Collective Bargaining Talks

Timeline

July 15 - Teacher organizations submitted collective bargaining proposals for teacher representation to School Board.

October 7 - School Board advises (7-0 vote) Administration that they were not interested in passing the recommendation for establishing a teacher advisory team to discuss wages, benefits, and working conditions. They instead requested that the Administration bring forth a new recommendation regarding an election for the purpose of collective bargaining.

October 21 - school board issues two recommendations (passed 7-0).

1) That the Board direct Administration to work with teacher organizations toward holding an election or elections for the purpose of choosing representative or representatives to engage in collective bargaining with the District.

2) That the Board and Administration, with the assistance of its lobbyist, monitor legislation developed in response to the Supreme Court ruling regarding the rights of teachers to collective bargaining in an attempt to ensure compliance with potential statutory requirements.

Note: There are no indications that any meaningful legislative action on collective bargaining will take place this year. There probably weren't enough gains in the House to get the MNEA bill out of committee . . . and in the unlikely event that another MSTA-sponsored anti-bargaining bill could somehow make it through the legislature, the new governor would almost certainly "nix" it with a veto. Our sincere hope is that a lack of legislative action will not be used as an excuse for our school board to further postpone action on collective bargaining.

November 11 - First meeting with teacher organizations and administration. Discussion centered on establishing bargaining unit - that is, who votes, who is represented. SNEA had previously proposed (July 15) that all non-supervisory employees on the teacher salary scale should be included, as well as nurses and parent educators.

November 21 - Second meeting with teacher organizations and administration. Further discussion of bargaining unit.

December 17- Cancelled . . . SNEA was notified of cancellation on December 15. Reason . . . MSTA reps apparently needed more time to review job description information provided by administration. Meeting re-scheduled for January 13.

Summary: Despite the snail's pace at which these talks are moving, SNEA continues to be hopeful that they will yield positive results toward a teacher rep election and a bargained contract for the 2009-2010 school year. The administration, meanwhile, has dusted off the old Compensation Committee for another season, leaving one to wonder whether the administration is committed to moving forward or maintaining the status quo. The SNEA board discussed this issue and voted to not participate on the Compensation Committee - choosing instead to move forward in talks with school administration and MSTA toward holding a rep election (as directed by the school board) that would lead to real, meaningful representation for teachers in SPS.

Other SNEA News

Congratulations to Debe Livermore (Sunshine), who was elected to serve on the MNEA Political Action Committee, a three-year term.

Martin Luther King Poster Essay Contest - SNEA will be coordinating this annual contest with the help of Dr. Nate Quinn, Director of Cultural Diversity. Local entries will be due in our office by February 1, 2009. Here is a link to the info and entry forms: http://mnea.org/classkids/MLKcontest.htm

Social Security/PSRS - This issue came up as a result of a couple of IRS audits at Missouri districts and has caused great concern among literally thousands of public education employees. MNEA cautions its members about over-reacting to the initial ruling. Education professionals should not be considering drastic career moves in reaction to this proposed change. Every education organization in the state and virtually all the lawmakers are working with the SSA to either postpone or rescind this ruling. The MNEA website is a good source of info on the topic: http://mnea.org/news/SSA_PSRS.htm

Social Security Penalties, GPO/WEP - Hearings were held in both houses of Congress last year regarding this issue. There are two key elements in play this year . . . a new administration in the White House and a free-falling economy. The Obama administration promises to tackle this issue - indeed, the Democratic platform listed the rescinding of GPO/WEP as a priority. The estimated $80 billion it would take to rescind GPO/WEP could be a real concern, given the current economic climate.

School Board Election - Three incumbents (Bruce Renner, Andy Hosmer, Kris Callen) are seeking to retain seats on the school board. Local attorney, Eric Jensen, who was recruited by a local community group, has also been circulating petitions. SNEA will conduct candidate interviews and issue recommendations prior to the April election.