Your LTA Bargaining Team met again with the district on May 31, 2012.  This time the district offered counterproposals to our proposals from the previous session (Article 3 – Association Rights, Article 9 – Class Size, and Article 21 – Individualized Educational Program (IEP)).  The district also provided alternative budget scenarios requested by the LTA Bargaining Team showing the effects of the Governor’s proposed tax increases passing in November (prior budget models had all shown the effects of the Governor’s tax proposals not passing).

Armed with this information and the feedback of our members on the most recent bargaining survey, the LTA Bargaining Team informed the district that we are willing to accept temporary compensation cuts at a level similar to 2011-2012 in exchange for the preservation of current class sizes, the rescinding of teacher layoffs, and an agreement on contract changes that will improve our working-conditions and the learning conditions for students.

We also informed the district that our members, given the current climate of economic uncertainty, are not willing to accept an agreement projecting compensation cuts 3 years into the future.

Up to this point, the district has proposed 3 years of large compensation cuts (8 furlough days and a 3% salary cut – that’s over 7% all together!) in exchange for 1 year of job restoration and a few minor language changes to the contract.  They have argued that teachers should be willing to subsidize smaller class sizes by taking cuts without “linking” these sacrifices to better working conditions.  Nonetheless, we have made it clear to the district that it is in the best interest of all stakeholders to resolve this situation before the school year ends and they’ll need to show a greater willingness to compromise on our quality-of-life proposals for that to happen.  To that end, we have scheduled two more bargaining sessions in the coming weeks, on June 13 and June 20, in the hope of reaching an agreement before June 26.

Your LTA Bargaining Team will be visiting school sites next week to discuss the proposals, answer questions, and gather input prior to going back to the table.  Please plan to attend any one of these meetings (whichever is most convenient for you) and review our current proposals at the LTA website in advance.  Additionally, please plan to participate in upcoming actions to support your team and push the district toward a fair bargaining settlement.

 Link to all bargaining documents

Bargaining Roadshow Site Visits

Friday, June 1

• LMSTA – 2:00pm, room 101

Monday, June 4

• Lennox Middle School – during LMS 6 and LMS 7/8 lunches, in the library

Wednesday, June 6

• Moffett Elementary – 3:30pm, exact location TBA

Thursday, June 7

• Jefferson Elementary – 3:30pm, exact location TBA

 

Other Important Upcoming Dates

Monday, June 11 – Special Board Meeting re: Dr. Navarro’s evaluation, 5:30pm

Tuesday, June 12 – Regular Board Meeting, 5:30pm

Wednesday, June 13 – Bargaining w/ district