Florida’s Young Remarkable Educators (FYRE)
Connect with other early career educators!
Education Support
Professionals Committee
Amplifying the voices of our support staff!
GrassRoots Education
Action Team
Political advocacy for public education!
Human Civil Rights-Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee
Fighting for equality for all!
IN YOUR SCHOOL & DISTRICT
Any member can become a leader within their school or work site by being elected as an HCTA Rep. HCTA members at each site elect HCTA Reps; the number they can elect depends on how many members are at the school or work site. One Representative and one Alternate Representative are elected for each twenty (20) teacher members or major fraction thereof and for each twenty (20) ESP members or major fraction thereof. Each site has a minimum of 1 Teacher Rep and 1 ESP Rep, and an alternate for each.
HCTA Reps serve as the elected representatives of the union to help improve teaching and learning conditions, and school climate. They are the site’s elected delegates to the HCTA Representative Council (a monthly meeting that typically takes place the 2nd Thursday of each month throughout the school year) and are a tremendous resource for members. HCTA Reps advocate for members’ rights, forward member concerns to HCTA, disseminate union information and materials, and facilitate member mobilization. Only HCTA members are eligible to vote or run for HCTA Rep positions. HCTA Reps receive inservice points for attending Rep Council, Union PD, and other eligible union meetings.
DISTRICT COMMITTEES & TASK FORCES
By contract, all district committees must include employees who may be affected by that committee’s decisions. The HCTA President appoints members to district committees giving members an opportunity to influence decisions on things such as textbook adoption, school calendars, and a variety of other issues.
HCTA PAC
The Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association PAC collects voluntary contributions from Association members and uses those contributions for political purposes, including, but not limited to, making contributions to and expenditures on behalf of friends of public education who are candidates for local office. Contributions to the PAC are voluntary; making a contribution is neither a condition of employment nor membership in the Association, and members have the right to refuse to contribute without suffering any reprisal. A member may contribute any amount, or may contribute nothing at all, without it affecting his or her membership status, rights, or benefits in HCTA or any of its affiliates. Contributions or gifts to the PAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.
The HCTA PAC is fueled by educators like you, coming together to fight for real leaders at the local level, regardless of political party. Make your voice heard: Please donate today!
IN YOUR COMMUNITY
We strongly encourage our members to be active advocates for the rights of educators, students and public schools in Hillsborough County and the State of Florida.
E-ACTIVISM
HCTA offers members a direct connection to become an Electronic Activist. Members can register to become a part of the FEA Action Center. Members will automatically be updated on key issues that are being acted upon by the Florida State Legislature. Members can view FEA position papers, monitor session bills, and contact your Legislators, all with the click of a mouse.
UNION COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES
By becoming involved in union committees, task forces, caucuses, and programs, members have the opportunity to shape union policies and positions, and influence changes in public education at the state and national level.
ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES
Advocacy covers a wide range of activities, from simply providing a community with information about a particular issue to litigation and lobbying efforts. Advocacy activities that you can participate in:
- Attending & speaking at school board meetings Signing petitions
- Writing articles, letters and op-eds
- Making phone calls
- Educating people in your community about the issues and what our legislators are doing
- Assisting with non-partisan voter mobilization
- Assisting with organizing community events, such as community forums or rallies
- Educating local leaders about the issues you face on a daily basis as an educator
- Participating in HCTA and HCPS committees
- Participating in conferences discussing issues surrounding educators and public education
- Attending training sessions to learn skills and strategies for successful direct action organizing
- Participating in lobbying efforts at the state level and actively supporting litigation efforts, such as FEA’s lawsuit regarding the 3% retirement contribution
If you are interested in participating in any of these, please contact your HCTA Staff Rep or your Building Rep.
BUILDING REPS
Building Reps (or Association Representatives) are elected representatives of union members at each work location. They play a key role in ensuring that all elements of the contract are adhered to and in representing their fellow HCTA members at conferences, investigatory interviews, or informal grievance proceedings.
Building Representatives have a special legal status that allows them to engage in member advocacy without being bound by traditional restrictions on employee conduct. When representing members, a building representative is considered an equal with administration. This equality principle allows the building representative to put forth demands and counter demands, and to debate and challenge the statements of the administration.
Teacher Representatives
- Teacher Association members in each work location can elect one representative and one alternate representative for each twenty (20) Teacher Association members or major fraction thereof.
- Each work location shall be entitled to at least one Teacher representative and an alternate.
- Where there are two members or less, each HCTA member will automatically be listed as a representative. This is done so that those work sites receive all pertinent information.
ESP Representatives
- ESP Association members in each work location shall elect one representative and one alternate representative for each twenty (20) ESP Association members or major fraction thereof.
- Each work location shall be entitled to at least one ESP representative and an alternate.
- Where there are two members or less, each HCTA member will automatically be listed as a representative. This is done so that those work sites receive all pertinent information. HCTA’s Representative Council is held the second Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM at 3102 N Habana Avenue, Tampa, FL 33607.
Find Your HCTA Staff Rep
We encourage representatives to use the following templates to create “contact” cards listing who the site reps are and to distribute them to all union members at their work site. To use the cards, download both the “front” and “back” documents. You may either fill in the information in the Word document and then print it, or print it and manually write in the information. Then simply make two-sided copies using the documents.
Another good way to make sure your members know who the reps are at your site is to post the “Your Union Reps” document on the HCTA Bulletin Board. The document has space for contact information and a photo of up to four representatives. You may post more than one sheet if you have more than four representatives at your work site.