The district put forward very few proposals, so negotiations will be tough and we will need member support to win the changes we need for our schools. Join us at district wide walk-ins before school on April 8th! Sign up here. If you’re interested in larger participation, please scroll to the next steps at the bottom! We also still need some information from the membership. Complete that survey here! (3 easy questions, should take one minute! Don’t do it again if you’ve already done it!)

What Happened

We began by presenting our remaining proposals and the rationale behind them. This week’s proposals were focused on 1) creating equitable working conditions across our three units around things like personal days, funeral leave, and lunch time; and 2) developing competitive salaries that will help recruit and retain diverse, high-quality clerks, paras, and educators. We presented comparisons between Chelsea’s current salaries and those of surrounding districts; you can see those numbers for educators and paras. Clerks’ unionization structures make comparisons more difficult but we’re working on compiling these. We expressed that we are looking for a restructuring that brings us closer to a competitive wage, and are eager to see what the district can offer to make this possible.

Then the district presented their proposals and rationale. 

For the educators’ contract they are proposing: 

1. adding additional faculty meetings (one hour faculty meeting every Tuesday, mentor meetings would be an additional meeting each month, no more department meetings)
2. changing accrual of sick time so that we would get 1.5 days per month (rather than 15 days for the year)
3. changing sick bank participation and structure so that 
   • sick bank participants would have to donate one day per year (rather than just one day at enrollment time)
   • there would be a joint management and union committee approving sick bank applications (rather than CTU only approval or denial)
   • sick bank would become opt-out rather than opt-in

For the paras’ contract they are proposing:

1. changing accrual of sick time so that we would get 1.5 days per month (rather than 15 days for the year)
2. changing sick bank participation and structure so that 
   • sick bank participants would have to donate one day per year (rather than just one day at enrollment time)
   • there would be a joint management and union committee approving sick bank applications (rather than CTU only approval or denial)
   • sick bank would become opt-out rather than opt-in
3. three housekeeping proposals

For the clerks’ contract they are proposing:

1. adding Juneteenth as a holiday (CTU proposed this in housekeeping at our previous session)
2. changing accrual of sick time so that we would get 1.5 days per month (rather than 15 days for the year)
3. changing sick bank participation and structure so that 
   • sick bank participants would have to donate one day per year (rather than just one day at enrollment time)
   • there would be a joint management and union committee approving sick bank applications (rather than CTU only approval or denial)
   • sick bank would become opt-out rather than opt-in
4. three housekeeping proposals

Overall, the negotiating team and the silent reps were surprised by the very few proposals that the district has brought to the table. CTU worked for months to develop a robust set of proposals that demonstrate the important shifts we need to see to make education a sustainable career post-COVID. We put forward 48 proposals across 8 buckets of priorities (not including 16 housekeeping proposals). The district has brought 8 proposals that are focused on a punitive response to attendance difficulties. When we asked what proposals the district has brought forward that will proactively work to create a more sustainable, positive environment in which to work, the district response was 1) wages (the same wages that lag behind most surrounding districts); 2) coaches (while adding a caveat that coaches may not exist if our district’s financial future changes. This is not enough for CTU members, and it’s not enough for our students. The negotiating team alone, though, won’t be enough to win.

Next Steps

So…. how can you help?

As a union we will be doing district-wide walk-ins before school on April 8th, the day of our next negotiation session. Please sign up to attend here! 

We are also looking to increase our silent rep numbers and for members to testify about the need for Paid Parental and Medical Leave and the need for more competitive wages at our next session. Please sign up for that or to be a silent rep here!

We want to keep building community! Please RSVP to come to our March Madness social at Night Shift in Everett on Wednesday!