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President's Message - June Update

6/10/2017

2 Comments

 
Happy Summer!  I don't know about you, but summer break came just in time for me.  This has been an incredible  year.  We  united in our efforts to demand the best possible education for our students  and  a fair contract for our members. I do not have the final numbers, but the participation rate of our ULP strike was very high.  Surrounding districts have taken note of our actions and we made a difference for educators throughout the area. Another added benefit of our working together has been the chance  to spend more time with each other.  Petaluma City Schools  is blessed with a team of exceptional educators. It has been a privilege to work with all of you.
I realize there are many questions about our next steps.  We do not have a contract yet, but there is some good news to report. The District has withdrawn their request for impasse. Instead , we have agreed to pre mediation. That means we will have a mediator present at our negotiation sessions to help us reach an agreement. We will not be at impasse, so the District cannot implement the last offer.  We are hopeful that with a mediator's assistance, we can reach an agreement. We expect to be back at the negotiating table sometime in late July or early August.  As always, there will be an update after every session.
There have also been some questions regarding the District's last salary  offer.  The District is required by our contract (Article 5, Section C ) to complete a parity study on May 10 of each year.  If that parity study shows that  we are not at or above the 50th percentile of the comparison group, our salary is to be adjusted by the amount needed to get us to the 50th percentile.  The study was completed this year and the District found that we needed a 1.82%  adjustment to reach the 50 percentile.  By contract, the adjustment is retroactive to July 1, 2016. The District's last offer of a 2% salary increase included the 1.82% parity adjustment. That meant the District was only offering a 0.18% salary increase. PFT maintains that parity is in our contract and does not need to be negotiated.  We consider the 2% to be in addition to the parity adjustment.
We also stand by our decision to reject the offer as it included a class size increase aimed at our TK-3 students and their teachers. We believe this to be detrimental to the learning environment of our youngest students.
Please take some time this summer to relax and rejuvenate.  Know that we will continue the work we started last year. We will continue to fight for the students of Petaluma City Schools. Together we can and will make a difference.​

In Unity,
Sandra
2 Comments

President's Message May 30 - Next Steps, Part 1

6/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Our one day strike last week was an amazing demonstration of our unity and resolve. We stood together with parents, students, and members of the community to demand the District negotiate in good faith and follow state labor laws.

This week I have been in contact with our legal advisers as well as receiving counsel from CFT and AFT.  Executive Council will meet next Monday to plan our next steps. If you have ideas or concerns, please talk to your site rep before Monday. I will send another update after that meeting.

In the meantime here is what I can share at this time:
1. The District filed for impasse last Friday. Impasse means the District has requested a mediator. At this time, we are asking PERB (Public Employment Relations Board) to deny impasse and direct the District back to the negotiations table. We should know their decision within a week.
2. The District filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Federation. Our legal representatives will help in our defense. 
3. Suzanne Garcia , our chief negotiator , requested the District return to the table. The District insisted on impasse.
4. We are pursuing that the District  make the necessary parity salary adjustment as per our contract.Look for an important update next week. Until then, happy last week of school.

In Unity,
Sandra  
Copyright © 2017 Petaluma Federation of Teachers, All rights reserved.
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President's Message from May 19 - Negotiations Update

6/10/2017

1 Comment

 
PFT’s Negotiating Team met  with the District until 8:00 pm tonight  to negotiate  open articles in an effort to avoid Wednesday’s strike.
Agreements were reached on all but two outstanding issues (Concerted Activities and Wages).
The District will be meeting with the School Board in a special session Sunday to discuss the last two PFT proposals. We will be awaiting a response from the School Board. The Federation will be informing  the District Monday morning of our plan to strike Wednesday to protest their continuing unfair labor practices. We have planned a negotiation session for Monday morning and will notify of the outcome of that session.
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President's Message from May 10 - Negotiations Update

6/10/2017

1 Comment

 
Petaluma Federation of Teachers
Negotiations Update
May 10, 2017
PFT started the session by stating:
  • We expect proposals in contract language, rather than summaries for the community. 
  • Language from previous Federation package offers, that have been declined by the District, are no longer on the table (Psych, SLP and nurses’ salary schedule).  
  • Promises of a consideration of an increase in salary is unacceptable and not a serious offer, especially in light of the District’s very real increases to theirs.
The District responded with another package proposal written in the same form as their previous package.
It included:
  • A parity increase of 2.18% - 2.43% for three placements on the salary schedule ONLY (Step 1/Column I 2.43%, Step 10/Column IV 2.18%, and Step 25/Column IV 2.43%). All other placements would receive 1.5%. All retroed to July 1, 2016. (see below for an explanation of what this means)
  • Psych, SLP, and nurses salary schedule language from PFT’s last package 
  • Increased school site class-size average for TK-3 (no exact numbers included)
  • Willie Brown MOU for 2 years
  • 48 hours notice of PFT’s proposed meeting language (not PFT Co-Chair of District Meetings). 
  • 2 year MOU to suspend one professional development day - .5% increase in per diem.
  • Two teacher workdays “primarily dedicated” as time for teachers, but still with a potential ½ day meeting for one of the two days
  • Continue committee work with Stipend committee
  • Ratify all previous TA’s
  • Status Quo on all other open articles not addressed in package (No Concerted Activities)
  • Extend the agreement to a three year agreement (2018/19) rather than the 2 years we previously TA’d 

The District announced they had completed a preliminary parity study as described in our contract (ARTICLE V, C p.3). The Federation is entitled to compensation comparable to five parity districts.The results seemed to be good news for the Federation. Members would receive up to a 2.43% parity adjustment. However, the parity study is incomplete. The District informed the Federation that their interpretation of parity meant that parity adjustments were to be applied specifically to only the three salary scale placements listed in our contract. (Step 1/Column I, Step 10/Column IV, and Step 25/Column IV)  All other members would receive a 1.5% salary adjustment. In other words, the only members who would get the 2.43% increase are those who are at those exact places It seems this proposal serves to divide the Federation, rather than bring the salary schedule as a whole to a more comparable level.  The Federation has requested a complete version of their study and calculations used.

The District continues to include language that allows for a ½ day meeting across a teacher workday, for an efficient opening of school. The Federation contends the extra language is unnecessary as administrators and teachers are certainly capable of working together in these situations. 

PFT did accept the package and countered with two proposals: 
  • An MOU for 2017/2018 for Willie Brown with a 5 year reduced workload program limit
  • PFT reserves the right to concerted activities (labor rights) by law.
PFT Rationale
There is no reason for the District to arbitrarily limit Willie Brown (Reduced Workload retirement option) to two years. Five years gives retiring members much more flexibility while potentially saving the District money.

Our labor rights are NOT negotiable. We are faced with a District that gives its administrators significant raises while leaving only scraps for the Federation. Had we been under contract, it would have been illegal to conduct our “work to rule” action. Our membership cannot proceed without our rights to use its labor power.  “Concerted Activities,” the right to use labor actions, must be protected.

The District stated that with the School Board’s direction, concerted activities is a non-starter and that impasse would need to be filed if PFT feels the same. Due to time constraints, the meeting was not continued. There was talk of scheduling another session, but nothing was confirmed. 
 Leafleting continues next week. We need your help. Wednesday, May 17 at 5:30 @ McKinley 
Thursday, May 18 at 5:30 @ Grant
Thursday, May 18 at 5:30 @ McNear

Your voice and participation matter! Thank you for your support and dedication to securing a fair contract for teachers and specialists. 

1 Comment

President's Message from May 2, 2017

6/10/2017

1 Comment

 
Work to Rule has been a tremendous success. Well over 95% of all permanent PFT members are participating. The District's actions demonstrate how alarmed they really are. They are looking for ways to divide us and to weaken the support we are getting from the community. These attempts are only making us stronger and bring us closer together. As evidenced by the memo the superintendent sent out this afternoon. Why does he always send these correspondences late in the day? 
Here is our response to the District's latest "offer" 
PFT Response to April 27, 2017  District Package Proposal

 
The District has chosen to make their latest proposal to the Federation public. This is an unusual action in itself as they have never done so before. That is a strong signal that our actions are having a significant impact.

First this offer was not written as a proposal instead it was written as a message to the community. It has been our practice to submit offers in contract language, not a summary of intent. Language is extremely important in a contract and all parties must agree to the wording of each article.

The District presented this summary as a package deal. Meaning the Federation had to accept all the terms. Nothing could be changed. This was an all or nothing proposal.Below is a summary of their "offer"

Salary 
The District's proposal was that if there is money left after the unaudited actuals are completed, they might be able to offer the Federation a 1.5% increase. The "offer" did say the increase would be retroactive for the 2016-17 school year. They also restated their commitment to comparable compensation. In addition, they offered to reduce our days worked to 186 and pay us the 187 workday salary. That is equal to a .5% pay increase.
 
Concerted Activities
The District proposed status quo meaning that we would have no right to concerted activities. This is an attempt to take our power away. If the District doesn't find that money in September, we would be powerless to do anything. They proposed this contract last for three years. We would be powerless for three years.
 
Psychologist/Nurses/Speech Pathologists
The District is saying they will accept the Federation's proposal to increase salary for those listed above by adding 8 days to their work year and compressing the salary schedule. The Federation withdrew that offer and wants to pursue a salary schedule that offers comparable compensation with other districts.  

Willie Brown
The District reinstated this program, but put a two year limit on it. After the two years, the member would retire. We currently have a ten year limit.

2  Non- Tasked Days to Prepare for School Year
The District's language states the days will be primarily used for teachers to work in their room. They also want to include language that acknowledges that administrator meeting time with teachers is an integral part of an efficient opening of school. Basically they just rewrote this article to look better, but it does not give us the 2 non tasked work days.

48 Hour Advanced Notice for Meetings
The District once again reworded this article in an attempt to make it look like they have changed their stance. It now states if they don't give 48 hours notice, we may or may not attend. How perfect for a district that really doesn't want teacher input or value shared decision making.

TK -3 Class Size
The District proposed an increase to class sizes for tk-3 ( increase the 24 state hard cap per site average for tk-3 class size)
We will continue to negotiate for a contract that is beneficial to our members. We are strong and united and the District will soon realize they must present a real offer that will benefit all our members.

Upcoming Events      Remember to wear your t-shirt
Wednesday, May 3  Leaflet San Antonio Open House - We will meet in front of San Antonio High School at 5:45 and stay until 6:15.
Thursday, May 4 Leaflet Petaluma Junior HIgh - We will meet at the front of Petaluma Junior High at 5:45 and stay for about an hour.
Friday, May 5  Happy Hour at the Roaring Donkey - Wear your shirt for half off drinks. 


We have replenished our t shirt stock. I will delivering shirts to sites on Thursday. Email me at [email protected] or let your site rep know what you want by Thursday morning.

As always, call/ text ( 707-696-5118) or email ( [email protected])  if you have any concerns or questions. We have a skillful, experienced attorney on retainer and I can get her advice at anytime. You are all amazing and together we are making a difference. 

We've got this!
In Unity,
Sandra
1 Comment

    Sandra Larsen

    PFT President

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