Petaluma Federation of Teachers
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President's Message - September Update

9/12/2017

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SEPTEMBER 2017
Welcome back. I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing summer. If you are like me, it seems like a distant memory. It is amazing how quickly we get back into school routines.

Hopefully your year is off to a great start. For those of you who are new to our district, welcome. We are honored to have you as a member of the Petaluma Federation of Teachers. This is my second year serving as PFT President. Again this year, I will be teaching second grade at Valley Vista on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday will be my union days. On those days I will be in the office or attending meetings.

We continue to work this year without a contract. Despite much effort by our Negotiation Team this summer, we were not able to reach an agreement with the District. Our existing contract will remain in effect until we are able to ratify a new one. There are two important exceptions that have an impact on our members. The first is that we are able to organize and carryout concerted activities. Our Work to Rule Week last year is an example of a work action or concerted activity.

The second exception is one that favors the District. The District is not required to participate in binding arbitration when we do not resolve a grievance. The District has chosen to use this exception with each of the grievances we filed last spring. Two grievances were related to evaluations not being completed in the manner agreed upon in our contract. Another grievance was filed regarding staffing at Mary Collins at Cherry Valley. The fourth grievance was filed by the Federation when our members did not receive the parity increase the District's own study found to be due. For the first time, the District decided the parity increase was for only the three salary scale placements listed in our contract. The Federation strongly disagreed with the District's questionable contract interpretation and immediately filed a grievance. The District refused to change their position and the School Board sided with them. The District via their lawyer, Margaret Merchat, has informed the Federation the District will not be participating in binding arbitration. It leaves one to question the District's desire to work with the Federation to solve these issues and other problems as they arise.

I would love to come to your site and speak with you in person. You can email me at pftoffice775@gmail.com. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need support.

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
Your Negotiations Team worked through the summer in an effort to secure the best possible contract. Negotiations entered a new phase this summer, pre-mediation. Pre-mediation is much like mediation with one important difference. As in mediation, we had the help of a mediator and we were not in the same room as the District's team. Unlike mediation, the District cannot declare impasse and impose their best and final offer. We have not reached an agreement with the District, and at this time , we are bound by a confidentiality agreement. As always, we are hopeful.

GET TO KNOW YOUR CONTRACT!
You can find our contract and appendices online at pft1881.org. Look under the tab titled Contracts. You can also find it on the PCS website. To find it there go to Departments, Human Resources, and Employee Contracts. Regardless of the site you use, remember to check both appendices too,

Article VIII Leaves

Article VIII is the section of our contract that pertains to leaves . Section C is about Personal Necessity Leave. Please take the time to read this section for yourself. You are allowed to use up to 6 days of personal necessity leave a year without giving a reason. However, you may not use more than 4 consecutive days without stating a reason. Section C.4 states that except in emergency situations, employees wishing to take a personal necessity day will notify the building principal or immediate supervisor no later than noon on the previous school day. Some sites require a form be completed while others do not. If you are asked to complete a form, do so. Remember to leave the reason line blank. You do not have to give the District a reason for your first 6 personal necessity days. Please remember that Personal Necessity is for personal or professional need.

THE FEDERATION NEEDS YOU!
We currently have the following Executive Council Openings:
Kenilworth
Special Services

Please consider joining our leadership team. Contact me at 707-696-5118 or pftoffice775@gmail.com if you are interested in serving.

In Unity,
Sandra Larsen

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President's Message - July Update

9/12/2017

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July President’s Message

Happy Summer. I hope that everyone is having a  wonderful summer break. I know I needed some time to recharge. My husband and I had an incredible vacation and we came home in time for the birth of our granddaughter. 

The Federation has been working through the summer. A special thanks to Dana Morellini and Erinn VanderMeer for working on grievances while I was on vacation. The Federation has filed a grievance asking the District to honor parity, which is in our contract, since it was not included in our final check of the school year. The District's own study found they owed us a 1.82% parity adjustment retroactive to August 2016. The District is maintaining in its response to our grievance that this increase needs to be negotiated. That is a direct contradiction to the message Gary sent to the community. There are also active grievances regarding incomplete evaluations at three sites. In addition, we have been working with our attorney on unfair labor practice charges.

We ended the year with a great show of solidarity. Our one day strike was a huge success. I was so proud of the strength and unity we displayed. Our actions were inspirational to our fellow educators in many other districts. Your June 30 pay warrant had a strike deduction listed if you participated in our Unfair Labor Practice Strike. Take your yearly salary and divide it by 187 (days worked) to see how much should have been deducted. There should not have been any days of leave deducted from your balance for the strike. 

The District and the Federation have agreed to mediation without declaring impasse. The District withdrew their request for impasse to be declared before PERB could rule. That was important because if impasse is declared, the District could impose their last and “best” offer without reaching an agreement. Our first negotiation session with a mediator present is July 26. We will send an update after that session. 

For now, the new school year is rapidly approaching, and we do not have a contract.  Mary Collins at Cherry Valley and Penngrove will start the year on July 19. Executive Council voted at our June meeting to begin the new year as usual. That will give us all time to get our classes settled. It was decided that Labor Day would be the appropriate time to begin work actions if we still do not have an agreement by that date.

I hope your enjoy the rest of your summer break.

In Solidarity,
Sandra

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    Sandra Larsen

    PFT President

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