School Board to Vote on T.A. September 26th
Ballot counting for the Tentative Agreement between WEA and WJUSD for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years is complete. The result of the vote met our ratification threshold of 50% plus one vote. Therefore, the active membership of WEA has voted to adopt the Tentative Agreement. Next steps: Our Tentative Agreement is scheduled to appear on the September 26, 2019 agenda of the WJUSD Board of Trustees. After their approval, our retroactive compensation will be processed by payroll, and WEA & WJUSD will be free to begin bargaining our successor agreement. Stay tuned for WEA member engagement conversations coming soon to your work site regarding future negotiations items.
Union Dues begin September 30
Our annual NEA/ CTA/ WEA dues are paid through tenthly payroll deductions which are taken each school year from September through June. Our August paychecks did not have a payroll deduction for union dues. Our first union dues payroll deduction for the 19-20 school year will happen on our September 30 paychecks.
Class Size Overage Compensation Begins
September 11, 2019 was the first date in the current school year that WEA members who are classroom teachers with class sizes beyond the contractual limits can begin to file an extra duty time card to be compensated for the work associated with the extra students. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on this issue was signed by WEA and WJUSD on September 5th. As soon as WEA receives a copy of the MOU document, it will be passed along to affected members along with an explainer of how to file for extra duty pay. You can learn more about class size by reading the WEA-WJUSD collectively bargained employment agreement located here on our website. Class size contract language is located in Article 13.
Addressing Workplace Issues
How are union issues most appropriately addressed?
Is it a question that can be answered by reading our contract? Individual members can download the WEA-WJUSD collectively bargained employment employment agreement here on our website. Perform a ctrl + f or command + f to open a search box in the PDF, and enter the topic of your question or issue.
Members at work sites can work together with WEA site reps to grow in our understanding of what our contract says and what it means. Site reps can reach out to executive board members or committee chairs for help in answering contract questions.
Is the issue limited to my work site or faculty group? Have you connected with your WEA site rep about your concerns? Across WEA we are working with each other to resolve issues at the lowest possible level. Site-specific issues should be resolved at the site level — with the principal. Together with your site reps you can determine how to work with your principal to address problems.
Is this a broader issue? If the issue goes beyond a question that can be answered by reading the contract and beyond one work site, it might be worth WEA members organizing to resolve the problem. Is this issue widely held and deeply felt? What other WEA bargaining unit members are impacted? Answering these questions involves talking to and engaging with other members about the issue, and this is where Exec Board members and committee chairs can help.
How should we communicate with each other about union issues? Remember, any correspondence that takes place on WJUSD’s network belongs to the district. The work of WEA belongs to us, its members. We have the right to use WJUSD email to communicate about scheduled meetings, but not for organizing purposes. If you don’t have the non-WJUSD contact information for a union person, you may use WJUSD email to connect and exchange that information and make arrangements to meet. As president, I am working hard to keep my district work and my union work separate. You can connect with me through this website using the contact form. — Jen