These are some highlights of what was discussed at the Rep Assembly on September 8th. It was originally an e-mail sent to Site Representatives by the MDEA office.
Affiliation with Central Labor Council
Yesterday the Executive Board recommended to the Rep Assembly that we join the Central Labor Council. The Council is countywide organizations that work together to protect and advocate for organized workers throughout the county. Your site rep has been asked to discuss this action with his/her site before the next Rep Assembly when we will decide if we will join. At the Rep Assembly we were asked to send out a list of other unions that are affiliated with the Council. When I went to their website, http://www.cocolabor.org/, I found close to a 100 affiliates. Instead of listing them all, I ask that you go to the website and click on “affiliates” under the main menu on the home page on the right to view them all. Below is a small list:
Amalgamated Transit Workers
Firefighters
American Postal Workers
Health Care Workers
Boilermaker Union
Ironworkers
California Community College Teachers
Newspaper Guild
California State Employees Assoc.
Office & Prof. Workers
Carpenters Union
Plumbers Union
Diablo Valley Federation of Teachers
United Food & Commercial Working
Electrical Workers
United Steel workers
Bargaining
The Bargaining Team is meeting with the district on Thursday, Sept 11. Since the state budget is still unresolved we will not be discussing total compensation at this meeting. The district wants to discuss possible language that will address the district’s inability to attract Speech Pathologist to our district. Currently the district is spending over two million dollars on private contractors. If we can come up with a plan to stop the encroachment on the general fund and shift any savings to our compensation package, this could be a win-win situation. We will keep you updated.
New Teacher Reception
On Tuesday, September 16 at the Shadelands Civic Art Center in Walnut Creek we will be holding a welcome reception for our new teachers. The event starts at 3:30. Remember to personally invite your new teachers. We want to help answer the many questions our new employees have and provide a social atmosphere where they can meet other new teachers. Please RSVP to Tanisha @ 676-4664.
Site Rep Training
We will be offering a rep training on Sat, October 11 from 8-10 at the MDEA Office. Please RSVP to Tanisha @ 676-4664.
Phone Banking/Precinct Walking
The upcoming School Board Election is very important and the results will have a major effect on our district. A change on the school board can be the catalyst for a more positive relationship between the teachers and the district leadership. If you aren’t happy with the current situation, we need your involvement in bringing about a needed change. Your rep has been given a scheduled date to phone bank and walk precincts for our endorsed candidates. Please arrange your schedule to be there on your scheduled days. Phone Banking will be Monday- Thurs, 5:00-8:45. Starting on September 22nd Orientation, training, and dinner will be provided. Precinct walking will be on Saturday from 9:00-12:00 and Sunday 3:00-5:30 starting on September 27. We all need to do what we can to help our candidates. If you’d like to hold a coffee for our candidates, let us know at 676-4664.
Class Size Grievances
Remember to file class size grievances on Monday, September 22nd. Write Level 2 on the top of the grievance form. Your office manager should have the forms. If not, copy the form from the contract appendix E. Ask you rep for assistance.
Attend Your Site MDEA Meeting
Your site reps will be holding a site based meeting to inform you of what was discussed at the Rep Assembly. Please attend to become informed on your rights as a member and on what is going on. Also check the MDEA Bulletin Board in your staff room. If you ever have questions please contact your site rep or call us in the office at 676-4664.
2 comments:
I heard that the CCC Labor Council is endorsing candidates this week and considering endorsing April for the industry partnership work she's done. Maybe they need to be reminded that she doesn that for her job. I will be letting the union rep at my school know that I don't support us joining the labor council if they don't support our candidates.
Anon 11:07
Thank you for being the 1st to comment on this blog! :-)
I just received confirmation that the CCC Labor Council endorsed both Sherry & Gary. Yippee!
I also want to mention that the idea behind joining the CCC Labor Council is to be a part of a coalition. Together, a coalition can tackle many issues we have in common & work towards the benefit of all. The ideal is that we teachers are stronger in our community as a result of being part of the Labor Council.
Of course, the individual union groups will probably not always agree. For example, there were a few union groups within the Labor Council who will ultimately endorse April Treece. However, in the Labor Council vote, there were enough local unions who supported Sherry to have a majority vote for endorsement. Being part of the Labor Council would give MDEA and teachers the right to vote on issues that effect education in our community.
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