Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper to STRS Board, 9/20/18: You are invited to the Toledo COLA forum at your convenience

From Dean Dennis: Below is OFT's President, Melissa Cropper's, address to the STRS Trustees on September 20, 2018. A little background is in order in order to appreciate the context. 

OFT was trying to meet members' needs by arranging a forum regarding our COLA. The forum would have taken place on September 26. I was in fact invited as one of the speakers, as were a couple of STRS Board Members. The forum was canceled because OFT could not find any board members to attend. When OFT learned why, President Cropper make it a point to drive to Columbus and address the STRS Trustees. What follows is her speech: 

Melissa Cropper's speech to the STRS Board, 9/20/18 

As an elected person, I understand that I have certain responsibilities to the people who elected me. I have a responsibility to be accessible. I have a responsibility to listen to concerns. I have a responsibility to be responsive. Sometimes I agree with the concerns that are brought to me, and sometimes I disagree. When I disagree, I have a responsibility to not only explain why but to also listen to the other side and try to come to some understanding or solution. I also take direction from my Board and not the other way around.

We have all seen what happens when people feel like their voices are not heard. We saw the Women’s March on Washington D.C. , the teacher walkouts across the nation, and more specifically, the teacher protests over pension issues in Kentucky. These protests all had two things in common. One – they happened because people felt like their concerns were being ignores. Two – they started with a Facebook page. 

Our members across the state have been increasingly interested in the decisions and actions of the STRS Board. In fact, their engagement over the time that I have been involved with OFT has increasingly grown. They understand that you all have a very difficult job to do, and they appreciate your work, but they are frustrated that they can’t watch a Board meeting unless they drive to Columbus, and if they do drive to Columbus, they only have three minutes to express a concern with no actual interaction with Board members, and they cannot even send an email directly to a Board member.

Our Toledo President decided to respond to those concerns by inviting elected board members to a meeting with our members about their concerns. You see, our members believe that we have a board that is both appointed and elected for a reason. Appointed members represent the concerns of those who appointed them, and elected members should represent the concerns of those who elected them. Both should listen to the concerns of those they represent, bring them back to the board, and ask the difficult questions on our behalf.
We were shocked when we heard that Board members will not attend that meeting because they have been advised by STRS to not attend any meetings where the COLA is being discussed.

I am sincerely hoping that this has been a misunderstanding or misinterpretation, and since I was not directly involved in those discussions, I want to extend an invitation to you today for our meeting on Sept. 26. If that date doesn’t work, let us know what date will work, and we will accommodate. 

Thank you.