Vermont Business Magazine Members of the Burlington Education Association voted Thursday to authorize a strike beginning October 20 if a negotiated contract agreement isn’t reached. Mediator Ira Lobel has called both the union and the board to a negotiating session scheduled for October 19.
“This afternoon, we voted to authorize our negotiating team to call a strike no earlier than October 20 if a negotiated settlement is not reached during our upcoming bargaining session called by the mediator,” said Fran Brock in a statement released after the vote. Brock is a Burlington High School history teacher who serves as the Burlington Education Association president. “We did not ever think it would come to this, but the leadership of the school board has decided that division, political gamesmanship and walking away and imposing employment conditions was a better course than settling during more than a year of talks.”
Following its rejection of the imposed contract, BEA members and allies try to rally support from commuters during an informational picket on September 27 in front of the Staples plaza. BEA photos.
Under the imposed terms, teachers will pay 16 percent of their health care (up from the current 15 percent, where the union wanted it to stay) starting January 1, 2017. By the time negotiations broke down in mid-September, the board had increased its offer to 2.75 percent. The board initially had proposed a 1.8 percent salary increase, while the union asked for 5.29 percent. A fact finder suggested a 3.25 percent increase, which the union indicated it would accept, leaving the two sides only a half-point apart. Most of the other benefits will remain the same under the imposed contract.
The union represents 400 educators, who serve the 3,600 students. According to the Burlington Free Press,"96 percent of the 330 teachers present voted to strike."
Brock said that there is still a chance to avoid a strike. “Teachers take this action with thoughtfulness and sadness,” she said. “We are acutely aware that a strike is disruptive for students, families, and for the community. There is a chance to avoid this strike, and it will require the board’s negotiating team to approach our scheduled mediation with a singular desire: obtaining a negotiated contract settlement.”
“I pledge that members of our team, as they always have, are willing and ready to roll up their sleeves and stay at the table as long as meaningful bargaining takes place,” Brock said.
In response to the BEA strike threat, the Burlington School Board said in a statement: "Like the Burlington community, the Board is very disappointed in the decision by the teachers to disrupt the educational process of Burlington's children by threatening to go on strike.
"It is unfortunate that teachers feel that an average salary increase of over $1,900 - almost three times the cost of living - is somehow unfair and disrespectful.
"Our final offer, after 14 months of negotiations, was reasonable and fair to the teachers and to taxpayers, and it allows the District to better meet the needs of our students.
"We hope the teachers will reevaluate their decision to threaten to strike and not disrupt the education of the City’s children. Given BEA President Fran Brock’s assurance to the community in today’s Free Press that the dispute is 'not about money,' the Board is cautiously optimistic about next week's mediation."
BEA union Sustainability Academy (Lawrence Barnes school) teachers at an informational picket September 27 in the Old North End.
Brock said the vote to strike comes after the school board became only the 21st in Vermont history to walk away from talks and impose employment policies for the current school year. As it happens, she said, this board also imposed employment policies faster than any of its counterparts in Vermont history.
“As the men and women who work in our city’s schools every day, our first and primary priority is teaching Burlington’s children. That’s why we sought a swift, 1-year renewal of our contract more than a year ago,” Brock said. “We thought the board shared our desire to avoid a disruption in our school year. We hope that they will do what it takes to prevent it from happening.”
Meanwhile, The School Board announced Friday morning that it has reached an agreement with the District's Property Services and Bus Services staff over a new one-year contract.
This contract, ratified by union members on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 and approved by the Board on October 13, 2016, provides for a 2 percent salary increase for all staff in exchange for a modest increase in health insurance contributions and some operational improvements and simplifications. "The Board would like to thank the AFSCME union for its willingness to engage in a vigorous and meaningful exchange of proposals while remaining mindful of the community's ability to pay," The Board said in a statement announcing the new contract.
Source: Burlington Education Association 10.13.2016. Burlington School Board 10.14.2016.