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- SRP Conference Donations Help Community
- Public Employees Get OSHA-Level Protection
- AFT PSRP Chapter Receives Labor-Management Grant
- Secretaries Fight Privatization Attempt
- 'Temporary' Employees Get Bargained Benefits
- MSP Course Helps Paras Meet Standards
- Service Personnel File Suit For School Bus Safety
- State of School Nutrition 2009 Survey Results
- Baltimore Expands Para-to-Teacher Career Ladder
SRP Conference Donations Help Community
SRPs in New York state recently met in Albany for their annual conference where they enjoyed informative workshops, union solidarity, inspiring speeches and some fun and socialization. In addition to their professional and union emphasis, they also focused on students with their annual book drive, which is a major part of their conference. Every year, SRP conference participants bring a book, or books, to be contributed to a school district. This year participants brought 355 books. This year’s recipient was the Sidney Central School District in Delaware County, which suffered tremendous flooding in 2006.
Sidney superintendent Sandra Cooper was overcome with emotion at the generosity of SRPs when she accepted the books. A lifelong educator, Cooper praised the role of SRPs in the schools, specifically the Sidney SRP local led by Andy Searles. “You go above and beyond. You keep buildings and offices clean, you keep kids fed, you transport them safely to school and you build connections with them,” said Cooper. “You are really unsung heroes in our schools and for this you are now huge heroes to me.” In addition to their book donation, conference participants also donated $2,200 to NYSUT’s Disaster Relief Fund, and a large supply of toiletries to a family shelter.
Public Employees Get OSHA-Level Protection
Any school or public facility can have health and safety hazards that can lead to tragic injuries and work-related illnesses. Thanks to approval from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), public employees in Illinois now have a federally certified entitlement to a safe and healthy workplace because that state is the latest to receive approval to administer an occupational safety and health plan for its public employees. The other states and territory that have similar laws are New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and the Virgin Islands.
Illinois will adopt and enforce standards identical to federal OSHA standards. The plan will be administered by the Illinois Department of Labor, Safety Inspection and Education Division. It covers more than 1 million public workers including educators and state and municipal government employees. School districts and public employers are required to comply with standards. The plan also provides that future OSHA standards and revisions be adopted by the state.
A few examples of standards to be enforced are: asbestos exposure; occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens; access to medical records; and right-to-know laws that detail chemical content and health effects of exposure to any hazardous product used in the workplace. Employers are also required to post the yearly summary of illnesses and injuries in a place where workers can see them. Workers and union representatives are entitled to copies of these records.
Contact Darryl Alexander at dalexand@aft.org or Mike Lohman at mlohman@aft.org in the AFT health and safety program at 1/800/238-1133, ext. 5674 and 4365, for more information.
AFT PSRP Chapter Receives Labor-Management Grant
The relationship between labor and management can sometimes be adversarial and contentious, which does not help any organization accomplish its goals and mission. One way to alleviate tension is to form a labor-management committee. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) provides labor-management grants every year through its Labor-Management Cooperation Grant Program. These grants provide a novel approach to collaborative labor-management communication and problem solving.
When Jillian Verstrate, vice president of the Oakton Community College Classified Staff Association in Des Plaines, Ill., became aware of the FMCS grant opportunity, she contacted the administration, which was receptive to the idea. The union and administration wrote a proposal to improve employee health and welfare and facilitate better labor-management communications. Their collaborative effort, with help from the Oakton’s grant department and the national AFT PSRP department, earned them a $57,559 grant.
“This is called an FMCS labor-management cooperation grant, and we have the desire to work together with mutual respect to really try to impact and change employee wellness,” said associate vice president for human resources Arnie Oudenhoven. “This is the first grant that I have applied for, and I’m thrilled that we received it and will be using the grant for wellness,” said Verstrate. “This is a wonderful project for the classified staff, and that makes it even more special.”
Go to http://www.fmcs.gov/internet/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=39&itemID=22340 for more information about the FMCS labor-management grant program.
Secretaries Fight Privatization Attempt
When school districts find themselves with financial problems, they often see privatization of support services as part of the solution. The economic downturn has starved the finances of many state, county and local governments. In Detroit, the unemployment rate is 30 percent, and the schools are being run by emergency financial manager Robert Bob, who has already privatized transportation and is considering doing the same to food service, security operations and secretarial staff. To combat this privatization threat, the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees (DAEOE) put together their Community Outreach Initiative (COI).
The union, with help from AFT Michigan and the AFT, developed strategies to fight privatization, which include a Web site that features a video called “Detroit’s Heroes.” It profiles school secretaries who are active in their schools and communities. In addition, a radio spot focuses on the importance of school secretaries training teams of members to speak to community organizations like the PTO, NAACP, United Way or any others that DAEOE members belong to or are associated with. The local is also developing a plan that will improve services by relying on the ideas, experience and commitment of frontline workers.
“When people think of schools, two things come to mind: teachers and students,” says DAEOE president and AFT vice president Ruby Newbold. “We want people to see who we are and know who we are and to let Mr. Bob know that privatization of secretarial services is not a solution.”
Go to http://astrongerdetroitforourkids.com/plan to see the DAEOE Web site.
Contact the psrp@aft.org for information about privatization.
'Temporary' Employees Get Bargained Benefits
Temporary, by definition, means for a limited time. It has become an unfair employment practice to hire temporary workers, temps who do the same work as permanent workers but who do not get salary or benefits. Such was the situation at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Ill. (A chapter of local 1600, Cook County College Teachers Union.) Pursuant to the Classified Staff contract bargained in 2008, the union and management agreed to look this year at temporary employees who were performing work similar to bargaining unit employees.The result was a great supplemental agreement for 15 temporary workers.
The new college term employees now have benefits they weren’t entitled to before. They received 98 percent of the contractual benefits and the same 4.5 percent raise in 2009 and 4.3 percent raise in 2010-2012 as union employees. Three employees who were temps for more than five years got a 4.5 percent raise plus a step equivalent to a 9 percent raise. Also when their employment ends at the college, they will be entitled to severance pay. The employees were thrilled and immediately joined the union!
Patty Lucas, president of the Classified Staff Association, and Jillian Verstrate, chief negotiator and vice president of local 1600, praised the negotiating process. “The administration was fair in acknowledging these workers were performing important classified duties and deserved to become part of the Classified Staff Association and receive similar benefits that we had already bargained for our 315 members,” said Verstrate.
MSP Course Helps Paras Meet Standards
Training and standards for paraprofessionals has been spotty over the years. In 2004, No Child Left Behind (NLCB) established standards for paras who worked in Title I schools to become highly qualified. In response, the AFT developed the Meeting Standards for Paraprofessionals (MSP) course that helped many paras meet the Title I requirements nationwide. Recently, in Florida, the governor signed the Florida Differentiated Accountability (FLDA) law, which mandated all paraprofessionals in non-Title I schools to be highly qualified
by the 2011-2012 school year. The Polk Education Association (PEA) had traveled a similar road before.
PEA president Mary Ann Capoziello wanted to make sure her members had multiple paths to meet the new requirements. Working with the Polk district administration, the AFT state affiliate, Florida Education Association (FEA) and the AFT, she organized classes using the AFT Educational Research & Dissemination (ER&D) MSP course to train and test paras on reading and math skills. To date, PEA has offered seven classes assisted by trainers from Pinellas, Putnam and Lake counties. This year more than 90 paras met the high standard and learned the background knowledge necessary to be skillful instructors for Polk students. Overall, more than 250 instructional PEA paras have been helped to become highly effective.
MSP participants from PEA praised the course content because it gave them background information and increased their understanding of key reading and math concepts. Capoziello highlighted the importance of this training. “This is quality information tied to classroom effectiveness,” she said. “My paras tell me the knowledge they gained from this training has helped them support student learning and their children’s and grandchildren’s learning at home. PEA wants to make sure members have more than one avenue to learn vital information to be great coaches and cheerleaders so students can achieve.
Service Personnel File Suit For School Bus Safety
Student safety is important in school and on the school bus. Safety on the school bus involves student behavior, driver training and the condition of the school bus. The West Virginia School Service Personnel Association (WVSSPA) recently sued the Monongalia County Board of Education alleging that the district was putting student’s lives in danger by not properly investigating privately owned buses used to transport students. The WVSSPA allegations were refuted by the superintendent who said the school system’s policies do not in any way endanger students.
According to the superintendent, the district informs each contractor of the state’s requirements and makes them vouch that they meet each requirement. WVSSPA wants a judge to order the school board to follow state law by requiring the bus companies to show proof that they meet state safety standards. Executive director Bob Brown said the district should require copies of all necessary certifications, insurance papers and driver background checks rather than just taking the carriers’ word or handwritten note that says they meet the state’s safety standards. “We’re hauling a pretty precious cargo,” said Brown, “and handwritten notes don’t cut it.”
The suit was motivated by complaints from Monongalia County WVSSPA members about the practice. In response, Brown filed a Freedom of Information request to get more information on the district’s verification process. No hearing date has been set for the petition. In addition to the writ, WVSSPA is asking for attorney fees.
State of School Nutrition 2009 Survey Results
According to the 2009 State of School Nutrition survey more than 77 percent of the 1,200 food service directors surveyed stated that funding and the cost of the food/food preparation are the most pressing issues facing cafeteria programs nationwide as schools begin a new year. The report covers demographics and operational parameters, programs and policies, breakfast and lunch service types, food safety measures, food budget issues, marketing and customer service and pressing concerns. Last released in August 2007, the 2009 survey shows some interesting changes in the benchmarked information impacting school nutrition programs.
Some of the findings in this survey include: Breakfast is served in more than 96 percent of districts with traditional characteristics with grab & go and ala carte being the most popular. The variety of cultural foods served in schools continues to grow as school districts offer entrees that appeal to their student’s cultural taste; A majority of districts (63%) have not banned any foods due to food allergies; Locally-grown fruits and vegetables are include on more menus; and an increasing amount of districts are allowing parents to monitor or place limits on student purchases.
Formal policies exist as guidelines on a variety of issues. The following five areas are the most common formal policies: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP); Nutritional requirements of foods/beverages sold by food service; Crisis management plan/ emergency preparedness plan; providing meals and services for students with special dietary needs; and time of day when certain foods/beverages can be sold
Baltimore Expands Para-to-Teacher Career Ladder
In one of the first such teacher training programs anywhere, the Baltimore Teachers Union is extending its career ladder to paraprofessionals who are starting out with only a high school diploma.
The union launched a new phase of its paraprofessional-to-teacher program on Aug. 1 that has three new components: Participants now can start without any college credits under their belts; program leaders plan to keep a larger cohort of participants together for intensive support and mentoring; and all participants will emerge from the program with a bachelor's degree in special education, a critical-needs area for Baltimore as it is in many other places.
"The real excitement about this is that it's the first program I know of in the nation that starts with a high school diploma," says AFT executive vice president Lorretta Johnson, who also heads BTU's paraprofessional chapter. "And the school board is paying for 100 percent of the program. We got that. It's a wonderful thing."
The union is organizing participants into two main groups, depending on their level of preparation. Paras with a high school diploma or a few college credits will enter an accelerated program at Baltimore City Community College that runs for 10 to 15 months and awards an associate degree in arts and teaching. Those graduates, along with participants who have completed more extensive college coursework, will continue to pursue their teaching degrees at Coppin State University.
In exchange for a one-time $50 fee, good academic standing and a three-year commitment to teaching special education, the paraprofessionals will have all tuition, books and fees paid for up front. To complete the associate degree, they will need to pass Praxis I (the initial teacher qualifying exam), and to complete the bachelor's degree, they'll need to pass Praxis II.
The new group of paras starting at the community college numbers close to 25 this fall, says Gerri Bohanan, vice president of higher education for AFT-Maryland, who is coordinating the program. About 10 paras are advancing to the four-year college, she adds, and about five from a previous iteration of the program are close to graduating.
Baltimore's original para-to-teacher program began under Johnson's leadership in the early 1970s and has produced many outstanding educators, including a Ph.D. and a vice principal.
"We've always said that paraprofessionals would make good teachers," Johnson says. "We've been haphazardly doing this for years, and now we have a beautiful contract with the school board that says exactly what will happen every step of the way."
Paras Get New Pact
Contract negotiations during an economic downturn require patience and persistence. That’s what the negotiating team for the Allentown Federation of Paraprofessionals (AFP) in Allentown, Pa., displayed during their recent contract negotiations with the school district. Bargaining started in the spring of 2008, was stalled when a tentative agreement was rejected in January 2009 and recently reached fruition in a new five-year contract.
Some highlights of the new contract include salary increases of 4.75 percent in year 1 retroactive to September 2008; year 2: 5 percent; year 3: 5.25 percent; year 4: 5.50 percent; and 5. 75 in the final year of the contract; a small increase in the cost of health insurance premiums and a $1,200 tuition reimbursement for any college class that is job relevant. “I think we did a pretty good job considering the economy that we are in,” said AFP president Nan Devine, who was teamed with former AFP president Nancy Cusatti and chief-negotiator Shelia Snyder from AFT Pennsylvania.
Assistants Get New Contracts
(Adapted from a story in the Southtown Star)
Tough economic times aren't usually the best time to negotiate a contract. But for the members of Tinley Park Educational Support Council negotiation team, the "open and problem-solving oriented negotiations" with the Tinley Park school district #146, which began in February, went off without a hitch. The new three-year contract, which begins in September 2009, gives members a 4 percent pay raise. "The members are thankful for the raise, especially in this economy", said president Vicki Lueck, a paraprofessional. "The raise helps us keep up with the cost of living."
The new contract also maintains members' current health benefits, which is something that Leuck is also thankful for. "That's a huge benefit for us," she said. In addition, members are also getting an increase in sick days, a benefit that is contingent on how many sick days someone has accumulated and how long they have worked for the district.
The Tinley Park Educational Support Council represents about 100 teacher aides, secretaries and nurses. (June 8, 2009)
Small Locals Make Gains in Tough Economy
The economy is down, unemployment is rising and many people are feeling uncertain about the future. But even in the midst of this poor economic environment, a few SRP locals in New York made gains at the bargaining table. The 100 members of the Ravena-Coeys-Selkirk Teacher Aide and Monitor union won significant gains in a new contract that improved salaries and longevity payments between 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent and made the cost of healthcare more affordable. The negotiations were difficult for president Bonnie McNeilly because the school board sent district staff to bargain, instead of negotiating directly. But the union countered with members making strong showings of solidarity at board meetings.
McNeilly's advice to other leaders in tough-times bargaining is "prioritize and stay on point." This is exactly what Beacon Federation of Paraprofessionals co-presidents Linda Murray-Rodriquez and Candace Bentivegna did in the Hudson Valley of New York, which secured for their members a new four-year agreement. Their new pact includes salary increases of 3.5 percent, 3.6 percent, 3.75 percent and 3.75 percent and increments through 2011, half of their health insurance cost is paid by the district (previously the district paid nothing), and the teaching assistants have become full-time employees eligible to receive tenure by adding 15 minutes to their workday.
William Bailey, president of the Graham Federation of Teachers, prioritized and stayed on point when he negotiated a new three-year agreement for the teaching assistants and teachers at Greenburgh Graham, one of 13 Special act schools in New York for students who come from the court system, special education committee referrals and social service placement. Their new agreement provides a 3.75 percent raise each year, improved longevity payments, increased summer pay and new retirement incentives for teaching assistants and teachers. Health insurance contributions are now 1 percent of salary, with a $1,000 cap beginning in September. (May 26, 2009)
Transportation Aides Get Overdue Raises
Driving students to and from school in urban, suburban and rural areas every day through all types of weather and over varied terrain is a challenging job. Bus aides and monitors can make these trips easier and safer. That's exactly what 600 bus aides do in Buffalo, N.Y., even without a contract. Their last contract expired in June 2004. Their dilemma is that the school's finances are run by a state-appointed fiscal control board.
Finally, after months of persistent bargaining by Transportation Aide/Buffalo (TAB) president Betty Martin, a tentative contract was reached with the district. The ratification vote was unanimous. The employees will receive an overall 10 percent hourly wage increase, which will bring the most senior workers to $10 an hour. Most workers also will receive a $200 bonus. The new contract will expire in 2010.
President Martin will now be focusing her energy on the safety of her members in the performance of the duty. "We've had parents go after drivers and aides," says Martin. "It's becoming a bigger problem." A frustrated Martin cited a situation where a parent pulled a gun on an aide but wasn't arrested until two months later. TAB leaders, city officials and school board members continue to collaborate to provide a safe school bus environment for students, bus aides and drivers. (February 23, 2009)
Outsourcing Rumor Mobilizes Union
The economic recession is making itself felt at the state and local levels. For example, a recent news story stated that California was in danger of running out of money for school meals. In San Antonio, the school's food service department has a projected budget deficit this year of $2.7 million, necessitating some difficult choices like reducing the number of lunch entrees for elementary from six to two and middle school students from nine to two. This is the third year of deficits due to some internal financial food service department issues. The deficit also spawned rumors of privatization.
The privatization rumors mobilized the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, who immediately began contacting board members. A recent school board meeting was attended by about 100 food service employees from 40 schools, all dressed in red with red ribbon wristbands expressing their concerns about privatizing food service in the district. "We know the food service program is in the red, privatization is not the answer," said Rachel Martinez, vice president, for support staff. School board president James Howard assured cheering members that privatization is not on the table. A collaborative union district effort will seek other viable solutions. (December 8, 2008)
