This Edition's Stories:
--They're coming! Ballots in Mailboxes This Weekend
--Walk the Walk. Talk the Talk.
--Set the Record Straight on Measure 58
--OEA Member Featured in "NO" on Measure 60 TV Ads
--Editorial Boards Say No to Sizemore’s Anti-Education Measures
--Don’t Let Sizemore Silence Your Voice
--Register Now for Wordstock for Teachers
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They're coming! Ballots in Mailboxes This Weekend
Most Oregon voters will receive their ballot over the weekend and before casting their ballot, voters need to hear from YOU! Contact your local UniServ office to sign up for a phone bank or OEA's statewide canvass. More below....
Walk the Walk. Talk the Talk.
Survey after survey show that Oregonians trust educators more than anyone else when it comes to how to vote on ballot measures that affect our schools. That is why Oregon voters need to hear from you!
With ballots hitting mailboxes this weekend and election day right around the corner, we need you to get on the phones and on the door step to connect directly with voters. Your story and perspective are essential to help voters understand how harmful Bill Sizemore’s anti-education measures will be to the future of public schools in Oregon. Here's what you can do:
• Sign up for a phone bank today! If each OEA member made just 12 calls, we'd reach all the voters needed to defeat these harmful measures. Phone banks are occurring in most UniServ offices Monday - Thursday evenings and in many offices on the weekend through election day.
• Go door to door. Sign up for OEA’s statewide canvass day on Saturday, October 25th. We're asking you to take just 3 hours out of your day to help get the message out to voters in your local community.
• Call your UniServ office today! They'll have all the information on election related activities in your area.
• Please help recruit your colleagues, friends and family to join this fight.
There is a large coalition of parent, union and school advocacy groups who are organized to defeat measures 58 & 60, but the most important and influential voice in this fight is YOU!
Only YOU can make the difference in this critical election.
Set the Record Straight on Measure 58
Recently there have been inaccurate and misleading reports on the impact of Bill Sizemore’s ill-conceived Measure 58.
The measure, which would limit access to a quality education for tens-of-thousands of Oregon students, is confusing, vague and poorly worded. Even so, what we do know about the measure is that it is a one-size-fits-all mandate that takes away local control from educators, parents and school leaders to determine what’s best for their students and local schools.
Help set the record straight. Send a letter to editor the of the Oregonian or your local paper to help explain to Oregon voters how harmful this measure will be for students and our schools. Here are some sample letters to the editor.
OEA Member Featured in "NO" on Measure 60 TV Ads
Beaverton middle school teacher and OEA board member, Jen Murray is featured in a statewide television campaign to urge a No vote on Bill Sizemore's pay-to-the-test initiative - ballot measure 60. Jen will also be featured, along with OEA President Larry Wolf, on ABC World News with Charlie Gibson's 50 states in 50 days program scheduled to air on October 27.
Watch the video below or go to our Election 2008 website to watch the spot!
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Editorial Boards Say No to Sizemore’s Anti-Education Measures
While we still have an active fight on our hands to ensure the defeat of Sizemore’s anti-education measures, it’s good to see that major newspapers around the state are urging no votes on these bad ideas. Clearly they understand that ballot measures 58 & 60 are wrong for our schools and will do real harm to students and take hundreds of millions of dollars out of Oregon’s classrooms.
Check out what the Oregonian, Bend Bulletin, Medford Mail Tribune, and Eugene Register Guard have to say. And don’t forget to write letters to the editor of your local papers urging a no vote on measures 58 & 60!
Don’t Let Sizemore Silence Your Voice
He’s at it again. For the fourth time, Bill Sizemore is trying to take away your right to make your own decisions about personal payroll deductions. Measure 64 will not only silence the voice of educators, nurses, firefighters and other hard working public servants, it will hurt charities like the Oregon Food Bank, United Way, and the Oregon Humane Society.
Worse, the measure does nothing to limit the political influence of corporations like Enron. And don’t forget, Oregonians have already said no – three times! – to his unclear, unfair and unnecessary attack. To learn more, visit www.dontsilenceourvoice.com
Register Now for Wordstock for Teachers
Mark your calendars! On November 7, 2008, OEA teams up with Wordstock, the international book and literary festival, to present Wordstock for Teachers — a one-day accredited writing workshop designed to provide teachers with hands-on strategies for the classroom as well as inspiration and tricks to improve their own writing.
