May, 2003

BARGAINING UPDATE

Our Bargaining team (Stuart Asch, Keller; Vince Caruso, Kimball; Susan Cox, Mark Twain; Linda Flynn, Kimball; Barbara Pollis, Addams; Tom Steeby, Longfellow; and Sid Kardon) has met twice since the survey results have been tabulated to develop our bargaining demands. In the first meeting we reviewed the survey results and developed a general framework of bargaining goals. The team then met with MEA Uniserve Director Curt Lange to bring more specificity to the framework and to add items suggested by Curt that would produce a stronger contract. As Curt has announced his retirement (effective April 30th) our next bargaining team meeting will be to review our proposals with our new MEA Uniserve Director to fine tune our proposals even further.

As our contract proposals reflect the issues that our membership emphasized in the survey, we want to report to you the goals that the team will be pursuing in negotiations. In order to do this we have scheduled a membership meeting for Tuesday, May 27th at Kimball High School. The meeting will be held in the Kimball Multipurpose Room and will start at 4:05. Please be there to hear the bargaining team*s goals and to contribute your ideas. A strong and cohesive set of bargaining proposals developed by the bargaining team and the membership working together will give us a strong start in obtaining the best possible benefits for ROEA members.

Sid

CONTRACT FEATURE

Transfers

There are two kinds of transfers: voluntary and involuntary. Both types are covered on page 23 of the contract, under Section B., "Assignment and Transfer of Teachers." It is important to note that the administration all but disregards the contract transfer language. It is equally noteworthy that the union has been historically weak in defending our rights in this area, ceding to Administration the idea that involuntary transfers are sometimes necessary and not challenging the administration to meaningfully post all vacant positions. Fortunately, we currently have a grievance scheduled for arbitration in the fall which addresses the issue of job postings and voluntary transfers.

Let's look first at voluntary transfers. The ROEA supports seniority based voluntary transfers to positions which are not currently held by ROEA members. Page 24 of the contract discusses vacancies, the obligation of the district to post vacancies, and the rights of all ROEA members to be considered for those vacancies. The union does not support a voluntary transfer in which one teacher displaces another teacher, forcing the transfer of the second teacher. As I've noted in earlier editions of the REPORTER, the district's current practice is to not post available vacancies, therefore denying teachers our contractual rights to be preferentially considered for a vacant position.

The contract gives the district the right to make involuntary transfers. Although this particular language does not benefit us, we are bound by it. When the district makes an involuntary transfer based upon the opinion of an administrator that it is in the best interests of the instructional program to do so, that transfer should not adversely impact another teacher. However, the district is willing to transfer a second teacher to accommodate the district's need to involuntarily transfer the first teacher. The transfer of the first teacher may be contractually rationalized as necessary under the current language. The transfer of the second teacher, however, cannot be rationalized in the same way and might constitute a contract violation.

The present practices of the district result in an annual transfer process which on the one hand unnecessarily displaces teachers to different schools and on the other hand denies teachers the opportunity to transfer into vacant positions. Under the contract for example, all of the Parker and Franklin teachers should have the opportunity to move into vacant positions (section B.4). To my knowledge this has not been offered to any of these teachers; indeed, the current district practice is to not even post the vacant elementary positions that the Parker and Franklin teachers would be qualified to fill. In concert with the ROEA, a grievance should be considered which demands that vacated positions (due to resignations, retirements, leaves, etc.) are properly posted.

The current administrative practice is a whimsical one denying opportunities to many and unnecessarily transferring some. The easiest way to implement transfers is with a bidding system. At the end of the year, all vacated jobs are posted. Teachers bid on the jobs they want. If the teacher is qualified to do the work in terms of their state certifications then they receive the positions on a seniority basis without interviews. It's a radical idea: We can teach in different positions based on our state approved competencies rather than a subjective administrative view of our personalities and where we "fit."

We have been working with the administration to achieve better posting practices. Hopefully, with a clear posting as a start, a more logical and less disruptive transfer process will result. The important thing to keep in mind with current transfers is that the ROEA does not support transfers in which a teacher is displaced by another. This is strictly an administrative practice and it is not a contractually based one.

Ed. Note: The Seniority/Length of Service list is available on our web site ROEA.com. Click on "Seniority."

ROEA Scholarship

Applications for the ROEA scholarship are now available. Call Sid Kardon at 248/358-4770 to receive one. Or, go to our website - www.roea.com - to print an application. The ROEA scholarship is for the children or other relatives of our members. Last year's recipients were Kathryn Caruso, daughter of Vince Caruso, and Lee Mayers, son of Dawn Mayers.

The applications are anonymously reviewed by our selection committee. This year's selection committee volunteers are Stuart Asch, Betty Ann Garlak, and Dawn Mayers. The committee bases its decision on grades, teacher reference, and the candidate's personal statements.

The application deadline is Friday, May 30th.

Our Web Site

Visit ROEA.com to find our members' classified ads, teaching tips for new and veteran teachers, previous Reporters, the Seniority/Length of Service List, scholarship information, meeting minutes, and links to local and national educational sites.

Classified

All of the people who advertise in the REPORTER are connected to the ROEA. They are either members of the union, spouses of members, or retired teachers. You can expect a high quality of service and commitment to the needs of fellow union members as a result. Classified ads are also posted on our web site, ROEA.com!