We are in year 3 of no contract. A memorandum of agreement was signed by both sides of the negotiation committee in May for all tye language and terms of the contract. They agreed on a salary increase and then the actual salary guides needed to be developed approved. Our union includes teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, secretarial staff, food service workers and all other school related personnel. Basically, if you work in the district and are not a principal or administrator, you are in this union.
They keep going back and forth on the salary guides. It’s a long story but a % increase was agreed upon. Union made guides based on that %. District kept sending back the guides saying there were errors with the teachers guides. Union fixed errors each time and then district claimed there were more issues. Then district presented an alternative guide that did not have the % increase that had been agreed upon. Union countered with guides that met in between since that was what would happen if this went to mediation and were told by the board this set of guides were unacceptable this week for various reasons including the guides for various other school personal that they never had any issues with
In the meantime, at this month’s meeting the board just approved the contract for admins and they all got nice raises. Also at some point during this 3 year process, the board extended the superintendent’s contract even though at that time there were still at least 2 years left on his current contract (can’t remember when that happened…..it’s been a long 3 years with no raises)
So, there is a union meeting next week to plan for a strike. They have already asked for members to reach out to leadership if they are interested in being a strike captain for their building. They are going to explain the process from voting to authorize a strike to actually being on strike.
I can’t believe it’s actually reached the point of a possible strike.
My union went on strike a year ago. Thankfully it only lasted one day and they were able to come to an agreement. It was a very stressful period of time though.
My union went on strike a year ago. Thankfully it only lasted one day and they were able to come to an agreement. It was a very stressful period of time though.
My H is a teacher and he was formally hired after being a permanent sub at end of last school year-right when there was a ton of negotiations and a possible strike. Luckily the city and union FINALLY came to an agreement but he was super worried and had to go to a ton of meetings-he did say the union folks were great at explaining things and supporting the teachers.
The thing was the city wasn’t being a jerk about money-it was parental/personal leave that they were fighting about. Parental leave…for teachers of children. I hope things are resolved for you quickly because I get the stress of not knowing.
Not directly. I worked as a union associate in the past but it never came to a strike. I current industry is on strike but I’m non-union and not involved in negotiations so I can’t give much information.
My parents are retired elementary teachers. Once I got to middle school age I would go strike with them when there were strikes. I think there were 2-3 strikes between my 6th-12th grade years of school.
I live in an area with several steel mills. Everyone's dad/uncle/grandfather/someone worked for one of them in the 80/90s. Strikes were part of growing up in the industry, and I remember how scary they were as a kid. Things were definitely tense when there was a strike going on.
Post by ProfessorArtNerd on Oct 20, 2023 8:36:59 GMT -5
We've come very close at the community college, but an 11th hour agreement was reached. It was scary, and we are now in the last year of our "new" contract.
Post by litskispeciality on Oct 20, 2023 8:37:03 GMT -5
So this reminds me I have to call the last place I worked to find out when the 3 year contract that's completely passed is going to be funded. They sent me a letter over a month ago showing my new salary, but no indication of when the back pay (for 3 years of increase, fully taxed) will be funded. The union rep was awful and never responded to anything so I'm going to try the poor Payroll person listed on the letter, who never called me back a month ago.
Anyway so yes I've been through it. This union wouldn't strike, the best they'd do was work to rule...BUT only for faculty. My job was an "other duties as assigned" and a 2 -3 page job description that covered everything, so basically I could never work to rule. It was also very unpopular with administration, and could be a social mark against you when applying for other jobs (oh they're big in the union).
The union before that allegedly had something in the contract that you couldn't strike (what?) which I thought was part of the point of a union? Either way we employees just went well beyond the contract time before we got paid or COL increases and often lost out on benefits just to get something on the books. Honestly I wish that I could just not pay for a union* because it was more trouble than it was worth.
Teachers in my state however do strike. I hope they get what they need because education at all levels is understaffed, and underfunded
*In my state you had to pay x amount to not be union or y (larger amount) to be union. There was no way to not pay until a court case finally said you didn't have to pay union dues...but that was like 2 years before I left a union environment. The no-pay union members also had fewer benefits because they weren't paying the dues.
My husband almost has a couple of times. He's in a Healthcare workers union and they start picketing when they get close to striking. Easier to do with all different lunch hours and before and after shifts. Once it got to where they were voting to strike when it was settled. It's very stressful. It must be extremely frustrating for you to see others settle contracts while you're just twisting in the wind. I hope things are settled soon, and fairly. It's "fun" working without a contract to have them settle for 0%, 0% and 2%!
Ironically, I just asked my union rep in my organisation to get me the membership forms this morning. Our Union has been very close to striking on several occasions but it is usually averted.
I have not personally but the area where I live is known for the auto industry and unions so I know many people who are actually experiencing this right now. They keep it very organized and folks are assigned specific times to walk the line and they try to provide as clear communication as possible. This probably varies but folks by me are getting $500 per week strike pay which of course doesn't go very far and of course they aren't eligible to apply for unemployment. I just saw yesterday that a few of our local credit unions are providing low interest loans to help them through and possibly allowing folks to pause payments on existing loans. Some community folks also rally around to provide support like dropping off food/snacks and bottled water and more recently firewood.
Post by mrsukyankee on Oct 20, 2023 10:48:23 GMT -5
Various staff in universities in England have gone on strike multiple times in my years working there. As a counsellor even if we are part of the union striking, we have the ability to go into work as they don't want to put student's mental health at risk in that way. So, I've never been on strike but the union has.
Post by litskispeciality on Oct 20, 2023 11:20:11 GMT -5
(Edit: removed the wrong tag) That's awesome that the community is rallying so much. We had a grocery store (non-union) chain strike a few years ago and it was sad, and empowering to see the support. I was sad to see comments and complaints from those in other unions saying they shouldn't strike (laborers and civil service should get it the most), and happy to see others not shop there until it was resolved. Sadly they didn't unionize to my knowledge, but the "good guy" won in the end.
I talked to HR at the old job and now they're waiting on the state to back fill 3 years of increases. To the point above, these increase are literally like 2% at the most, so I'll lose most to taxes due to it being paid in one big clump...IF it's ever funded *sigh* Not the first time, but the lonest I've gone without the funding.
My husband was in a union for 5ish years (nuclear security), and they came very, very close to striking once. I remember them telling us he was eligible for unemployment during that time if they did strike, but they came to an agreement at the last minute. I can't remember the details of the deal, but I do know that my H was really unhappy with the compromise and felt like the union leadership basically caved. It was a super frustrating and scary time. I'm sorry you're dealing with it!
To be clear I don't want to paint a picture that everyone rallies because they certainly have their naysayers but a good number do. But it's also pretty rare around here if you don't have at least one person in your immediate or extended family that works or worked with the big 3.
Post by litebright on Oct 20, 2023 12:53:12 GMT -5
In my young reporter days, I worked for a unionized paper. We got a fairly close to a strike during one contract negotiation, and the guild organized a sort of pre-strike where we were essentially protesting/walking with signs, to show the union's unity and reflect who would be on the picket line if we actually had a strike. But there was no associated work stoppage. So our printing press people, who worked later at night, were there during the day and then would go work the presses at night, and editorial staff would come and go depending on who was working night vs day, but pretty much all of us were down at one point or another to show support.
That was the closest I've come. We approved a contract before it came to an actual strike.
It's illegal for teachers to go on strike in my state (Utah), so we just get to wear red and protest at the Capitol every few years. We also don't have actual unions, only associations.
Post by sporklemotion on Oct 20, 2023 14:42:14 GMT -5
I have gone on strike (teacher). It was a long time coming and lasted one day. We had very widespread community support, which helped resolve it quickly. It was ugly, though. Teacher strikes are technically illegal here, but they generally don’t have deep consequences— we had to work an extra day to replace pay and local unions often create funds to support penalties. The optics of arresting teachers are bad, so I haven’t seen that happen. Happy to answer any questions you have about it. It sucked, but once the contract settled it was SO much better than the long time leading up to it before.
Former Teacher, and we are not allowed to strike in our state. But, we did work to rule several times while I worked. It was really hard to get the job done, but all teachers walked in right at contract time and we walked out together at end of our contracted hours. No phone calls, meeting, concerts, events, etc if it was not in the contracted hours. Parents were really upset - phone calls and messages took several days, our music concert was moved for lunch time, etc. It was effective - but hard because as a teacher you knew the kids were feeling the effects but at some point you have to realize that is not the effect of the teachers' but the effect of local school boards/county not paying/negotiating in fairness.
Yes, and spent the day in jail for it. NJ can not strike. This was many many years ago. We did it anyway. A few hours in holding cell.
I’m also in NJ. I remember this. Early 2000’s? District starts with letter M and judge went in alphabetical order with his court summons when staff disregarded his return to work order? Makes me nervous because if we do strike and it gets to that point, my last name starts with C.
The negotiation committee meets next Tuesday and hopefully everything gets resolved. Otherwise, there is a union meeting Tuesday night and plans for a possible strike will be discussed.
Post by pierogigirl on Oct 20, 2023 15:04:13 GMT -5
No because it's illegal for teachers to strike in NY. But, in NY we also have the Triborough Amendment which make it illegal for the employer not to honor the all the terms of an expired contract (so the schools can't not give raises and not negotiate a new contract just to save money). I have been without a contract for up to a year.
Yes, twice. I'm a public servant and we just had the largest strike in Canadian history back in May. We were off for 2 weeks. It started as a general strike whereas the previous strike was rotating. It's really difficult to listen to the rhetoric from the public. Public servants are lazy and overpaid apparently 🙄 I really suggest getting involved. The more you engage, the better the communication will be.
Not a full strike but a work to the rule for about 2 months. It sucked, honestly. I was a first year teacher and not having prep time after school was impossible.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Yes, and spent the day in jail for it. NJ can not strike. This was many many years ago. We did it anyway. A few hours in holding cell.
I’m also in NJ. I remember this. Early 2000’s? District starts with letter M and judge went in alphabetical order with his court summons when staff disregarded his return to work order? Makes me nervous because if we do strike and it gets to that point, my last name starts with C.
The negotiation committee meets next Tuesday and hopefully everything gets resolved. Otherwise, there is a union meeting Tuesday night and plans for a possible strike will be discussed.
OMG YES!!!! that's amazing that you remember that. It was a bizarre kind of day, but id do it again!
Post by nothingcontroversial on Oct 20, 2023 17:50:15 GMT -5
Not me, but my dad was in several strikes during his over 30-year teaching career at two different public school districts in Pennsylvania. The first time, he was included in the local television news footage, walking the picket line. My mom was pregnant with my younger sister at the time. Luckily, the strike ended and they got a new contract before my sister was born.
The most recent time, my dad was on the negotiating committee. I was already out of college and living on my own, but it was a very stressful time in my parents' household. There was a lot of bitterness in the community and a lot of hard feelings when it ended. There were hard feelings between my parents and people we knew from various places in our community, including the Catholic church parish that my parents attended. My parents switched to a different Catholic Church several years after the strike, and they said it was because they liked the priest at this other parish, but I wonder how much of a role the strike had to play in all of this.