No Progress - On to Fact Finding

Aloha,

On Tuesday, May 29th your negotiating team met with the administration before mediation.  In that meeting we were able to agree to a tentative agreement on Article IX, Working Days and Hours.  Bob Bush and I also signed the MOU for Transitional Kindergarten Teachers and Kindergarten Teachers to receive up to two (2) compensatory days for TK and K Interviews.

Unfortunately, we did not make any progress in mediation and are moving on to Fact Finding.  Fact Finding is the next step in resolving impasse.  In fact finding, a three-member panel is appointed with one member appointed by the OEA, one by the District, and a neutral chairperson appointed by PERB (Public Employees Relation Board).  Each side presents its arguments like a case before the three-member panel, then those three meet behind closed doors to generate a report, which is written by the neutral chairperson.

That neutral report, with a recommended fair settlement, is submitted to the School Board.  The School Board may accept that report and the settlement becomes the new agreement, OR the School Board may reject that report and impose its last, best, and final offer OR the School Board may do some combination of the two.  At this point, the OEA would be free to take additional collective action against the District.  It is also important to note that, at any time during the process, the parties may decide to come to an agreement on any or all of the issues in dispute.

The issues that are still in dispute are:  Article I/XVII (Employment Rights of All Bargaining Unit Members), Article V (Transfer and Reassignment), Article VIII (Class Size), and Article X (Compensation).  To find more information on our proposals and the districts responses please scroll down on this website.  Your negotiating team will be meeting on Thursday (June 14th) afternoon to review Fact Finding details and we will continue to meet as necessary this summer.  Please continue to keep yourself informed about this process by checking this website periodically during the summer months.

I wish you all a restful break!

Mahalo,

Monique L. Segura
OEA President
714-9861

OEA Parent Flyer

Thursday Night Flyers - Need Your Help

Aloha,

The inserted letter from our OEA 2nd Vice President, Pat Brickey, sums up the feeling of our Mediation on Tuesday, May 29th.  Please note that we have not yet been released from mediation, but are waiting to hear from our mediator after the Administration speaks with the School Board.  Your OEA leadership team feels as though we are ready to more forward with our plan of action.  Therefore, we will be passing out flyers at both Patterson and Nightingale tomorrow (Thursday, May 31st) night.  Please join us from 6:15-7 pm at either site.  Don Robertson will have materials to pass out at Nightingale and Anna Zucker will have materials to pass our at Patterson.  Please remember that you cannot pass out flyers at the site which you work.  We do need your support in making a fair contract that we can all be proud of!

"Yesterday was truly an astonishing day for me as part of the Negotiations Team.  My faith in the district administration has been shaken to its core.  I do not have any trust left.  While I wish I could go into all of the specifics, I believe I could get fired if I did so.  There is a strict confidentiality clause that has been placed into effect by the state's mediator.

Needless to say, our union is only as strong as the members who are willing to stand up and fight for what they know is right.  Hopefully, all of you will take that matter with grave importance.  It will affect the future of all of us including our families.

We will keep you as informed as we can by law; be prepared to protect what you and your predecessors have earned through the years by the bargaining process.

With utmost respect,

Pat Brickey"

I hope you can be there tomorrow night to support your union!

Second Meeting with Bob Bush

Aloha,

On Thursday, May 3rd Pat Brickey, Don Robertson and I met with Bob Bush and Don Nicholson.  We are working towards tenative agreements on a few articles before going to mediation.  The good news is that we are communicating nicely and are meeting again on Tuesday, May 8th.  We will continue to keep you posted on the status of our meetings.  At this time your executive board and negotiating team WILL NOT be organizing picketing at district Open Houses.  We are in the process of putting together an informational flyer for parents and would like to simply pass out flyers at Open Houses as needed.  Your OEA leadership has a fluid plan in place, and is happy to back down when necessary.  Please know that we are working hard to get a fair contract in place for all of our members.

Please join your OEA leadership at the School Board Meeting on Wednesday, May 9th from 6-6:30 pm.  We would appreciate your support!

OEA End of the Year Party is scheduled for Friday, June 1st at 4pm-? at the Foxenwood Clubhouse.  Please mark your calendars as we celebrate our retirees!

Mahalo and have an outstanding weekend!

Meeting with Bob Bush

Aloha,

On Thursday, April 26th Pat Brickey and I  met with Bob Bush and Don Nicholson.  Communication was very positive and it is hopeful that we will be able to work through a few issues before going to mediation.  Your Executive Board and Negotiating Team will be meeting on Tuesday, May 1st to review our position.  Then on Thursday, May 3rd Pat Brickey and I will meet with Bob Bush and Don Nicholson again to see if we can work on a few issues.

Please know that in light of our positive meeting on April 26th OEA DID NOT picket and/or pass out flyers to parents at the Alice Shaw School Open House.  We will keep you posted on any progress that is being made and we appreciate your support!

Mahalo,

Monique

714-9861

Picket Open Houses

Aloha,

On Tuesday, April 24^th your OEA Executive Board and your OEA Negotiating Team met to discuss our next steps in terms of putting pressure on the OUSD Board of Trustees now that we are at impasse.  The bottom line is we need your support!

I will be attending all of the OEA lunches to answer questions and hear about your ideas and/or concerns, but your OEA leadership does have a plan of action in place and we hope that we can count on all of you to join us in some capacity.

On Tuesday, May 1^st we will be meeting at the CTA office (2325 Skyway Dr.) anytime between 3pm-5pm to make posters for picketing and passing out flyers at Open House Nights.

We need as many members as possible at the School Board Meeting on Wednesday, May 9^th from 6pm-6:30pm.  Please meet in the District Office Parking Lot at 6 pm for details.

The district Open House Schedule is:

April 26^th – Alice Shaw (6:15-7 pm)

May 16^th – OAHS

May 22^nd – OAK-8

May 23^rd - LJHS/OJHS

May 24^th – Olga Reed/Pine Grove

May 31^st – Nightingale/Patterson

June 7^th – Dunlap

Please note that you cannot picket and/or pass out flyers at the site which you work.  I will have specific times listed as we get closer.  Alice Shaw’s Open House is fast approaching please email (mseguraoea@yahoo.com) or call (714-9861) if you are able to assist us this Thursday!  We need you from 6:15-7 pm.

Declared Impasse

Aloha,

On April 19th your negotiations team met with the district.  We were anxiously awaiting responses from the district on 5 proposals.  We received a partial proposal to one article and the district responded that they had no other responses for us.  At that point we knew it did not make sense to bargain against ourselves.  Therefore, OEA and the district jointly declared impasse. Your Negotiations Team has put together a status report for the Orcutt Educators' Association.  As always please let me know if you have any questions and/or concerns.

OEA Outstanding Bargaining Issues

Article I/XVII (Employment Rights of All Bargaining Unit Members)

Our position:

(Article I – Designation of Parties and Agreement)All Bargaining Unit Members should have the same rights regarding discipline, dismissal, lay-off and recall. The Association is willing to negotiate language that allows the Charter portion of the District to operate in a way that preserves the unique nature of the program, and yet it cannot accept a system in which employees doing the same job next door to each other have drastically different employment rights.

The District position:

(Article XVII[new] – Discipline/Lay-off for Charter Teachers) Except for teachers who transfer from the regular district schools, which the District proposed to allow to have full rights in perpetuity, Charter teachers would have no discipline, dismissal or lay-off rights as found in the Education Code. The District, by majority vote of the school board, would be able to discipline or fire any charter teacher in any year for any reason the school board finds acceptable. Charter teachers, if they are laid off, should have no guaranteed right to future employment if it becomes available, unless the individual was a teacher in a non-charter school previously. Charter teachers, during their first two years of employment, could be summarily fired “at any time with or without cause.”

Article V (Transfer and Reassignment)

Our position:

“All transfers and reassignments within the Charter School shall be at the discretion of the Charter School administration.” We would allow the District to control positions at the Charter school, the only real difference between our positions is that the Association proposal would have allowed K-8 Charter teachers to transfer into open K-8 positions in the non-Charter schools, with the same rights as other K-8 teachers. Once a seniority date is established, that date would stay with the member in either a Charter or non-Charter assignment. The Association has agreed to allow the District to treat the Charter and non-Charter teachers as if they were on two seniority lists.

The District position:

None of the current transfer and reassignment language would apply to Charter teachers.

Article VIII (Class Size)

Our position:

Class size should be limited to 29 students, including Special Education caseloads. If the District goes above 29, the District has the option to hire more teachers to reduce class size or to compensate those teachers who have larger class size. Class size in P.E. classes would be limited to 50. Speech specialists would have their caseloads limited to SELPA standards. Teachers of combination classes would receive a stipend. Teachers of inclusion or special education students in a regular class would receive a stipend. All K-6 teachers (and all teachers at K-8 schools) including special education teachers and speech therapists would receive a full-day release for each grading period and the equivalent of an hour a week of preparation time (as is provided currently for grade 4-6 teachers).

The District position:

If class size reaches 33, the teacher may choose between two hours a week of assistance or a stipend. They would eliminate the full-day release per grading period and the hour-a-week equivalent of preparation time for all teachers. The also proposed, “It is the goal of the Charter High School to maintain class sizes which will be conducive to attracting students and which are smaller than other area public high schools.”

Article IX (Working Days and Hours)

Our position:

Continue the practice of allowing Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten teachers to use two of their work days to interview and place students before the school year begins. Teachers at the 7-12 levels who substitute during their planning time would be compensated at $30 per hour and they can be trusted to complete the planning they missed at their discretion. Any extra duties authorized by the District would be compensated at $45 per hour.

The District position:

The practice of interviewing Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students before the year begins would not be guaranteed. If it were authorized by the District, the teachers would be paid at below their regular rate. (The Association position – which has been in practice for more than 20 years -- actually costs less than the District position.) Teachers at the 7-12 levels who substitute during their planning time would be compensated at $30 per hour and they would be required to remain on campus for an additional hour after school. Any extra duties would be compensated at $30 per hour.

Article X (Compensation)

Our position:

Total Unrestricted Fund Balance (Funds 1 and 17) are funds that the District can use for any purpose. As you can see in the chart below, according to the District’s annual year-end reporting to the state, the Orcutt Union School District has ended each year since 2006-07 with more money in the bank, despite all of the financial troubles experienced here in California. That figure of $6.19 million was equal to more than 20 percent of the District’s total spending in 2010-11. It should also be noted that the District will see its Base Revenue Limit increased by an additional $144 per student next year due to the addition of Olga Reed Elementary School to the District.

The Association proposed that the District use some of that savings to provide teachers with a modest compensation increase, justified by the increased burden they have suffered due to increasing class sizes and the burdens placed on them by other cuts, and to continue the practice of splitting increases in the cost of health and welfare benefits. The Association also proposed language that would tie future increases in pay to increased funding from the State of California.

The District position:

No increase in salary and a continuation of the split in health and welfare cost increases only if the Association agreed to a cap on future health and welfare costs to the District. At the bargaining table on April 19^th, the District’s attorney said the offer was worth $400,000, which we believe is a gross overstatement. On its website later that day, that figure had grown to $900,000. We look forward to hearing the District’s justification of this number.

Early Retirement Incentive:

Our position:

The Association proposed an early retirement incentive like those used by many nearby districts to reduce their long-term expenses.

The District position:

The District refused to propose any early retirement incentive.

Mahalo,

Monique

714-9861