National Negotiations Update #3 Week ending 2/16/07

California
Ventura County-- California State University employees protested again this past Wednesday, wearing shirts that said "I don't want to strike but I will". I've worn that button before.

Victorville-- Read about it here.

Colton-- Colton Teachers' Association just voted in a 14% 3 year contract retroactive to the 2005-2006 school year. 95% of the membership favored it. I'd like to find the other 5% and slap them for voting no on a 14% contract raise.

Carlsbad Unified Teachers Association and CUSD have declared impasse; the state will cocme in and mediate soon. The union wants 6.9%, the board is offering 2%.

Paradise-- Working to the rule no longer! The teachers' union still has to vote, but the board has approved a tentative raise of 11%.

Banning-- BUSD (Banning Unified School District) and its union reach a settlement on their contract, a 9% raise over three years retroactive to the beginning of the '06 school year.

Burbank-- The Burbank Teachers Association and BUSD have reached an impasse after 5 months of negotiations. A mediator will come into the picture in a few weeks. It turns out it was the board who broke confidentiality at the public section of the meeting by disclosing negotiation terms that were supposed to be secret.

Everywhere-- The California Faculty Association is getting closer to rolling strikes on 23 California State University campuses.

Santa Barbara-- Teachers want 6%, board offers 1.5%, negotiations go to fact finding, but the word strike buzzes around the board meeting attended by 400 Santa Barbara teachers. They now go to fact-finding/ arbitration phase, which could take a while. Well written article.

Conneticut
Stafford-- The Stafford Education Association got a 3 year contract with a 6.8% raise spread out through the 3 years of the contract. Interestingly enough, they got it in arbitration.

Florida

295 charter school teachers have voted to be represented by the United Teachers of Dade. Way to go, but it's a right to work state.

Illinois

Round Lake-- 95% of Round Lake Education Association members are ready to strike, says the President. Negotiating since June, the Chicago suburb's local is disappointed with offers by the board whose offers top out at almost $110,000.

Iowa

Fort Dodge-- Iowa Central Community College and the Iowa Community College Education Association have begun contract negotiations. Initial offer by the college was a 3.52% raise, the union wanted 5.75%. Future sessions will be in private.

Indiana

Bluffton-Harrison Teachers Association and the Bluffton-Harrison M.S.D. School Corporation came to an agreement over a contract after 16 months of negotiation-- and only one arbitration session. Way to go!

Maine

Wiscasset Teachers Association sat silently at a recent school board meeting to show their disapproval with the fact that their contract is going to mediation, something that's never happened before in the small Maine burg.

Massachusetts

Southwick-- Southwick's teachers' union approved a 4 year contract with retroactive raises after 2 years of negotiations.

Newton-- Newton Teachers' Association ratified a 3 year contract containing an 8% raise.

Michigan

Lansing-- The sickout that I wrote about in earlier editions of the NNU have some lingering effects. The Lansing State Journal wrote an editorial this past weekend chastising both administrators and teachers for their reactive bargaining techniques. The local has had meetings to introduce the teachers to the new contract (closed door, of course) and they have been voting on whether or not to ratify it. An announcement will not be made until after President's Day. UPDATE 2/17: Over 90% of teachers ratified the contract which will include a 3% raise over three years. Read about it here.

Gaylord-- A one year, half-percent contract was approved by the Johannesburg-Lewiston School Board and Education Association for the 2006-2007 school year.


New Jersey

Philipsburg-- Their contract expired in July, negotiations are not going well, and now the teachers union has begun to picket.


New Hampshire

Allentown-- Residents of Allentown have to vote to accept the proposed 4 year, 4.25% teacher contract.

Tennessee

The teachers' union says one member of the school board is negotiating through the media. She's requesting public information and then sending it to the media. I think they can do that on their own, thank you very much. The Board President says 'Yep, she's doing it and I can't stop her..."