By Nick Buglione
The memo was drafted in the wake of the last collective-bargaining meeting between the East Meadow Teachers Association and the school district, on Sept. 15, at which union officials expressed their desire to move into the next phase of state-facilitated negotiations, fact-finding.
East Meadow teachers have been without a contract since their last five-year deal expired Aug. 31, 2004, though EMTA and the school district have been meeting with a state-appointed mediator to try and hammer out a new deal since last September. Little progress has been made.
The East Meadow School District deputy superintendent, Leon Campo, said the district sent out the memo as a last-ditch effort to avoid moving into fact-finding, a long process that doesn't always result in a new contract.
"Fact-finding almost ensures that there will be no contract for this year," Campo said. "We're at a crossroads now."
Copies of the school district's new 21-point proposal, which Campo said offers "huge concessions" in salary and benefits, were delivered to the teachers. Up until now, only the school district and union negotiating teams have been privy to the details of collective bargaining. The teachers have until Oct. 31 to agree to the deal, or it will be taken off the table.
Slamming the district and its memo, EMTA President John Gallagher said the union still wants to begin fact-finding. "It's a ploy to get our membership to be concerned about the process and think, We better take this, because it's the best we're going to do," Gallagher said. "It's not going to break the resolve of this membership."
Gallagher added that he was also looking into filing a complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), whose appointed mediator recommended that neither side discuss the details of collective bargaining publicly.
Among the major points of the district's three-year proposal is a 5.9 percent pay raise for teachers this school year, and a 5.7 percent increase next year. The raises account for about $3 million in new money to teachers each year, Campo said. The district would also compress the salary-increase schedule to remove some of the current gaps that exist between teacher raises.
East Meadow teachers have complained that while their starting salaries are comparable to those in other school districts, it takes much longer for them to reach maximum salary. What¹s more, the maximum salary is not comparable to that of other districts, they say.
Though the district initially hoped to only pay 75 percent of teachers' health insurance under the new contract, while they kicked in the other 25 percent, the plan would retain the current 85/15 percent breakdown. All teachers, however, would be asked to contribute an extra $240 a year to help offset rising health care costs.
While the deal only covers three years, beginning with the already completed 2004-05 school year, the district said it would be willing to work out the details of an extra year or two if the teachers desire, Campo said.
"We as a board value our teachers, and we love our community," said Debbie Coates, president of the East Meadow Board of Education, which unanimously approved the district's contract proposal. "Our goal is to settle this. No one wants to see this go on." But a new contract still appears nowhere in sight, as teachers continue to picket outside schools and attend Board of Education meetings in protest.
This is by far the longest period in East Meadow School District history that contract negotiations have gone without a deal being reached. After a year of PERB-supervised negotiations, there is little more that can be accomplished in mediation, Gallagher said.
Fact-finding would be the next step. In this stage, both sides submit their arguments to another PERB-appointed representative on the specific issues stalling the collective-bargaining talks. After considering all the arguments, the representative offers recommended solutions on each issue. "I don't think a fact-finder is going to find our proposals unreasonable," Gallagher said. Those solutions, however, are not legally binding.
As teachers began their second year of work without a contract, it remained business as usual at the schools, Gallagher said. "We're committed to providing the excellent services the residents of East Meadow have come to expect in the classroom."
During previous contract negotiations, teachers have refused to advise clubs, take classes on field trips and show up for extra help.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
