Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/669580
Bargaining Roundup Details of these stories at cta .org/bargainingupdates, #OurVoiceattheTable YUBA CITY: S P E A K I N G O U T F O R T E AC H E R S Community members, parents, and Yuba City Teachers Asso- ciation (YCTA) members have been attending Yuba City Unified School District board meetings in Sutter County in support of students and teachers. But a take-it-or-leave-it style of bargaining combined with the district's distortion of what's happening at the bargaining table prompted teachers to take to the streets in their fight to invest in attracting and retaining the best teachers for Yuba City students. Local businesses are posting signs of support as word gets out that despite a $17 million increase in funding this year and a 42 percent increase in revenue over the last four years, the district refuses to reach an agreement with YCTA. PASADENA: FAC T- F I N D I N G TO R I G H T W R O N G S United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP) and the Pasadena Uni- fied School District have been certified by a state mediator for fact-finding aer two days in mediation failed to break a negotia- tions stalemate. Key issues in dispute are counselor and librarian ratios, an adequate salary increase, layoff rights, and the district's proposal to transfer staff involuntarily for whatever reason it deter- mines is "in the best interest" of the district. UTP has escalated an already substantial organizing effort, picketing, rallying, packing school board meetings, writing letters to the editor, and leafleting Pasadena homes to inform parents and voters that the school district is losing quality teachers. Despite serving an affluent area, district salaries are among the lowest in Los Angeles County. "We know the district should and can do better," says UTP President Alvin Nash. "We know there is new money in the budget through Proposition 30, and our members are ready to do what it takes to get a fair settlement." OROVILLE: D I S R E S P E C T L E A D S TO I M PAS S E Nearly three decades of collaboration and trust in Oroville, Butte County, was broken when the Oroville City Elementary School District board voted down a tentative agree- ment 5-0, forcing the Oroville Elementary Teachers Association (OETA) to file for impasse. Oroville teachers say the vote is disrespectful. "We have kept teaching and learning front and center in our negotiations for nearly 30 years using interest-based bargaining (IBB)," say OETA Co-presidents Tim Thompson and Shauna Butler. "The board's action dishonors our work and the work of their own bargaining team. We believe our children and our community deserve better." OETA and the district forged a tentative agreement last Decem- ber. In early January, OETA members ratified the agreement, which provided a 4.3 percent salary hike. The school district is receiving more than 14 percent in new and ongoing unrestricted funding this year, thanks to Proposition 30. UPLAND: S TA L L E D TA L K S OV E R H E A LT H B E N E F I T S In Upland, San Bernardino County, the Upland Teachers Asso- ciation and the Upland Unified School District are at impasse and have now gone through mediation and fact-finding. Both parties agreed to meet one more time on April 14 before the fact-finding report is issued in an attempt to resolve the stalemate. Over the past several months, UTA members have been engaged in strong organizing activities, including well-attended rallies at school board meetings. While the issue of raising salaries to make Upland more competitive has largely been settled, a harsh health benefits cap has stalled talks. According to Debbie Glenn, UTA negotiations chair, salary proposals offered by both parties are nearly identical. "The main difference in the parties' proposals is in regard to health insur- ance," Glenn writes in a recent opinion piece. UTA has proposed redirecting a part of a salary bonus to offset any increases in health insurance costs next year, and to allow time for the parties to work out a long-range cost-saving approach that will not place all the burden of future increases on employees. 34 cta.org