BARGAINING 2003
The sky is falling!" The stock market, the State’s economic climate, declining enrollment, insurance rate increases and the list goes on with all the reasons for a challenging year at the bargaining table for ten of our associations who will be bargaining this year. "Well, get a grip!" This is not the first time things were not all roses. Yet these ten associations will eventually come to agreement with their respective school boards. Let’s take a look at the 2001 fund equities in our K-12 districts:
|
DISTRICT |
FUND EQ |
PERCENTAGE |
DISTRICT |
FUND EQ |
PERCENTAGE |
|
|
Cadillac |
$6,055,932 |
26.21% |
McBain |
$2,224,572 |
37.65% |
|
|
Evart |
$1,852,403 |
21.82% |
Mesick |
$2,841,158 |
44.81% |
|
|
Manton |
$ 396,219 |
5.96% |
Pine River |
$2,976,533 |
32.65% |
|
|
Marion |
$1,896,419 |
34.12% |
The bottom-line, from my perspective, is that many of these fund equities are excessive, and these districts can well afford to not patronize their employees about how bleak things are. A reasonable fund equity used to be 10%, and I would argue that anything over 15% borders on excessive. There will be "bean counters" who will agonize over any decrease in their fund equities. Most of our districts have been turning a profit, almost on a yearly basis, for several years. Most of our 15-B districts had fund equities that went up over 5% between 1997 and 1998 - with McBain’s going up almost 13%. Does anyone recall getting a 5% raise that year? Our school boards did not share when they were turning the big profits, and it might be really unfair for them to whine now. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t!
BARGAINING UPDATE
Unsettled
: Evart ESP & Evart TransportationPreparing to bargain for 2003: Cadillac EA, TAS of Cadillac, Evart EA, Manton EA and ESP, Marion EA and Bus Drivers, Pine River EA and ESP, and Wexford-Missaukee ISD ESP.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
| Jan 16 | Roger in Lansing for training |
| Jan 27 - Feb 1 | Roger in Dearborn – Bargaining Conference* |
| Feb. 11 | Coordinating Council – OPIE honoree packets must be turned in!! |
| Feb. 19 | 15-B Retirement Workshop – 6:30 p.m. – RSVP |
| Feb. 26 (?) | MESSA Employee Benefit Bargaining Tune-up – Big Rapids - RSVP |
| *We have 31 members who will be attending this year's Bargaining, Political Action and Public Relations Conference in Dearborn on January 30 - February 1. | |
SOUTH KOREA IS NUMBER ONE
According to the UNICEF Innocenti Research Center, South Korea has the most effective education system among the world’s 24 richest countries. Japan is number two, and the United States is 18th. This comparison study emphasizes that the home learning environment is critical to a nation’s educational success. The study goes on to say that: "It is clear that the educational disadvantage is born not at school, but in the home. Learning begins at birth."PARAPROFESSIONAL OR PARAEDUCATOR PROFILE
According to NEA, 96% of us are female; 80% are married; 48% have school-age children; 71% work with special education students; 75% live in the school districts where we work (where we have lived an average of 25 years); 68% of us have attended college; and 19% have a bachelor’s degree. Our average age is 47. More than
700,000 paraeducators work in our nation’s K-12 public schools, and that number is expected to increase by 120,000 by 2010. Paraeducators in this profile include playground, building or bus monitors; instructional and noninstructional assistants; teachers’ and program aides; library aides; crossing guards; nonmanagerial supervisors; preschool caregivers; technicians and assistants."I WON’T BE IN TODAY"
A newspaper article titled "I won’t be in today – and it’s costing my company a fortune" caught my attention. Thanks to increases in private sector salaries and fringe benefits, the costs have grown to $789 a year per worker, which is a 30% increase in two years according to a survey. Interestingly, an annual survey of 333 U.S. companies comparing the year 2000 and 2002 found that the overall rate of unscheduled absences had not increased, but found that absences because of family issues and personal issues had increased to 45% while only 33% were for actual illnesses. Absences due to stress were pegged at 12% while 10% were absences due to an "entitlement mentality". An analyst, in an attempt to interpret this data, believes that workers have increasingly complicated lives with the rise in single-parent households and both people often working in two-parent households. This analyst suggested employers grant workers a set number of days off every year to use however they see
fit. I remember participating in bargaining the first personal business day language in Cadillac, and our intent was to procure two days that we could use to attend to business that we couldn’t conduct because of our work hours. That was then, and this is now. It seems at several bargaining tables every year we fight that battle to be able to use personal business days for personal reasons. Some districts are so nasty about letting employees use their personal business days that, unfortunately, some employees opt to call in sick. Futurist Arnold Brown says stress could become the leading cause of disability within the next 20 years. "The times, they are a changin’." - Bob Dylan
INSURANCE COSTS ARE RISING
This is not news; this is reality. Do you realize that the price of natural gas has gone up as well, and also at a much faster pace than the cost-of-living? Yet do we turn the heat down? Maybe - or maybe we try to save in other places. The difference here is that one of these commodities more directly affects the employee’s wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment. That commodity (insurance) is a mandatory subject of bargaining with the employees, whereas the price of natural gas may not be that negotiable. Support staffs that pay a portion of their health insurance premium really seem to get hit the hardest here. For example: Several bus drivers in Evart received essentially a 78 cent/hour decrease in wages when their BCBS/PPO health insurance rates went up 21%. Is it wrong for these bus drivers to want good insurance for themselves and their families? When complaining, some of our members have heard the quote: "After all, you knew that when you took the job!" OR "You are just part-time!" (These quotes were not made in Evart). The "bean counters" usually don’t get to experience these personal wage decreases. I know there are some teachers in a couple of our districts that have felt firsthand the impact of an insurance cap, and, again, the "bean counters" didn’t allow themselves the same luxury. A piece of advice from this corner is to say "absolutely not" to any suggestion of a cap or a greater sharing of insurance costs by the employee. In fact, if you have an insurance cap, get rid of it. You earn those benefits. They are not a gift from your employer. Employers may try the ploy that an increase in the cost of the insurance benefit is your raise. Phooey to that concept. That faulty logic could have us all counting the increase cost of natural gas as part of our raise because our Employers have to pay more to keep our workplaces warm!
15-B OFFERS TWO SCHOLARSHIPS
The 15-B Coordinating Council has voted to offer two $500 scholarships this year. These scholarships are funded from a State Association grant to help commemorate our 150th year as an organization. The two scholarships are designated as one for the child or dependent of a 15-B Educational Support Personnel (ESP) member, and one for the child or dependent of a 15-B Education Association (EA) member. The scholarship winners must be high school seniors or undergraduate students currently attending college. TAS of Cadillac, Evart Transportation Professionals and the Marion Bus Drivers Association will be considered under the ESP designation. Scholarship applications will be made available to high school counselor offices. The selection criteria are stated on the application, and the deadline for the submission of applications is March 14th. These scholarships will be awarded at our annual OPIE banquet on April 24th.
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