Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/619098
Vista: Educators Avoid Strike, Win Raises In early December, members of the Vista Teachers Association (V TA) in San Diego County ratified a contract settlement pro- viding salary and bargaining improvements and avoiding a strike. "anks need to go out to all of our mem- bers, because together we are strong and together we make a difference," says V TA President Tod Critchlow. eir new contract includes a 6 percent increase to the salary schedule retroactive to July 1, 2015. Beginning next school year, the calendar will increase from 180 to 182 instructional days. In addition, new hires (as well as those hired since 2005) can receive up to 10 years of service credit for teaching in other dis- tricts instead of six. And starting July 1, 2016, the Vista Unified School District's contribution to health benefit costs will increase by $300 per full-time VTA member. Paradise: New Contract Aims to Stem Attrition "We care about our kids and about this community," says Christine Dunlap, president of the Teachers Association of Paradise (TAP). "We know the best way to improve is to put a quality teacher in the classroom." at message and parent support helped TAP recently settle a drawn-out contract dispute that educators hope will pre- vent quality teachers from leaving Paradise. Concerned that students were being hurt by excessive turn- over with a loss of at least 34 teachers, TAP members had filed unfair labor practice charges, picketed and worked to the con- tract. Ultimately, TAP's community engagement contributed to the settlement. It makes the top of the new salary schedule the highest in the county and addresses issues around leaves and substitutes. Turlock: Teachers at Impasse Frustrated with their school district's refusal to invest in educa- tors, the Turlock Teachers Association (TTA) filed for impasse in contract negotiations with the Turlock Unified School District. " Teachers are fed up with making financial sacrifices for a district that does not respect our dedication, professionalism or expertise," says TTA President Julie Shipman. While salary is a concern, teachers have filed several unfair labor practice charges against the district over the last few years. Teach ers want binding arbitration as a solution . "It costs the district nothing," Shipman says. "Now they 've spent upwards of $50,000 in legal fees for the two major hearings we've had — and they 've lost each one of them. They 're short- changing students." CAVA Teachers Protest at K12 Shareholders Meeting Teachers from California Virtual Academies (CAVA), the state's largest virtual charter school, as well as CTA and NEA members demonstrated outside of a shareholder meeting of CAVA parent company K12 Inc. in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. CAVA online educators say the for-profit education company is failing its 15,000 students. Fight for Five In mid-November, California Faculty Association members and students from all 23 Califor- nia State University campuses converged on the Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach in their Fight for Five Campaign. Faculty members are seeking a 5 percent pay increase aer years of no or negligible raises. CTA Vice President Theresa Montaño, professor of Chicana/Chicano Studies at CSU Northridge, was among the marchers (at right). "People are suffering and hurting financially," Montaño says. "Faculty members can't pay off their debt, raise a family or buy a home." 44 cta.org CAVA teachers deliver a failing report card to parent company K12. Credit: Ed Gutierrez