Teanna Tillery, the United Educators of San Francisco Vice President for Paraeduators, has been involved with the local for a couple decades, and she wants to do whatever she can to make things better for classified workers.
So, when the opportunity came up to join a group of about 30 educators from around the country (including CFT Classified Council of Employees Southern Vice President Tina Solórzano Fletcher and Steve McDougall, president of the CFT EC/TK-12 Council) going to Capitol Hill to meet with legislators and their staff members, Tillery took it. Along with engaging in professional development and discussing best practices, they lobbied legislators for bills that would make life better for classified professionals and working people in general.
Tillery has talked to representatives in Sacramento before, but this was her first time meeting with them in the nation’s capital.
“Just being in that atmosphere and being able to share our stories from a classified perspective was really empowering,” she said. “It was just, ‘This is something we want to bring to your attention. We know that this bill is going to be coming in front of you, and this is why we would like for you to support it.’”
Tillery and the others spent a day visiting the offices of California representatives such as San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, California Senator Adam Schiff, and San Diego Congressman Scott Peters.
Randi Weingarten, the president of AFT, accompanied them on the trip. Recently, Weingarten spent a lot of time in San Francisco to support the successful UESF strike, and Tillery was glad she joined them in D.C.
“She kind of set the tone and bragged about San Francisco a little bit and some of our recent wins,” Tillery said. “I’m one of thousands of people, so for her to remember me and remember what we had done here in San Francisco, it’s like she sees us and the work the classified staff is doing.”
Like Tillery, Carl Williams, President of the CFT Council of Classified Employees, appreciated getting a chance to share his experience with lawmakers.
“There’s something about speaking truth to power,” he said. “The folks in power need to hear the truth from the people who live it every day.”
The group spoke with representatives about bills like the Pay Paraprofessionals and Education Support Staff Act and the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act.
“That would put extra money in the hands of working families across the country,” Williams said about the second one.
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Often people don’t understand the situation paraeducators like her are in, Tillery observed.
“We don’t receive a pension. We don’t have a retirement plan,” she said. “When we shared this information with our certificated brothers and sisters during our campaign two years ago, they didn’t even know, so being able to have a platform to voice what our needs and our concerns are at every level is always important.”