NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE FROM WCTA
Negotiations Updates for the 2009-2010 School Year
Check Back for updates.
Negotiations Clarification by President Denise Fry - 2/22/08
I'm writing to provide additional information relating to the Herald Mail article in today's newspaper about last evenings negotiations session as I'm sure you will have folks asking questions.
I remind you that sometimes information is incomplete when presented in newspaper articles. I also ask that you remind teachers that the membership will ultimately be the ones to ratify the work product that comes out of the negotiations process.
Three bullets need additional information:
Bullet 1· requiring two night meetings for teachers each school year (the missing piece here is that if this is accepted the two evening events would offset one work day thus making our work year 189 days plus 2 evening events with a duration of no more the 2.5 hours per evening)
Bullet 2· extending the number of weeks teachers have to pay their union dues from 10 weeks to 16 (the missing piece here is the word "pays" which should be used in the statement instead of weeks thus reducing the out of pocket cost per pay)
Bullet 3· direct deposit for money for the teachers association. (the missing piece here is that we simply want the check we receive from WCPS of your dues money direct deposited.)
Please don't hesitate to contact me or Jeff Farr if you or any member have additional questions. We're making progress but have a ways to go before we have a total package to share with the membership. Please remind folks that what is addressed in the newspaper article is just the very beginning of the process and that we soon hope to be able to share a few more significant items.
Negotiations Update - Feb. 24, 2008 From Jeff Farr.
When the media reports that agreements have been met or signed at this stage of negotiations, it's technically correct but not perceptually accurate. What we are doing this year is signing off on agreed issues as resolved rather than waiting for a bundled take-all package at the end. The final agreement must be approved by the WCTA Board of Directors and ratified by the general membership before the language becomes official and binding on all parties.
Thursday's public negotiations session produced two such preliminary agreements:
Payroll deductions for association dues will be spread out over sixteen pays
instead of the current ten, thus offering a bit better
cash flow and minimizing a price point objection when recruiting new members.
The BOE has also agreed to electronically transfer the deducted dues--a huge time and cash flow savings over current practice.
Both parties also agreed in principle and tentative language that members will participate in twice yearly evening meetings of up to 2.5 hours (think Parent Night) each. In return for doing what we honestly should be doing anyway as we partner with our communities, the BOE proposes teachers receive what is essentially a pass on an end-of-year professional development day. That's a pretty good trade-off for something most of us do anyway.
Language allows alternative service for those unable to attend the evening event(s) due to conflicts such as needing to be the parent at a Parent Night elsewhere or perhaps because of a need to attend or teach an evening class.
We'll post the language when finalized. Stay tuned. More, and arguably bigger, issues to follow. As always, questions, comments, advice, and epiphanies are welcome.
Posted 2/21 @ 8:21 PM - The Herald-Mail ONLINE (http://www.herald-mail.com/)
Washington Co. teachers, school board meet publicly
Both sides close to agreeing on several contract proposals
By ERIN CUNNINGHAM
erinc@herald-mail.com
WASHINGTON COUNTY — The Washington County Teachers Association and officials representing the Board of Education met publicly for the first time Thursday to discuss the teachers' 2008-09 contract.
Both sides preliminarily agreed on the following items:
· requiring two night meetings for teachers each school year
· extending the number of weeks teachers have to pay their union dues from 10 weeks to 16
· direct deposit for money for the teachers association.
Representatives of both sides said they are close to agreeing on several proposals. Each side brought forth items for discussion, in addition to salary and benefits. The current three-year contract expires in June.
"We are very close in almost all issues," said Jeff Farr, chief negotiator for the teachers union and a teacher at Antietam Academy.
That is dramatically different from last year's negotiations on portions of the 2007-08 teachers' contract. Those discussions lasted six months and ended in June after state officials declared talks at an impasse in May 2007.
That package, which totaled about $8 million, included a 7 percent raise for teachers, among other items. The teachers' current three-year contract expires in June.
Tim Thornburg said Thursday that this will be a "lean year," and next year is likely to be the same. Thornburg is supervisor of human resources and employee/labor relations for Washington County Public Schools, and also is the board's chief negotiator.
"We understand the economics," Farr said.
Thornburg said that some salary increases for teachers have been discussed, but no formal proposals have been made by either side.
Current negotiations could have included the full contract. However, each side has selected issues they would like entered into the contract. Those will be discussed along with salary and benefits.
The WCTA has asked for the following:
· changes in temporary leave, which includes bereavement leave and religious observance
· increases in planning time for teachers
· association rights, which includes extending the number of weeks that dues are deducted from 10 to 16, direct deposit to the association's account and e-mail use
· the establishment of a health care committee
· the maintainence of current health care benefits for retirees
· improved contract language regarding a leadership program for teachers.
The Board of Education has asked for the following:
· that teachers attend two mandatory evening meetings each school year, such as a back-to-school night
· a reduction in costs associated with worker's compensation
· a reduction in the amount of time for reassignment of vacated positions
· improved salaries for teachers involved in extracurricular activities
· tuition assistance for teachers interested in moving to a "critical need" area
· a change in the contract language regarding monitoring duties
Thornburg said he believes both sides can come to resolution "very quickly." Both sides said they have been collaborating and that talks are going well.
"We are anxious to work with the board on their issues," Farr said. "We are not aiming high so we can gain low. That's unrealistic."
A Word From Jeff Farr
Negotiations Chair
Apparently, the most effective
result of current contract negotiations is canceling school.
Twice now, the public forum sessions have been postponed due to inclement
weather and early dismissals. The WCTA
Negotiations Committee is currently taking orders for future closings at members’
convenience.
The next scheduled negotiations
session/school cancellation, again open to the public, is at the North High
Media Center on Thursday, February 21, 2008 beginning at 4:30 PM.
With the caveat that nothing’s
final until signed and approved, here’s where we are on some of the issues:
Elementary Planning Time
Both the WCTA and the BOE have
submitted proposals to provide more protected planning time for elementary teachers,
and by extension the rest of us. Focus
is on both carving out some extra blocks throughout the grading period and eliminating
non-planning oriented demands. Some things
we’ll resolve in negotiations, others will probably come about through study
group recommendations.
Extra Pay
Both the WCTA and the BOE have
expressed interest in revising current guidelines and amounts for extra-duty/extra-curricular
compensation. We are slowly, but inevitably
working out the details.
Tuition Reimbursement and
Sabbaticals
The BOE has proposed enhancing
opportunities in so-called critical needs areas as incentives/rewards for teachers
advancing education and certification to meet those needs.
Some issues we’re still discussing
but not yet advancing to negotiations include memorializing the BOE’s current
practice of supplementing post-employment health benefits, cost-saving workers
compensation proposals, fair share or agency fee, monitoring duties, and recruiting
incentives. On some we are working to
agreement. Others not.
OK.
We’ll talk about money. There’s
not much out there. At the present time,
we can’t make any predictions as to how much or if when it comes to a raise
for the next contract period. We anticipate
something in the low single digits with a chance to re-open the issue as circumstances
change over the length of the contract, but that expectation presumes a willing
ear and purse on the part of the county government when they review the BOE
budget request. Here’s where all WCTA
members can make a difference by making the case for investing in us.
Write a letter. Make a phone call.
Talk to your neighbors and create a ground swell among the grass roots.
Or not—in which case we will all get what we deserve.