Good morning.
Just about two hours ago we unsuccessfully completed negotiations on the proposed five year successor contract with the school department. The unfortunate outcome came after a marathon 15 1/2 hour bargaining session that concluded this morning at 8:00 AM. The key, but not the only, unresolved issue that remained at the end of the bargain was what monetary value the school district placed on our instructional time. Simply, the department wanted our members to work an additional 45 minutes per day for $13.89, or a rate of $18.52 per hour, well below our hourly rate of $41.03. We could not accept this, and in fact are insulted that the department places such a low value on our value and expertise.
This said, our 15 1/2 session was conducted respectfully and without rancor–the overtime issue was just too much to overcome.
Our membership was represented quite ably by our negotiating team, and we all are sorry that the bargain could not be worked out.
From here the entire bargain goes to state-sanctioned mediation, a process that will likely take the better part of a year or two.
Thank you very much for your support, and we look forward to bringing home a contract that is good for students, affordable to the city and fair to our members.
