A Look Toward Solidarity, Despite the Difficulties

​Before I get into all the issues and events from this past week, I first have two asks:

• This Friday, September 30, REA asks that all members wear an orange in solidarity with our Indigenous students, colleagues, and community members. September 30th, known as Orange Shirt Day, originated in Canada as a day for “truth and reconciliation” around the harm caused to Indigenous people across the United States and Canada, as those governments kidnapped Indigenous children to be educated in residential schools. There, many of these children were killed (and buried in unmarked graves) and many others faced numerous additional traumas. This day looks to remember those lost and honor those who survived. It further seeks for a full investigation and search for murdered children’s remains so that they can returned to their ancestral lands and buried appropriately.
  
  It is important that we acknowledge this history not as something far away, but as something closely connected to the colonization of the land we now call home. The Forest Grove Indian Training School and the Chemawa School near Salem were two such institutions in our area. To date, research has documented 275 student deaths at these two schools.
  
  If you're interested in learning more about these residential schools or get lesson plans, please click here.  

• I actually have two asks. The Reynolds School Board is once again meeting in person (although you can view them online as well) at the Wood Village City Hall next to the Edgefield Campus. Their September meeting is this Wednesday at 7 pm. Wear red and bring a friend (invite your classified colleagues as well!).

Now to the issues... Approximately 200 REA members were impacted by the District’s payroll issues. I am unsure the number of classified staff that were similarly impacted. Several of us in REA leadership met with the District on Thursday to discuss this issue. The causes of this are multi-faceted. Lack of communication seemed to be at the core of all of them. There was a communication breakdown between the District and new hires around direct deposit paperwork. There was a communication breakdown within the District itself stemming from the vast amount of employee turnover. While the Finance Department and Human Resources have worked quickly to correct these errors and get staff their money (when underpaid/unpaid), some staff are still awaiting direct communication from either Finance or HR about the next steps due to overpayments. None of this is easy on staff and we believe most of it was avoidable. Granted, mistakes do happen, but this is the second time in 2022 that payroll mistakes were made due to poor communication within District departments. If any underpayment causes you to miss a payment due date (mortgage, etc.), please email me at [email protected].

Other major concerns REA is continuing to work on and advocate around (beyond individual member concerns) focus mostly on issues around the District moving the CTP program and many other staff to the Four Corners location, and workload/caseload issues, mostly for SLPs and others in the Special Education department. Our goal is to address these issues to the best of our ability via the Substitute MOU, which is still in the works. Please watch the Bargaining Updates page for any developments on the Substitute MOU and on an In-Person MOU. We have proposed language which will re-open access to the COVID sick leave bank. In the meantime, if you are out with COVID, please make sure to mark your absence as COVID-related in iVisions. 

In Solidarity, 
Jeffrey Fuller
​REA President