Sandra Schroeder
Bio
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AFT Vice President
Current Union president of AFT Washington, three terms
Union president at Seattle Community College, four terms
WFT Community College Council Vice-President, representing faculty issues
at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, two terms
WFT Treasurer and Secretary
Local grievance chair and negotiator
Project staff for American Federation of Teachers in California, 1998
Labor ’98 coordinator for AFL-CIO at the Washington State Labor Council for
the 1998 state and federal elections
WFT Lobbyist for the 1998 legislative session
Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, Equity Campaign for Part-Time Faculty
Twenty years as a faculty member at Seattle Central Community College
Sandra Schroeder is serving her third term as president of AFT Washington after
being elected in May 2001 as president of the then-titled Washington Federation
of Teachers. She has lived in Seattle for thirty years and taught English at
Seattle Central Community College since 1979. She was president of the Seattle
Community Colleges Federation of Teachers for four years and held several
seats on their Board, including grievance chair and Vice President for Part-Time
Faculty. She also held seats on the AFT Washington Board including Secretary,
Treasurer, and Vice President for Community Colleges. She has served as an
AFT Washington lobbyist and as a project organizer for AFT and Washington
State Labor Council. She serves on the board of the Washington State Labor
Council. She enjoys the challenges of teaching but is equally devoted to the
challenge of union work and advocacy for faculty and other educational
employees.
Under her leadership, AFT Washington has scored many victories. On the
organizing front, in 2001, the organization fought off a raid by an independent
group against one of its locals. In 2002, it organized a local at the state’s newest
community college, Cascadia and continued local building at a Head Start local
organized in the previous year. In 2003, AFT Washington in partnership with AFT
began a project to organize child care teachers around the state. In 2002 after
creative and committed lobbying and mobilization, AFT Washington influenced
the Washington state legislature to enact a bill allowing four-year faculty to
engage in collective bargaining, creating the potential for organizing up to 8,000
new faculty in a joint organizing campaign with WEA, the Washington Education
Association. There are currently organizing campaigns on three university
campuses, and Central Washington University won its election in June 2004.
During 2003 and ’04, a new retiree chapter was formed, the AFT Washington
Retiree Chapter Local 8045R.
During the nation’s economic downturn in 2009-2010, AFT Washington joined
the fight to protect Washington State’s future and actively lobbied to keep
funding for education and find new revenue to fund education, health care, and
other human services. As a result, the Legislature passed a supplemental budget
that restored the state’s $2.8 million budget deficit without the raising sales tax.
Also in the legislative action arena, AFT Washington has protected equity funds
for part-time faculty during legislative budget crises, continuing to secure funds,
even though in smaller amounts, in the tradition that began a decade ago in
activism for part-time and adjunct faculty. Additionally, the organization has
presented a workshop devoted to bargaining for part-time faculty in addition to its
yearly workshops advising part-timers on the intricacies of applying for
unemployment. AFT Washington has won several legislative victories for parttime faculty in addition to those for all faculty, such as regaining increment
funding in 2004. AFT Washington fought for rights for classified school
personnel, such as absolving para-educators from the requirement to give
medical services to students and helping food service workers to protect kids
who must work in school kitchens.
In 2002, AFT Washington developed a multi-year strategic plan through a
comprehensive member survey. As a result, the organization has increased its
capacity to communicate with its members through print and electronic media,
has made organizing new members within its existing locals a top priority,
developed a new COPE contribution process, and upgraded the office
technology to enhance efficiency. AFT Washington has increased its
involvement in the labor community and in issue-based coalitions. It has worked
to provide an enhanced training program for its locals and to help locals provide
better services to members.
In 2004, AFT Washington is making political action its top priority and is actively
working with members to enhance their capacity to mobilize members both for
voting in and volunteering for the 2004 election campaigns.