When a decertification petition threatened years of hard-won protections, INEA members organized building by building.
Rebecca Mace teaches library media at Independence Academy. She cares deeply about her students. But caring, she will tell you, is not enough. "I teach because I care, but I am Union to make sure that my voice and the voices of all educators are heard," Mace said, "because caring alone isn't enough without protection and support behind it."
That conviction was put to the test this school year when the local MSTA affiliate launched a decertification effort aimed at removing Independence NEA as the exclusive bargaining representative for more than 1,000 certified educators across 30 buildings. The effort was backed not by a groundswell of teachers, but by a former superintendent now serving as a district financial consultant and a small number of agitated MSTA members. Their goal was to strip INEA of its certification and replace a legally enforceable contract with a meet-and-confer process, one that would carry no legal weight under Missouri law.
The stakes were not abstract.
Without the contract, Independence educators stood to lose everything they negotiated, including:
- Their salary schedule
- 100 percent district-paid base healthcare premiums
- Planning time parameters
- Guaranteed employee leave days
- Leave buyback at retirement
- Grievance procedures
The campaign began months before the petition window opened. Leaders and building representatives started mapping all 31 buildings, having one-on-one conversations with colleagues, and identifying new leaders. By fall, they had built an organizing committee and trained reps to carry a simple, factual message:
THIS is what our contract gets you, and THIS is what disappears without it.
Every dollar, every protection, every right to speak up without retaliation would have been on the chopping block.
When the petition window opened in January 2026, INEA launched an 11-week communications campaign that layered every tool available.
- Testimonials featuring respected teachers from many buildings highlighted the importance of the union in the district.
- Short videos from INEA leaders broke down contract wins on healthcare, pay, and planning time, and hit social media the same weeks.
- Text messages and emails reinforced each video with follow-up conversations. Building reps carried the message in person, aiming for contact with every single educator in their building.
- Building reps carried the message in person, aiming for contact with every single educator in their building.
INEA did not wait.
The approach was deliberate and layered. Every channel reinforced the others; phone calls and hallway conversations started the dialogue; testimonials from fellow educators added credibility and depth; and social media kept the stakes visible week after week. The message never wavered.
"When we organize and advocate for educators, the entire district benefits," said Jenn Roth, a K-5 music teacher at Three Trails Elementary and INEA building representative.
By the April 1 deadline, the petition had failed to reach the required signature threshold. No election was called. The contract stands.
INEA President Jorjana Pohlman, a teacher of the deaf at Bingham Middle School, put it plainly: "I've seen what happens when educators stand together, for our students, our profession, and one another."
What Independence proved is something every local in Missouri can learn from. When members talk to members, tell their own story through every channel they have, and organize to protect what they have won, no petition can undo what solidarity has built.
SB, Spring 2026