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Home > Blogs > Springfield Schools News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > September > 17 > Entry
Tecumseh union and board meet for mediation
Here’s a photo by staff photographer Marshall Gorby of teachers who were at today’s mediation session between the Tecumseh Education Association and the Tecumseh Local Schools Board of Education.
If yesterday’s 3:45 p.m. mediation session between Tecumseh teachers and the board is any indication, the watch word is “fair,” folks. I saw it on several signs the teachers had at the meeting.
More than 100 teachers were at Tecumseh High School Wednesday afternoon as the union and district negotiating teams prepared for their first mediation session with federal mediator Steve Anderson.
The teachers wore black, cheered for their negotiating team as they entered the meeting and fell silent when administrators and board members walked past. Some carried signs. Here are a few of the ones I jotted down:
“Fair contract now.” “Work with us not against us.” “We deserve responsible leadership.” “Do what is best for our students: Give teachers a fair contract.” “Teachers working harder 4 excellent schools.” “Excellent schools deserve a fair contract.” “Settle now.” “Help students and teachers first.” “You: Make students pay-to-participate. Refuse to purchase new textbooks. Cut teaching staff. Fail to give teachers a fair contract.”
See? Fair’s the watch word.
But what exactly is “fair?”
No one, outside of the district leadership and the union, really knows. Both sides are barred from talking about negotiations by a stipulation in the contract that requires only joint statements to be released until after mediation, the process they began yesterday.
Superintendent Jim Gay and the union leadership have declined to disclose what the sticking points are in this round of negotiations, based on the contract’s stipulations.
Typically in any negotiations, there are two major issues to be hammered out in the negotiation sessions: pay increases and health care.
Sometimes other not monetary issues also come up: planning time, class sizes, drug testing, things like that. But not often. It’s usually pay increases and health care costs.
One thing I heard yesterday is that the teachers are only looking for a “cost of living” increase. That’s typically about 3 percent.
Teachers get pay increases one of two ways. Either the pay scale is adjusted based on a negotiated base pay increase of a certain percentage or through steps, adjustments for years of service and additional education.
Typically, for the first 10 years, teachers get a step increase each year and then at regular intervals after that (three or five years, whatever the agreement is.) They also get a step increase for earning a master’s degree and for additional coursework (usually based on a certain number of hours — like 20 — completed).
Teaching is one of those fields that requires continuing education, through post-graduate courses or professional development, throughout their careers to keep up on the latest techniques, philosophies and technologies.
Because both sides are keeping mum in Tecumseh, we really have no idea what “fair” looks like for either side until after mediation or an agreement is reached.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Tecumseh Local Schools
Comments
By Mr UN Government
January 4, 2010 4:42 PM | Link to this
I hope age discrimination does not come into play as Mr Anderson will clearly side against the older folks.