Latest Guides

Education

Teachers Union Reacts to Pasadena Unified “Final” Contract Offer

"If we don't get the language we want, we will take that action that leads us out of the classroom" a union representative said

Published on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 | 8:06 pm
 

Teacher demonstrations have been staged repeatedly at Board of Education meetings as negotiations floundered. The one above occurred on January 28, 2015.

 [Editor’s Note: This story originally quoted Allison Steppes as saying that Rowland Heights teachers received 10% over 10 years. Actually, Steppes had said over “two years.” That error has been corrected.]

A representative of United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP) reacted angrily Tuesday to the latest contract offer presented to teachers by Superintendent Brian McDonald of the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). The offer was sent to union members by email late Friday night, and then sent as an op-ed article to local media Monday and Tuesday.

The district and the teachers’ union have been at odds since 2014 and there has been little or no movement towards a settlement since then.

Emphasizing that “It is not business as usual in PUSD,” McDonald wrote, “This is a time of intentional change requiring full participation at all staff levels.”

McDonald’s proposal to UTP provides an ongoing 5 percent salary increase effective July 2016. The offer “also calls for a 3 percent salary increase of UTP bargaining unit salary schedules retroactive to July 1, 2015, and a 2 percent salary increase effective July 2016 for the next school year, according to McDonald.

“Based on funding from the state to be announced by the Governor in May 2016, teachers may also receive up to an additional 1.6 percent raise, bringing the total compensation up to 6.6 percent ongoing,” the Superintendent wrote.

McDonald added, “A majority (58 percent) of our teachers earn an average of $107,233 in total compensation, including salary, district-paid health care benefits, and district-paid retirement contributions. The annual salary of these senior teachers is $85,450, the average district cost per teacher for health care is $12,614, and the district-paid retirement contribution for that salary level is $9,169.

“We are not happy with this offer,” Allison Steppe, Vice-President Elect of United Teachers of Pasadena, said Tuesday afternoon.

“We never saw this offer before,” Steppe said, “and he [McDonald] excluded one of the years, like it never happened. He acted like 2014 didn’t exist. And 3%, and 2%, and then maybe 1%, is not really six percent.”

Steppe added, “We are still fact finding until May 4, and so we are surprised that he even put something out regarding a final offer. It was a huge surprise to see it in the paper.”

“Not all of us are over the $100,000 he alluded to, even with benefits,” Steppe continued. “He distorted the numbers. The majority of teachers are under that. Rowland Heights got ten percent over two years, and they are not that far from us. Surrounding districts are seeing 8, 9,and 10 % increases.”

In his article, McDonald also said that “In order to redirect our resources to students while at the same time sustaining and offsetting needed salary increases (both now and in future years), PUSD’s proposal to UTP allows the district to transfer an instructor in instances where it would benefit our students. Many of the surrounding districts have this flexibility.”

Steppe countered: “There are no clear reasons as to why he would want to transfer or reassign anyone, so the language in the contract offer is unclear. This could be arbitrary and capricious, like if a principal doesn’t like you, they could just transfer you.”

The issue is not just about money, Steppe emphasized.

“There are also issues regarding transfers and reassignments, and counselors and librarians,” she said. The district has been unable to attract librarians at the salary that it has been offering, Steppe explained, so that money previously budgeted for librarians has been reallocated.

“Now we have middle schools that don’t have libraries,” said Steppe. “To not have a library on campus is not realistic.”

Said McDonald, “We believe this final proposal to UTP is fair and meets the interests of our students and their families.”

Steppe, clearly frustrated, responded, “Sometimes the fight that you are having with your employer is not always about money. Yes, money is important, but we also want to protect the language that is in our contract. We will continue to protest, and whatever fact-finding finds for us, and if we don’t get the language we want, we will take that action that leads us out of the classroom.”

Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.

Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.

Make a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

 

 

buy ivermectin online
buy modafinil online
buy clomid online
buy ivermectin online