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Bargaining… How We Got Here. There Was a Time when members felt valued and respected – treated like professionals There were modest raises and benefits were provided by the employer Class size was 20:1 in primary That was then….this is now. State Budget Cuts Harmed Us.
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Bargaining…How We Got Here There Was a Time when members felt valued and respected – treated like professionals There were modest raises and benefits were provided by the employer Class size was 20:1 in primary That was then….this is now
State Budget Cuts Harmed Us For every dollar the State owed WCCUSD, it was paid $.69 cents. The State basically issued an IOU for the rest. ( State unable to meet Prop 98 guarantees) Over a 5-year period, WCCUSD received $40 million fewer dollars than it was owed. This translated to larger classes at all grade levels, and unsafe classes in PE. It meant less prep time, and lost salary (as was forced on UTR in 2009) The members were left demoralized, angry, and mistrusting of their union
State Budget Cuts Harmed Us The District achieved savings on our backs – by capping benefits For the first time in UTR’s history, our members faced huge, out-of-pocket costs with no end in site to increased premiums The switch from “employer-paid” benefits to cost-sharing caused huge divisions among us Member anger and distrust led to a change in UTR leadership – 2010 Member anger also led to distrust of the bargaining process
Small Gains Through Parcel Taxes In 2011, the District recognized the need to stem the loss of funds from the State It’s answer was to seek reauthorization of a community-wide parcel tax The District sought the help of UTR (and the other unions) The parcel tax would keep counselors, librarians and K-3 class size reduction UTR agreed to support the parcel tax – Measure K. It did not receive the necessary 66 2/3% to pass In May, 2012, UTR reached a Tentative Agreement to extend 2 buy-back days for 1 year only
The District Tries Again In 2012, the District approached UTR about the ongoing damage caused by the structural defecit the (-$40 million) WCCUSD sought support from all of the bargaining units to run another parcel tax campaign UTR leveraged this opportunity to get something in return….the District agreed to rescind its onerous Sunshine proposal for full-contract bargaining Bargaining was postponed until January, 2013
Benefits – Getting WCCUSD Back in the Game UTR leadership continues to seek change in how benefits are funded Continuing double-digit health premium cost increases mean our members will be responsible for a greater and greater share of benefit costs This is not sustainable Our bargaining goal – to once again have the employer provide benefits to all members Dividing the “benefit pie” pits member against member and is not a union value
Failure of the Tentative Agreement The Tentative Agreement failed by 33 votes The Bargaining Team’s focus was to get some immediate relief for members for 2012-13 The Bargaining Team will continue with this effort and will also begin work at a 2nd bargaining table for new money coming in to the District from the Governor’s proposal for 2013 and beyond We will seek language to protect new money We are focused on building salary and benefit improvements year by year
Steps to a Successful Tentative Agreement Professionalism and integrity – our disagreements are internal, not external Honor confidentiality Support for TA – Executive Board and Rep Council Area meetings to discuss TA before a vote Tandem presentations by bargaining team members and executive board members Better communication, both verbal and written Accountability – We all own this!
