Negotiations Update: November 30, 2017

Impasse Declared!

Your Bargaining Team, having found that we are far apart from the District and not making progress, has declared impasse at the Nov. 30, 2017, bargaining session. Below you will find our current positions side-by-side. The District offered its proposals as a package deal; none of the individual proposals from the District can be accepted on its own.

Issue	OUSD	OEA
Class size	Increase TK-3 class size site average from 27 to 29 students and make that permanent contract language	Current 3-year MOU in place that keeps average at 27
Special Education	No proposal – except a pledge to try to schedule more IEPs during the regular day.	Compensation for IEP meetings outside of the contractual work day.
Child Bonding Leave	A new contract section that complies with new state law. (A couple who were both OUSD employees would have to split the 12 weeks of leave, and all Bargaining Unit Members would have to be employed a year before they are eligible)	In addition to the District’s proposal, the ability for two Orcutt Bargaining Unit Members to each get 12 weeks of child bonding leave all  Bargaining Unit Members would be eligible upon hire
Compensation	½ % on-schedule increase in exchange for loss of 6 report card release days for TK-6 teachers; off-schedule, one-time payment of $640 to all full-time members	Salary Schedule adjustment that costs about 1.6% on-schedule and about 1% off-schedule
Stipends	New stipends rejected; connecting stipends to salary schedule rejected.	Connect stipends to salary schedule and add stipends for Math Bowl, Battle of the Books, Flag Football and Elementary Student Council Advisor.
Health and Welfare Benefits	No increase in District contribution – Bargaining Unit Members pay all of the increase in costs	Continued 100% of 90-D for singles, 80% for two-party and family; reimbursement of $ difference for members who switched to a less costly plan
Early Retirement (offered by OUSD ONLY if all other proposals are accepted).	$25,000 OR an additional year of Health and Welfare Benefits (total of 6) IF there are at least 15 eligible retirements announced by Feb. 1, 2018. The District Team asked the School Board if the retirement proposal could be offered independently and the School Board refused.	If 11 eligible retirements: $25,000 payment; 8 eligible retirements: $20,000 or one year of health and welfare benefits; five eligible retirements: six additional months of health, dental and vision coverage. (None of these would require additional days of work.)
Salary Schedule Appendix B2, paragraph 5	Increase the number of years of outside experience from 5 to 10 years for new hires only – WITHDRAWN BY THE DISTRICT	Rejected as part of the global proposal
Hiring Incentive for certain teachers	A new $5,000 “signing bonus” ($2,500 per year for the first two years) for new hires into “hard to fill” positions including junior high and high school math, junior high and high school science, special education, and speech and language pathologist.	Rejected as part of the global proposal.

Impasse in a Nutshell – What’s coming up?

IMPASSE:       When a local union and a school district are unable to reach agreement on a new contract, they must go to impasse. The law provides third-party assistance from the state. The basic steps of impasse are outlined below.

1.              MEDIATION: The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) officially declares a deadlock (impasse) and begins the mediation phase. PERB appoints a state mediator to work with the parties. The mediator’s job is to assist the parties to reach a settlement, any settlement. The mediator does not take sides, and is not charged with examining the details of the issues or finances. If the mediator is not able to bring the two sides together, he/she certifies the dispute to factfinding.

2.              FACTFINDING PANEL: Three people are selected to form a panel that will consider presentations made by the two parties.

a)    The panel has one representative from each side, plus a neutral provided by the State.

b)    The two parties present to the panel their respective bargaining proposals on the issues at impasse, including their facts and analysis of the employer’s “ability to pay”, and comparisons with other districts or county offices. When the panel concludes its meetings, the neutral will issue a written report. The union and district representatives may choose to agree with the neutral or write dissenting opinions.

c)    The neutral factfinder is usually an attorney/arbitrator who has general understanding about school finance. He/she may not be a financial expert or an accountant. A factfinding is not an audit.

d)    The neutral’s time and energy are mostly devoted to listening to the parties’ presentations and formulating a report. A neutral may, but is not obligated to attempt to mediate the dispute one more time.

e)    The neutral’s written report is not binding. However, the parties are obliged to consider it.

3.     NEXT STEP: After the parties complete the factfinding phase, if no agreement is reached in post factfinding, the employer is free to impose conditions of employment or do nothing, and it is legal for the union to strike.

PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION AND ACTIONS AS WE MOVE THROUGH IMPASSE!