On May 23, ten Education Austin members,  representing schools all over the district, filed a group grievance insisting that the district retract new language it wrote into new one-year professional contracts:  "Your salary includes consideration for all assigned duties, responsibilities, and tasks, regardless of the actual number of hours or days (including days not designated on the school calendar) that you work during this Contract.”This means that professional employees could be “assigned” duties outside our 187-day contracts without the district paying us for doing them. 

The grievance addresses the fact that this new language was adopted without the administration taking it to Education Austin for consultation, as required by district policy. This means that no professional employees were informed or had any voice at all into our contractual changes. This language is also in direct violation of several consultation agreements that Education Austin has negotiated with the administration.    

The new language also states: "The Professional Employee agrees to satisfactorily and timely submit or account for all grades, reports, school equipment or other required items upon request from the  District..." This provision could be used to violate state law, which states: "...a school district may not require an employee... to pay for  instructional materials or technological equipments that is damaged, stolen, misplaced, or not returned..." [with the possible exception of teachers' personal laptops provided by the district]. 

Education Austin will pursue the grievance throughout the summer.  We insist that  the district rescind the new language and notify all affected employees that the new contract language is null and void.   To receive detailed updates or to get involved in Education Austin’s Contract Committee, which will be working on this issue, contact the union  at maryk@educationaustin.org

The June 12 statewide election is coming up soon, and the North Dakota Public Employees Association is urging its members to VOTE NO on Measure 2. You don't even have to wait until Election Day to put in your vote. Click on this link to find out how to get your absentee ballot mailed to you, or where and when you can vote early in your district.

Additional Resources

All spring long the school board has discussed the possibility of rescinding some classified positions by using the swept tier III funds.  It is clear this board wants to avoid the chaos from last fall when the District went without library clerks, a career center technician and outreach counselors.  The release of the May revise budget will play a key role in determining how the Board moves forward.

The Board meeting is scheduled for June 12 at 6:30pm at the Galt city chambers.

NEA.org

Learn about the most recent happenings of the Florida Education Association Retired.

La Follette Pension Study

The La Follette Workshop in Pubic Affairs prepared a study for the Wisconsin Legislative Council on alternatives for administering the Wisconsin Retirement System.  This report is NOT the report required by ACT 32 which is due to be released in June.   The La Follette report  was released in May of 2012.  For more details, click here. 

Defend The Wisconsin Retirement System

Retired WPEC member/activist Philip Anderson and retired WSP member/activist Roger Springman prepared an paper about defending the WRS retirement system. They are also part of a group of public retiree activists called POWRS. To read the paper, click here.

 Pension Tension, Capital Times.

"Now, emboldened by the recent recall victory in Wisconsin — and two votes the same night in California to sharply curb pensions for municipal employees — anti-government forces are taking aim at public-sector retirement systems nationwide."   Click Here to read more. 

Companies Pension Pleas (in the private sector). 

"Business groups are urging Congress to let employers put less money into their pension funds, saying that exceptionally low interest rates are forcing them to set aside too much cash. . . Labor unions are open to changing the contribution formula, but say that Congress shouldn't allow companies to underfund their pension plans, as has happened already in some cases."

Click Here to read more.

State's Pension System Doesn't Need Tinkering

A somewhat surprising editorial from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (6/28/12). 

Click Here to read more. 

We are pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative settlement with the Essex County College administration which we are recommending for ratification.


Full members should expect to receive a detailed email outlining the settlement. Please remember that only full members are eligible to vote for ratification.


We will notify you of the dates, times and place where the ballots will be cast and counted.


Thank you for your patience and support.

According to the A&R website,  more than 14,000 retirees are waiting for the final calculation of their benefits. These people are receiving an estimated pension until the final calculation is done. The estimated pension is reduced by approximately 1% to avoid overpayments. When the actual benefit is calculated, the State pays what is owed plus 5% interest.

Jeanie Wallace's guest column for the Morgan Hill Times looks at the schizophrenic nature of teaching in today's schools and challenges the community to volunteer to staff after school project labs at each school.