On Tuesday, August 15, the LTA Bargaining Team, led by veteran negotiator Lisa Rubio (Huerta) and including Priscilla Avila (Moffett), Justin Catalan (TOSA), Gary Moore (LMS), Jim Nadler (LMS) and Andrew Staiano (CTA staff), met with the LSD team, made up of Hiacynth Martinez (Personnel), Kevin Franklin (Fiscal Services), Eddie Garcia (Pupil Services), Lissett Pichardo (LMS principal) and Steve Andelson (attorney). This was the second meeting between the two teams this cycle. The district’s bargaining team presented specific language proposals and counterproposals to LTA’s June 14 proposals. District team member Kevin Franklin was unable to attend this session, so the teams did not discuss salary or other “cost” items like class sizes, but the teams were able make progress on several language items.

LSD Proposal Highlights:

ARTICLE 3: ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

• District proposes providing all new teachers with a LTA membership form and an LTA-created new member packet at orientation [in response to the recently-passed SB 104 guaranteeing unions access to prospective new members].
• District will also provide LTA with new teacher contact information within 30 days.

ARTICLE 6: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Clarify definition of a full work year for the purpose of determining what 75% of the work year is and when teachers receive credit for working a “full year.”
• Update the “relative salary position guarantee.”

ARTICLE 7: WORK YEAR & HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT

• Modify language to specifically permit voluntary after-school meetings on Fridays. [DROPPED]
• Add AM and PM transitional kindergarten dismissal times to the contract.

ARTICLE 8: ASSIGNMENTS & TRANSFERS

• District accepts some language clarifications on voluntary, principal-initiated, and superintendent-initiated transfers proposed by LTA, but rejects date changes giving teachers earlier notification of new assignments.
• Eliminate the contractual requirement to fly TOSA and certificated administrator vacancies.

ARTICLE 10: LEAVE PROVISIONS

• Update parental leave language to be consistent with current EdCode. [TENTATIVE AGREEMENT]

ARTICLE 11: EVALUATION

• District accepts some language clarification regarding who is to be evaluated and when, but rejects extending the evaluation period of veteran teachers to up to every 5 years.

ARTICLE 17: PRIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL FOR COURSEWORK

• Modify current practices for requesting prior approval for coursework for advancement on the salary schedule, making the timeline more strict and eliminating retroactive pay adjustments for courses approved after completion.

download the full text of the district’s proposals

 

LTA Counterproposals:

ARTICLE 3: ASSOCIATION RIGHTS

• Establish a ½-day (paid) new teacher orientation on the day prior to the first day of the regular work year; LTA would have a guaranteed time to meet with new teachers on that day.

download LTA’s counterproposals on Article 3

download LTA’s counterproposals on Article 8

download LTA’s counterproposals on other articles

 

The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Monday, September 25 to continue exchanging counterproposals and to discuss proposals for salary increases and more costly items like class size. The district will present the final (unaudited) 2016-2017 budget and reserves at the Tuesday, September 12 School Board meeting, so the teams will be looking at the most current budget numbers at the September 25^th bargaining session.

download Bargaining Update #3