage, commitment and a little bit of craziness! NB: In addition to the 30 percent membership increase since the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, share another accomplishment the local has achieved during the pandemic that you are most proud. Link: If I had to pick one moment, it would be when our interim superintendent used data from a district-wide staff COVID survey that we independently developed and circulated to make the case to keep schools closed at the start of the second semester. Comprising of more than 1,100 employee responses garnered in less than a week’s time, the survey persuasively conveyed staff’s many concerns about COVID and having to potentially return during the onset of a third wave. We listened to our members and colleagues, organized their voices, and worked to have their opinions elevated, heard, and respected! We also ensured that our district followed the science to keep us all safe. Our district did not vacillate. Instead, it was the first to
keep schools closed and one of the last to begin reopening schools, keeping student, staff, and community spread low. When the decision was made to return to in-person learning, we worked with the superintendent and school board to spend federal relief money to upgrade HVAC ventilation, secure N95 masks for staff, place portable air purifiers in many building spaces, and maintain social distancing requirements. We also worked with them and the community health partners to get COVID vaccines at a school site so that most staff could have at least one, if not both, shots before returning. NB: Obviously your leadership has a lot to do with the success of your local. Share how the two of you work together as a team and what each of you brings to the table. Merryman: We didn’t know each other before becoming officers. I’m the one who handles most of the day-to-day details, manages our calendar, runs meetings, and sends internal and public comments to the board. Brian drafts most of our comments. He’s the brains (Continued on page 5)
