David Mielke, the venerable President of the Teachers Union, dusted off the union’s adjustment proposals for the new school year and gave them their first public airing at last night’s School Board meeting — on Irving Place, by the way.
Congenial and outgoing, Mr. Mielke, a casual dresser, is well-liked, and whenever he enters the Board room, someone always remarks about his attire, especially when the Buffalo native is wearing full-length pants, as he did last night.
On the evening that Scott Zeidman was promoted to President and Karlo Silbiger was elected Vice President, officially there was no response from the five Board members to Mr. Mielke’s official introduction of proposed terms.
However…
If you remember how your parents reacted, with a barely concealed frown, when you brought home a date they felt was far beneath your standards, the frown of yesteryear was briefly resurrected by the Board last night.
Later, after Kathy Paspalis was elected Clerk of the Board to round out the roster of new officers, Mr. Mielke spoke privately about the atmosphere surrounding contract negotiations that are under way.
“There will be some interesting news in early January,” he said. “You may remember that last spring we filed a complaint with PERB, the Public Employment Relations Board, charging CCUSD with an ‘unfair labor practice.’
“In a nutshell, we charged the District with a specific violation called ‘direct dealing.’ According to the law, employers must deal with their elected representatives — in this case, the union — and not bargain directly with employees.
“Steve Gourley (President of the Board at the time) emailed a number of our members. In fact, he outlined his own bargaining proposal that was different from the District's proposal. This prompted us to file the charge.
“A preliminary hearing will be held in January,” Mr. Mielke said.
“One of the District's defenses is the ‘it’s a free country.’ Essentially, they are arguing that Board members cannot be prevented from exercising their free speech rights. It may turn into an interesting case.”
Here is the proposal that Mr. Mielke submitted to the District:
November 17, 2010
Ms. Leslie Lockhart
CCUSD
4034 Irving Place
Culver City, CA 90232
Dear Leslie,
We’ve completed the process of surveying our teachers, and this opening bargaining proposal reflects their concerns.
As we head into the bargaining process, our teachers have asked me to remind you that we’ve already made the largest concession we’ve ever made: taking 5 unpaid furlough days this year. CCUSD came to us last year and asked us to help the district through a fiscal crisis by accepting furlough days. We agreed. We’re hoping that CCUSD will respond by agreeing to these items that are important to us.
Article 32: WAGES
• The five-year waiting period to move into the K-12 longevity steps shall be eliminated.
• One new longevity step shall be added to the OCD and K-12 salary schedules.
• Longevity increments shall be developed for Adult School teachers.
• The stipend schedule shall be modified to address current inequalities.
• One new stipend, at 20 percent of full-time pay, shall be established for elementary teachers teaching a combination class.
Article 31: HEALTH AND WELFARE
• Annual premium increases shall be split equally between CCUSD and bargaining unit members.
• The annual dental maximum benefit shall be increased from $1,500 to $2,000.
• Cash in lieu of medical insurance shall be increased from $3,000 to $4,000 per year.
Article 26: CLASS SIZE
• State caseload maximums for specialists and special education classrooms shall be added to our collective bargaining agreement.
• The current system of class size maximums being determined by grade-level or departmental averages shall be replaced by absolute maximums for individual classrooms.
Article 25: HOURS OF WORK
• District-called meetings shall be held on minimum days and shall be limited to three meetings per month. (This provision builds on and codifies the current “meeting-free” minimum day agreement signed last year to provide additional prep time for elementary teachers.)
• Sick leave balances shall be communicated to teachers either on monthly pay warrants or in an annual sick leave balance statement.
Sincerely,
David Mielke, President
