REOPENERS: WE'VE GOT NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT

(I am wondering if they are trying to press the union to take the salary schedule out of the current contract.)

I just went to my last blog and cut and pasted this parenthetical statement I made when I was explaining how our contract as teachers is not for one year but it is for 15 years one year at a time as a function of the Washington K-12 Salary Allocation Schedule being adopted as Appendix A in our Collective Bargaining Agreement. Guess what? No more.

Just like you I received in the mail the Summary of SPS proposals today August 15th. I read the whole piece as I hope you are all doing and it was much the same as can be found elsewhere. The union is making an issue out of tying teacher evaluations to student test scores. From my perspective the greater violations are occurring in what is not being agreed to before bringing either the SPS or the SEA proposal before the membership. These significant violations can be found in what the SPS is calling reopeners. I think this means that after we ratify the contract, the SPS and the SEA can in post ratification times agree to these things without the vote of the membership. These alone are worth striking for.

1. In the event that it chooses to hire new teaching staff through alternative organizations such as Teach for America, SPS reserve the right to reopen this Agreement for renegotiation to bargain the effects of such a decision, as required by law.

Teach for America is the brain child of the federal government to, get this, hire college graduates out of schools with no teaching credentials and put them into schools as teachers for 2 years. Something like the peace corps or something like that. This whole program is unconscionable somehow believing that fresh college grads in their fields of interest can or will be effective teachers and should somehow get first shot at open teaching jobs. First of all this an absolute insult to all colleges of education and all teacher education programs. Second of all allowing districts to hire uncredentialed persons in credentialed fields is like allowing anatomy students to come in and play doctor. What about all of the kids who have committed to gaining credentials and will ultimately, I presume, cost the district's more money? What is the incentive to ever hire and train new teachers. With teach for America you could roll untrained college students through the system every year and as they fell off like flies replace them with a new crop and maybe hold on to a couple who by happenstance turn out to be natural born teachers. Teach For America is the absolute most insidious undoing and blatantly largest insult against teachers and teaching professionals of all time. SAY NO to TEACH FOR AMERICA teachers. Send these good souls to Ghana. Professional teachers only for American public schools.

2. SPE reserve the right to reopen this Agreement for renegotiation to discuss adoption of the Washington K-12 Salary Allocation Schedule for Certificated Instruction Staff and adjusting TRI payments so that employees maintain the same level of total compensation.

Well there it is, as promised. This SSD bargaining unit has told our SEA bargaining unit that they can forget about adopting the Salary schedule. This alone makes these negotiations a non-starter. The salary schedule is the basis of the teacher's professional career with the steps and salary increases that they merit according to who, THE STATE of WASHINGTON, that's who and the SEATTLE SCHOOL DISTRICT is saying NOPE. Only if we say so.

This is not good faith or any kind of reasonable bargaining. The Goodloe-Johnson administration has to be removed. The school board has to be turned out and replaced with a school board which respects its employees and their collective bargaining agency.

I frankly don't think, at least for me, there is much more to talk about. If these Reopeners are not resolved which deny the district the opportunity to staff through alternative organizations and the district does not agree to adopt the Washington State K-12 Salary Allocation Schedule there is simply NOTHING to TALK ABOUT.

SHMUEL