PEA

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Negotiations A Publication of the Pittsburg Education Association th 159 E. 4 Street, Pittsburg, CA 94565 (925) 432-0199, peatchrs@att.net
March 29, 2012

l a sh p o i n t s

NEGOTIATIONS

Two Marathon Mediation Sessions Bring Us Closer to Settlement Agreement

At the beginning of the month the Public Employee Relations Board certified the District and Association at Impasse and assigned a neutral mediator to work with us. On Tuesday, March 13, the Association Bargaining Team and District Bargaining Team met with our state appointed mediator for the first mediated session. The teams met until after midnight and due to scheduling conflicts were unable to resume until Wednesday evening at 5:30. The second mediated session lasted until 5:30 Thursday morning! Both teams worked incredibly hard and had an exhausting week! After 25+ hours of mediation we were able to conceptually agree on several items but were unable to complete the language necessary for a tentative agreement. On Friday March 17, the Association Bargaining Chair and CTA staff consultant met with the Districts Chief Negotiator and the Districts attorney to work on the language, but we were unable to resolve the issues at that time. We met again on Thursday, March 29 to continue our work on the final contract language. The parties are bound by a confidentiality agreement, but we can tell you we are addressing your concerns and we will continue to work toward a fair settlement.

MOU Signed for Transfers to New Junior High School

Additionally this month, we met to discuss the opening of the new school and were able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the transfers to Martin Luther King, Jr. Junior High School. Unit members at Rancho Medanos and Hillview were emailed a copy of the MOU from Human Resources last week and known vacancies have been posted. Current junior high school unit members who are interested in transferring to the new school must submit their transfer request form to Human Resources by Monday, April 16 and volunteers shall be placed by April 30. Unit members from other school sites who are interested in moving to the new school will be able to interview for remaining positions after junior high teachers are placed. All unit members will know their positions for next year by June 1 or sooner as the positions are filled. Unit members who move school sites will be compensated under the tentative agreement signed by the District and Association: Article 26, Site Moving and Room Relocation.

Keep Organizing Until Tentative Agreement Reached

Thank you for your continued organizing efforts and support! We will need to keep up the pressure until a fair agreement is reached. The Grade-In at the School Board Meeting last Wednesday, was very successful. Hundreds of postcards were delivered to the Board Members and we hope this will help us reach a settlement. We are very close so lets keep up the momentum! Enjoy your Spring Break and stay tuned for an update from the Organizing Team when you return. In Solidarity, Your Bargaining Team
PEA Bargaining Team: Dawn Cova, Chair Rancho Medanos Jr. High, John Giaconia Riverside High, Mark Maselli Hillview Jr. High, Jeff Greco Rancho Medanos, Mary Hamlin Stoneman, and Rosemary Louissaint CTA Staff Consultant