National Negotiations Update #4 (Week ending 3/2/07)

Welcome to the latest National Negotiations Update. Currently there aren't any districts on strike that I am aware of, but I have made some job action additions and corrections to StrikeWatch on the right. If you don't see your local on this list, please contact me at drhomeslice (at) hotmail. com .

Alaska

Anchorage- the Anchorage Education Association stormed the school board meeting. There were so many of them that the Anchorage police were called. An arbitrator's report is expected soon, and it will not be binding-- simply an opinion.

California

Bakersfield- The Bakersfield Union crashed the school board, protesting the transfer of a principal (go figure) and demanding a contract settlement. A mediator is supposed to come back March 7.

Campbell- Campbell Union High School District teachers are working to the rule, and have been for quite some time.

Everywhere- The California Faculty Association's executive board has agreed to put a vote to the rank and file on whether or not they want to begin job actions (which includes the possibility of a strike). This would occur on all of the campuses of California State University.

San Bernardino- Teachers at Big Bear Lake have been working under their expired 2005 contract. Negotiations are not going well.

San Mateo- San Mateo Union High School District isn't moving fast enough on their contract negotiations with their teachers, so teachers from three other school districts with them. You may remember this is the district that changed the amount of money they were taking out of the teachers' paychecks in the middle of negotiations. The union appealed to PERB and their complaint was upheld.

Santa Barbara- The teachers' union got a 3% raise retroactively through the 2008-2009 school year in the tentative contract agreement this past week. Coming to an agreement now prevented the district and union from having to endure fact finding with PERB.

Illinois

Elgin- Elgin Community College are picketing and will be meeting with a mediator. If the meeting doesn't work out, they will file a 10 day strike notice. It's the first time they've done that since 2001, the only strike in their local's history.

Dixon- The Dixon Education Association approved a 4 year contract. Lots of details here.

Indiana

South Bend- Cassopolis Schools Education Association ratified their contract, a two year deal retroactive to this school year. The most interesting part of the contract was the raise. Teachers will receive a 1% increase this year and a 2% increase next year. However, raising insurance rates will decrease the teachers' raise. Here's how: If insurance costs raise no more that 5%, the teachers' raise will not be affected. For each percent above 5% of an increase in health care costs, .1% will be subtracted from the teachers' raise. With health care rising each year in double digits (or very close to that) they will probably see at lease half a percent of the raise go to some insurer somewhere.

Massachusetts

Stoneham- For almost a year, the Stoneham Teachers' Association has been trying to get a new contract negotiated.

Michigan

Lansing- The school board unanimously approved the contract. Now we can put this sucker to bed. (See past NNU's for info on this local).

Northville- The Northville Education Association's contract expired in September of this past year, and negotiations have not been productive. The school district asked for fact finding, but it won't begin until the end of the school year (with one week left) in June. There's a great explanation of what fact-finding is attached to this article.

New Jersey

Pequannock-- Pequannock Township Education Association has asked for a mediator after the decision to hold contract negotiation sessions open to the public. They will not be broadcast over public television, but that is a later possibility.

Pennsylvania

Everywhere- The Bulletin follows the recent legislative attempts to outlaw teacher strikes.

Philadelphia- City College of Philadephia's union does a practice strike.

Coraopolis- The 65 member union rejected the latest Board contract offer and also approved strike authorization, though they have not set a date yet.

Rhode Island

Providence- As contracts expire between unions and school boards, at some point eventually they will be folded into a statewide teacher contract. Interesting. However, given the fact that Rhode Island is exactly half the size of my backyard, I wonder how many different unions will be affected? (My backyard's not that big, by the way.)

Vermont

Bellows Falls- The Windham Northeast Education Association is awaiting a fact-finding report that their school board can use to impose a contract on the union. The union has responded that if a contract is imposed upon them they have no option other than to strike.

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..."

National Negotiations Update for the week ending 2/2/07

This is an update from the past week regarding negotiations all over the nation. My district's not negotiating this year, but all of this job action type stuff makes me want to join a march or something.

For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.

California
In at CSU (California State University) Monterey Bay, profs shouldered their pickets and marched the quad this past Wednesday. Union Librarian has more here.

San Mateo Teacher's Association picketed their schools and district office after they reached an impasse in negotiations. The district also tried to increase teachers' medical costs prior to the official reach of impasse. The union filed an unfair labor practice and won and PERB declared in favor of the teacher's union. More on the ULP/ PERB ruling here.

Indiana
West Lafayette teachers didn't think their negotiations were going well, so they put an ad out in their local paper.

Massachusetts
In Watertown, Massachusetts the teacher's union marched on their town hall. In true New England fashion, they didn't start chanting slogans or shoulder their pickets until they could see the whites of their opponents' eyes. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Michigan
In Lansing, Michigan the teachers are out in full force. They're picketing the administration building after voting down a contract proposal last week.

Pennsylvania
Negotiations are certainly going on Pennsylvania right now. There are 2 on strikewatch as we speak. This one seems to be going a bit better.

(2/4) Rochester Area School district teachers, cafeteria workers and the like will be going on strike on Monday at 12:01 AM. Read about it here. Change in plan, read more about it here.

What is up with Pennsylvania? It seems as if every district and their mother is in negotiations right now. Perhaps it's regulated by state law. Anyhow, this union in this district wants negotiations open to the public, while the school board says "No, we don't negotiate in public."


Wisconsin
Orfordville's Parkview Schools Education Association is currently working to the rule due to the fact that negotiations have failed and they have been without a contract for three years.

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