Turnout was amazing at this week’s bargaining session! We really stepped up to let the district know we are listening and paying close attention to every move they make. Here’s a run down of what was discussed if you weren’t able to make it:
Article 5: Employee Rights REA brought a counter to the district’s previous proposal and the district came back with a proposal to our counter. We are still working on refining language around the specifics of plans of awareness, which the district had initially tried to strike but is now agreeing to maintain. We are also still working on language in our newly added section Q around when the district should notify members of district-directed changes to instructional models/programming. REA is working to ensure members have a large enough time frame to prepare for changes that come down the pipeline so that we can be the best we can for our students. Article 7: Employee Work Year REA put forth our initial proposal on this article which includes 6 paid holidays added to the calendar, as well as the addition of one more mid-year planning day and four more educator prep days. REA proposed that counselors get four days before the school year starts to prepare for students if they choose. It also included language that new hires get four days to prep before starting work including for those not hired before school starts. REA included a definition of a “balance of the year employee” to mean only those who would work less than 135 days in the school year. This would help ensure that more members earn their step increase and probationary year 1 status even if they are hired after the start of the school year. The district did not bring a counter back to us at this session. Article: 19: Tuition Reimbursement The district brought a counter that removed the limitations on members at the furthest end of the pay scale so they could use 6 credits of tuition reimbursement rather than 2 credits, which they initially proposed. They added language including what credits can be used on, how travel would be reimbursed depending on location, and added a caveat that only one national conference can be attended per contract cycle and would be limited to just 2 credits worth of reimbursement. REA countered with minimal changes but asked that members attending national conferences be able to use all 6 credits worth of their tuition reimbursement if they choose as they should be able to use their 6 credits of tuition reimbursement as they see fit. Article 22: Employee Compensation RSD brought an initial proposal with a COLA increase of 3% next year, 2% the following year, and 1% the year after that. They made changes to summer work pay that, they stated, made things more clear, but REA will have to look into it further to be sure there are not wider implications. RSD removed the January 15th deadline to move over on the payscale so that members would only have the ability to move in September and April. Finally, RSD wants to put a “sunset” provision on early retirement, so that no one hired after July 1, 2024 will have access to the early retirement benefits currently in our contract. REA did not counter in this session. We have some research to do. Article 23: Fringe Benefits RSD presented their proposal without numbers, saying they were waiting on OEBB to share information regarding insurance.They are also proposing that RSD contribute just $100,000 to the insurance pool when the previous contribution was $350,000. Lastly, they are completely striking REA’s ability to use ¼ of our unused insurance allocation on supplemental insurance. REA did not counter this article this session. We can’t negotiate over an incomplete proposal. Article 26 A (SPED), B (ELD) & C (SEL and Wellness): All three of these proposals had few changes. All three of them included a new section on committee protocols which outlined the distribution of minutes and need-to-know information to members of the committee and admin. They shifted language that the committees would “collaboratively plan” to they would “make recommendations”. In Article A they struck the topic of “homelessness/social service needs” from discussion at these meetings, stating these are student services and don’t belong in this article. However, they did not add this into Article C where it might better fit. On top of that, all articles included the same language stating that REA would be responsible for all payroll costs associated with members participation in these committees. REA countered on only Article B, agreed to many of the changes but switched that the committee would “make recommendations” to the committee would “collaborate and make recommendations”. We also struck that REA would be responsible for payroll costs, as these committees all function solely because members volunteer their time to participate and there are no payroll costs associated with it. Your bargaining team has a day time meeting on May 2nd to discuss articles previously opened that need some language finessing in order to meet our demands. Nothing will be agreed to in that meeting and all changes will be presented at our next evening bargaining session on May 7th. A few members from the REA team will also be meeting with the district on May 8th to discuss the teacher mentor program being developed. You really put the pressure on at this last bargain REA! Let’s keep pushing for the changes we want and need in our contract. See you May 7th at 5pm in the RHS library! We had another great turnout at our 5th session on April 9th. Thanks so much to all those who came for the first time and to those who keep coming! Your support means everything to the team and the district needs the continual reminder that they are bargaining with all of REA! Below are the takeaways from this session:
Article 5: Employee Rights
REA will counter Article 5 and introduce our proposal for Article 7 (Employee Work Year). RSD will respond to Article 19 and present initial proposals for Articles 22 (Employee Compensation), 23 (Fringe Benefits), and 26 A, B & C (Student Services). Your continued support and participation are crucial as we navigate these important issues! We look forward to seeing you at the next session! Link to RSDs Full Proposals:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17bTh8Nh9WcRJbrFvHyouj5cPnSIMYs47?usp=drive_link Loss of Freedom & Power
Thank you for your continued support as we meet with the district to strengthen our contract! Here’s the lowdown on what happened at our March 7th session.
Article 3: Miscellaneous
The below chart summarizes the articles opened by both sides, and includes a brief outline of the new language each side is proposing. We also have officially set the dates for bargaining (we can add more as needed). Moving forward, all scheduled bargaining sessions will be held at the RHS library, starting at 5:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you there! Monday, February 26 (Articles to be discussed are Articles 3 [Miscellaneous], 4 [Association Rights and Privileges], 8 [Emergency Closure], 10 [Professional Development], 17 [Employee Work Year], and 25 [Reduction in Force]) Thursday, March 7 Tuesday, March 19 Tuesday, April 9 Tuesday, April 23 Tuesday, May 7 Thursday, May 23 Thursday, June 6 Click here to see the full language of REA's initial proposal.
In September, REA filed a demand to bargain letter to start the process of bargaining an MOU that would re-open the COVID sick leave bank. REA wrote and offered an initial draft MOU for the District on September 19th. The District’s official offer, however, did not come until October 28. That proposal offered access to the bank only after all other leaver was exhausted by a member. Despite a number of changes and attempts to bargain in good faith by REA, the District continues to counter by denying access to a COVID sick leave bank prior to exhausting all other leave and striking nearly all other language. This includes striking any language for the MOU to be retroactive.
REA continues to believe that the District’s offer is a slap in the face. Park Rose School District offered 5 days of COVID sick leave fully paid by the District up front. The Park Rose Faculty Association does not even have to help cover the cost of those days as REA did last year (we split the cost from our Sick-Leave Bank) and has offered to continue doing so this year. Prior to REA’s latest counter, there was no part of the MOU language that was new from what the District agreed to last year. REA has requested time to speak with the School Board about this MOU in their Executive Session this Wednesday, December 14th. It remains to be seen if that request will be honored. If so, we hope that sharing our goals and perspectives with the entire Board directly, along with District leadership, will help smooth out this process and assist in resolving our differences quickly. If this request is not honored, we will be addressing our concerns publicly in REA’s report to the Board and will reach out to Board directors piecemeal through our meet-ups. We also have multiple other MOUs that need to be bargained due to changes in law that impact language in our contract, and to prepare for Summer School, etc. To date, the District has refused to bargain more than one MOU at a time, delaying this work. If the District continues in this manner, a new course of action may become necessary. REA and the District have signed the Substitute MOU, which will now go to the Board for approval. This will hopefully take place at the October 26 Board Meeting. Among the highlights of the MOU:
REA intends to hold a Zoom meeting with members in order to thoroughly discuss and answer questions about the MOU in the next two weeks. REA is currently in negotiations and hope to conclude the In-Person MOU soon. -REA Bargaining Team To begin the school year, we reached out to the district and expressed our desire to work on new In-Person and new Substitute MOUs. The district refused to work with us, so REA filed a Demand to Bargain. The district has now responded, and we are at work on the early draft stages of a Substitute MOU. We should be able to share our initial proposal following our next meeting with the district.
We hope to begin working on an In-Person MOU in the coming weeks as well, once the Sub MOU begins to move forward. We hope to retain access to the COVID sick leave bank and PPE among other things. More word on this soon. Finally, the district has agreed to engage in discussions on the subject of personal appliances in teacher classrooms. The direction these discussions might go and whether or not they would result in an MOU is not yet known. We hope to be able to share more soon. As always, the bargaining team is working hard to protect the interests of REA members and to help make the transition into the new school year as smooth as possible. RSD and REA have reached a tentative agreement on retention, recruitment, and referral bonuses. The agreement is tentative until the RSD Board has met and the MOU documents are signed by both sides. Here are the bare facts with further details to come once the MOU is ratified:
Negotiations around retention and sign-on bonuses are continuing. Negotiations began in late February and the district continues to stall in terms of improving its offer. We are hopeful that this logjam may break in the next week or so. We will keep you informed. Your leadership team appreciates your patience and support.
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