You Did It! Melissa is covered!

Greetings! In just a few short hours, so many of you responded that our friend and colleague Melissa Ring will be covered until the end of the school year! In fact, there were more than enough days offered (close to 100!), so we will be contacting you within the next week or two only if we need your donation. You can expect to receive a simple form by mail indicating you are donating one day of sick leave to Melissa. Just return it to us at OEA, and we'll take care of the rest.

For those who wondered, this is separate from your one time, one-day donation to the Catastrophic Leave Bank. Members who have donated to the bank are eligible, if approved, for fully paid sick leave after all other paid leave has been exhausted. (See Article 11.6 of our contract for a full explanation.) In Melissa's case, since she was not in the bank, she was not eligible for this benefit. Be sure to remind your colleagues to sign up for this important OEA benefit if they have not already done so. Application forms will be available again next September, and the only qualification is that you have at least 21 days of accrued sick leave.

On behalf of Melissa, thank you again! Your generosity is truly inspiring. It is wonderful to know that we have each other's backs, and then when one of us is in need, we will rally around. That's really what a union is all about. With gratitude, Betty Betty Olson-Jones, President Oakland Education Association