Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1060790
Campbell District Members Settle — for Now After months of organizing and mobilizing to support their bargaining team, members of the Campbell High School Teachers Association (CHSTA) will vote on a tentative contract agreement Dec. 11-12 that would pro- vide a 3 percent raise — more than the 2 percent the district had been stuck on. "We may have settled, but we are not satisfied," the CHSTA Executive Board said in a statement to chapter members in high-cost Silicon Valley. "We still believe the district and the school board can do a better job of attracting and retaining quality teachers." The raise, retroactive to Aug. 1, 2018, is not enough in a district with healthy reserves of about $20 million and teacher turnover issues, said CHSTA President Kim McCarthy of the pact that covers only this school year. The fight for the raise galvanized teachers, and that ground- swell will help when CHSTA returns to the bargaining table in January with the Campbell Union High School District for negotiations on next school year's contract. "For all the mobi- lizing that we did, we have people who are clearly activists now who were not before," McCarthy said. See CHSTA.net for the latest. Monterey Peninsula College Faculty Reaches Tentative Agreement After five years without a contract, negotiators for the Mon- terey Peninsula College Teachers Association (MPCTA) and Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) administrators reached a tentative agreement. The agreement calls for a 1 percent salary increase for full- time faculty and a 4 percent increase for part-time faculty. "This will not bring MPC faculty salaries into the median, but faculty are hopeful that it signals a new era where faculty, administrators and board members work collaboratively to make MPC more competitive by attracting and retaining quali- fied faculty," said MPCTA President Lauren Blanchard. Over the past 10 years MPC faculty salaries have fallen 7 to 20 percent below other area colleges, making it a challenge to recruit and retain faculty. Over half of MPC faculty are part time and work multiple jobs to make ends meet. The agreement extends from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2019, and must be approved by a vote of the faculty and MPC Board of Trustees. By Cynthia Menzel, Mike Myslinski, Ed Sibby and Frank Wells. #OurVoiceAtTheTable Banning Headed to Fact-Finding After a three-day strike in August, relations have not improved between Banning Teachers Association (BTA) and Banning Unified School District (BUSD). After five hours of negotia- tions, district officials had proposed a 1 percent increase in salary — but only if BTA agreed to student class size increases. BTA and BUSD are now headed to fact-finding. During the strike, Banning parents stood with educators. Starting in November, BTA has again reached out to parents and community with forums and workshops to educate and empower parents and students as BTA awaits the fact-finding report. Some of the 150 parents who enjoyed a "Strike Support" appreciation dinner hosted by Banning Teachers Association, one of several community engagement events. 46 cta.org Advocacy Campbell High School Teachers Association members take to the streets. Photo: Mike Myslinski