FCEA counter
The bargaining team took a deep dive into the district’s budget. With the help of our CTA contact person and with a lot of calculator checking and rechecking we are very confident that our offer is affordable and sustainable. What we are asking for is to be built into the budget as 40% (sustainable percentage per CTA) of increases to LCFF funding as opposed to waiting around to see what is left or feasible after the budget is built. We applied this approach for this year and projected it into next year in an attempt to lock in this approach with the district and to allow space to focus on other needs including the emerging picture pertaining to healthcare. For this year we also included a percent increase based on budgeted but unspent monies from last year. We have used all of their safe and conservative assumptions and are confident in our calculations.
FCUSD revised offer
Is it revised? The offer on October 11th was identical to August 30th except for added items on a potential change in calendar. Remember the calendar MOU (as proposed verbally since it is not in writing yet) would be for 2 years. You will get paid to work 185 days rather than 184 which would be about 0.5% of your salary. Please note, this money can go away if there is not permanent, ongoing funding attached to it after 2 years. It is also for the 2024-25 school year and the offer on the table is supposed to be for this year 2023-24. The 2023-24 offer starts with 2% now and holds out an additional 1 to about 3% at the end of the year depending on several contingencies being met: actual enrollment increasing, attendance percentages improving and for next year’s cola to be as estimated now.
Our options
There are 3 scenarios. (1) in the short term we become much more active and persuasive and the district listens to our concerns and they change direction; (2) we concede and accept their offer or move dramatically closer to it; (3) we start to move into the long term process of impasse.
Check with a colleague at Tuesday’s meeting for a schematic of this process but essentially there are mediation attempts first, if those fail there is “fact finding” followed by a non-binding report which both sides will try to use to bolster their position. After this process is complete, the district can then legally impose their last, best offer or FCEA could legally take a strike vote. This process can drag out for months or potentially into the next school year.
Right now we are focusing on the short term approach. Be at the board meeting Thursday Oct 19th. Please complete the survey from this week’s newsletter. We are using that information to order pizza for a pre-board meeting rally [5 pm in front of ESC]. Your site reps will be using the additional data on what actions members are willing to participate in along with site discussions of options to help plan the longer term strategy during the next rep council meetings.
There are two more board meetings before the next bargaining session. They are our opportunity to communicate to the district why our approach is sensible and leaves our members actually being valued and feeling respected. Keep having those site-based conversations with your reps, watch this blog and read the newsletter to stay informed. If we are collectively organized and committed to change we have the power to make this happen. Thank you to everyone who has been coming to board meetings and who has been participating in the early stages of the fight. Our students deserve the best - AND SO DO THEIR TEACHERS!
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