Oregon Voices Podcast: Episode 8 - Lauren McCartney and Adam Oyster-Sands, BEA United Leadership

Send us Fan MailLauren McCartney teaches at Meadow Park and Tumwater Middle Schools and chaired BEA's Racial and Social Justice Committee. Adam Oyster-Sands is a language arts teacher at Westview High School, a published poet, and the treasurer of the Beaverton Education Association. Together they ran as the BEA United Slate, challenging their own union's leadership from the inside.For years, the Beaverton Education Association operated like a service model. Teachers brought problems to leadership who closed the door and tried to fix things in private. Sometimes it worked, while other times it didn't. Either way, the energy died. Members who showed up fired up for contract negotiations just disappeared once the contract settled. No one tapped into that power.Watching that cycle repeat, Lauren and Adam realized something had to shift. Their union failed to show up for teachers who needed help. Equity work started after 2020's racial reckoning, then just vanished. The same white people kept landing leadership positions without being asked what they stood for. Transparency disappeared.Rather than accept it, they organized. Jane McAlevy's writing shifted how they understood power. A statewide reform caucus connected them with allies, and other teachers showed up, ready to work. The plan they built actually worked.Now listen to what they're building.Guests: Lauren McCartney and Adam Oyster-Sands, BEA United LeadershipHosts: Eric McGuire and Katherine WatkinsThanks for listening to the Oregon Voices Podcast!If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe so you never miss a conversation. Sharing the show with others helps these stories travel farther.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oregonvoicespodcastInstagram: https://instagram.com/oregonvoicespodcastBuzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2550069/episodes/18811599Oregon Campaign Finance Watch: https://orcampaigns.lovable.app/