[Editor’s Note: As contract negotiations continue between the Teachers Union and the Culver City School District, Union President David Mielke filed the following report with his members on yesterday’s session.]
Hello friends —
First, thanks for all the energy Thursday morning.
Participating in a state-wide (and nationwide) demonstration for our schools had to feel good.
For those who need more, our state organization, CFT, (California Federation of Teachers), is sponsoring a walk from Bakersfield to Sacramento.
First come, first served.
It's a 48-day walk, starting tomorrow, but you can join at any point in the walk. The “March for California's Future” arrives in Sacramento on April 21.
Your CCFT Bargaining Team (Claudette DuBois, Casey Chabola, Amy Maldonado, Natalie Gualtieri, Kevin Cronin from the CFT, and I) met with the Management team Thursday afternoon.
When we met last week, management proposed five furlough days for next year and five for the year after next.
They did not respond to our issues: Elementary prep time, Evaluation procedures, Combination classes, and class size limitations for special ed classes and specialists.
Yesterday, they did address those issues: They said “no.”
We were surprised by this lack of movement. Our team was expecting that the administration might move on some of our issues as they work to persuade us to accept five unpaid furlough days.
But we were wrong.
Our team, nonetheless, did offer a conceptual response to CCUSD's proposal on furlough days.
We have looked at the budget numbers.
We don't disagree with CCUSD that furlough days will be needed, at least for one year, to get through this crisis.
We have been saying for months that we would do our part, but that management would need to lead the way on the cuts. Our proposal reflects that point of view.
We agreed, pending some additional concessions from management, to their proposal for five furlough days for next year. We disagreed, though, with the administration's proposal that all employees take those five unpaid days. We proposed that administrators take eight furlough days, teachers take five, and classified employees take three.
Why should employees living paycheck-to-paycheck take the same number of furlough days as employees making thousands of dollars each year in “mileage allowances”?
In addition, we are seeking additional concessions from management, including reclassification of some District office administrative positions to lower pay rates, elimination of mileage allowances and paid vacations for administrators, and reductions in consultant expenditures and legal fees.
It is important to understand that we have to take these furlough days to prevent CCUSD from laying off teachers.
They were very clear with us; take furlough days or accept layoffs and large class sizes.
Given the fact that we have not come to an agreement yet, many teachers will receive March 15 layoff notices. We anticipate that they will be withdrawn if we can come to an agreement with CCUSD.
You should understand that our furlough structure saves the same amount of money as CCUSD's proposal.
We are resisting CCUSD's proposal for two years of furlough days. First, we will be receiving one million dollars in that second year from Measure EE, the parcel tax, and second, we are pressing CCUSD to offer an early retirement incentive program next year in the hope that some veteran teachers (28 of us are at the top step) could be encouraged to retire, and then be replaced by teachers at lower rates of pay.
The School Board meets again next Tuesday night. It would be helpful for teachers to attend and to encourage the CCUSD administration to accept our proposal.
Please don't hesitate to contact any member of the bargaining team, your site rep or me (310.837.5760) if you have questions or concerns.
And again, thanks for standing up for our schools.
dave mielke, pres. culver city federation of teachers/aft.
Mr. Mielke may be contacted at davidmielke@ccusd.org
