GEA-Action.org

Hello GEA Members,

You should know that on Friday, March 26, GEA gained a settlement on behalf of Grossmont High School GEA members for a grievance filed in September of 2008.  The settlement gives the Grossmont High School faculty compensation for additional work required of them by district officials beyond the workday -- the district had required the extra work without permitting a restructuring vote to extend the workday.  GEA members will be compensated with 1 to 3 days of comp time to settle the grievance.

In addition -- The Public Employees Relations Board (PERB) issued a COMPLAINT against the Grossmont district for violating the Restructuring article in our contract.  (See attached PERB document.) The contract was violated when district officials refused to follow the Restructuring Article's procedures which required a vote among unit members with a 70 percent approval rate for any change in the schedule that would alter the length of an instructional period by more than ten minutes, or alter the beginning or ending of the workday by more than 25 minutes, from a six-period schedule.  The fact that the COMPLAINT was issued by PERB strengthens enforcement of the contract.  We will keep you posted on further outcomes regarding the PERB COMPLAINT.

The decision by PERB is important in that we have a contract that both parties (GEA and the district) signed.  It is a legal document---if district officials break the contract we must challenge them or they will violate other parts of the contract.  PERB supported GEA's challenge against the district.

We are facing contract mediation now due to a unilaterally declared impasse by the same district leadership that PERB ruled violated our contract.  The actions of close to 1000 GEA members will make a difference in the outcome of this mediation.

Thursday, April 8 -- Members of the GEA Organizing Committee are making signs at the GEA office on Thursday, after school.  The pizza has been ordered.  GEA members are invited to make a few signs for the School Board Meeting on April 15.

Thursday, April 15 -- GEA Members will be demonstrating / picketing prior to the Grossmont School Board meeting in support of a fair and reasonable contract settlement.  Your participation at this school board meeting will secure a better contract for you.

Thank you for your support and participation in the coming events -- AND WEAR RED on Friday!

Check the GEA web site for further updates:   http://gea-action.org/

Fran Zumwalt
GEA President

Hello Colleagues,

Mark your calendar -- On Thursday, April 15, 2010, at the next Grossmont School Board meeting, GEA members will be demonstrating at ECREC (El Cajon Regional Education Center) in support of a fair and reasonable contract settlement starting at 5:00 PM.

Reasons you should attend the April 15 school board meeting:

1.  On March 11, at the last school board meeting, the Superintendent accepted a 5% reduction to his salary - EFFECTIVE July 1, 2010 - AFTER he leaves the Grossmont District to work for CORE K12, a business that sells expensive educational products to school districts.

2.  Grossmont School Board members are the DECIDERS -- on whether to implement the Superintendent's last proposal to GEA of 5 furlough days (2.7 percent cut), plus a 5 percent salary cut, and increases to the cost for health benefits (equivalent to a possible 2.5 percent cost) -- all in all a total loss to GEA members of up to 10 percent in total compensation.  In addition, retirees who "vested" in the health benefit plan and who retire after July 1, 2010 - will pay fees for health benefits - a huge contract change to the health benefit plan that retirees never anticipated.

3.  A LARGE TURNOUT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE -- remember that the November 2010 School Board elections loom ahead -- for incumbants Rob Shield, Jim Kelly and Dick Hoy.

GEA members from Grossmont High School attended the last Grossmont School Board meeting in mass on March 11 -- marching to the slogan, "We want nothing!"  These members invite you to join them in demonstrating before the GUHSD School Board meeting on Thursday, April 15, at 5:00 PM at ECREC.

Fran Zumwalt
GEA President

Hello Colleagues,

GEA has received notice from the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) that negotiations between the Grossmont district and GEA have been declared at impasse by PERB.

This means that a mediator will be assigned at some future date - yet to be determined - for the purpose of assisting both parties in reaching a tentative agreement.

GEA negotiators believe that the district's application to PERB requesting that 'Impasse' be declared was completely premature, as GEA had just received the District's proposal for compensation for 2010-2011. GEA had no opportunity to develop a counter proposal since the district had not provided details about its proposal.

We must be able to do our research on the District's proposal -- to know what the costs and savings are in the district's proposal -- before we can counter it. And the District rushed to impasse before that could be done.

At the Grossmont School Board meeting held on March 11, 2010, a very misleading Budget Update was presented to the Grossmont School Board. After listening to the presentation -- I prepared an open letter to Scott Patterson, the Deputy Superintendent for Business Services. It is printed in the Advocate. (Click here to read it online)

Please continue to wear your RED T-shirts on Fridays -- as a sign of unity -- for the goal of reaching a fair and reasonable contract agreement.

Respectfully,
Fran Zumwalt
GEA President

cc. Scott Patterson

President Shield and School Board Members,

My name is Fran Zumwalt and I am the elected President of the 1000 member Grossmont Education Association. I am asking you, the Grossmont School Board, to STOP and REFOCUS your attention on the 1000 educators directly impacted by Superintendent Collins’ decision to declare contract negotiations at impasse.

Superintendent Collins recently wrote, “Despite nearly 50 negotiation sessions with GEA no agreement has been reached.”  

In addition he said GEA had made no viable counter offer to the district’s proposal.

Here is the truth.

GEA met with the district 33 times to bargain the contract for 2009-2010.

The district introduced a compensation proposal for 2010-2011 at noon on February 2nd. That afternoon, GEA asked many questions about the district’s proposal, particularly with regards to health benefits, which district negotiators said would be answered at the next bargaining session.

Before being able to meet again, District officials notified GEA by phone and in a February 17th letter that they had petitioned the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) for a declaration of impasse.

Clearly, the letter sent to PERB dated February 17th revealed the district’s intent to seek impasse before GEA could have provided a counter offer at the next bargaining session on February 19th.

Last September, the superintendent told GEA the Grossmont District was in better financial shape than most districts in the State of California.  Yet, Bob Collins wants 1000 Grossmont educators to accept the most extreme and punitive contract proposal in the county.  If San Diego City and Sweetwater, despite spending down their reserves, reached fair and reasonable agreements with their teachers, surely a similar settlement can be found for Grossmont and GEA.

Clearly there are statewide budget concerns.  Just as clearly, the Grossmont District is in a position to offer GEA a proposal better than any other offer countywide and one that values educators.  Instead, Bob Collins believes coercive and manipulative tactics will intimidate teachers, counselors, school psychologists, and speech pathologists.  

To exploit the economic climate in the state and to continue funding reserves on the backs of teachers will hurt the Grossmont District and its students AND it is all unnecessary.

The position Bob Collins takes has consequences.  Teachers and counselors -- all GEA Members -- feel disrespected and devalued by the district’s behavior at the negotiations table and they want to take action.

Imposing an offer designed to maintain reserves -- is unethical.  

The publication, Education Week, reported that the State of California ranks 47th in the country on per pupil spending in education.  

To have built reserves by not spending what the state allocated to educate California's students -- was unethical.  

To maintain reserves when you have argued in the past that those reserves should be saved for “the rainy day” – is unethical.  It is raining now.

To raise class size on the backs of students and teachers to unmanageable levels in order to maintain reserves -- is immoral and unethical.

It is time to move in a different direction – away from the consequences no one wants.  It is time to find a viable and reasonable contract settlement.  It is time for a CHANGE OF FOCUS.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Fran Zumwalt, GEA President