Bargaining Session #11 Update

      Our final scheduled bargaining session of the 2023/24 school year took place last Thursday, June 6th. We started by tentatively agreeing to Article 3: Miscellaneous and Article 26-C: Social and Emotional Wellness. REA came prepared with two proposed packages; Article 22: Employee Compensation and Article 23: Fringe Benefits, as well as the appendices with the salary schedules and then Article 7: Employee Work Year and Article 9: Teaching Hours. REA also came with a counter for Article 14: Paid Leaves of Absence.
      We made tough choices in terms of where to compromise and make concessions. We came down on our COLA offer to 10%, 9% and 8% over three years. We also removed the 4 non-student contact days we wanted added throughout the year because we are agreeing to two member directed late starts per month. We opted to remove the extra sick days and personal day we had in our initial proposals bringing us back to status quo. We also made changes to longevity pay so that it will begin at the start of year 15 (rather than 10 like we had wanted) but increased the stipends by doubling them. There are some areas, however, we absolutely cannot give on. We cannot accept the district's changes to the insurance pool, which could potentially cause members to have to pay out of pocket for some of their expenses. We are also unwilling to let the district get rid of early retirement for members who are hired after the 2024 school year. We made changes throughout these packaged proposals that we hope the district will thoughtfully consider when creating their counter proposals. 
      Unfortunately, we will be starting next school year without a new contract. Our current contract will still be upheld until we sign a new one, and everyone continuing in the district who would normally get a step increase or longevity bonus will do so moving forward into next year. 
​       REA and RSD will be meeting in late August to review where we left off and plan for bargaining sessions in the fall. REA is proud of the changes we have secured through tentative agreements so far, but we still have a ways to go before we are willing to agree to a new three year contract. We hope we can get there early in the fall so that those changes will take effect for members sooner rather than later. The work we have all put in this year giving input, showing up to bargaining sessions, and supporting one another will pay off!
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