By Liz McBreen
An emergency information meeting was held last Wednesday night at West Hempstead High School in order to help explain the in's and out's of the current efforts. District teachers demonstrated their unhappiness by picketing in front of school with 'Contract Now' signs. They are legally forbidden to strike.
Shortly before the meeting got underway, the teachers began to stream into the auditorium and took their places along the wall on either side of the room.
Attorney Greg Guercio, the board's Chief Negotiator, gave a presentation explaining the process that has taken place so far and the points of contention that the two sides have come across during negotiations.
According to Guercio, the teachers' last contract ended on June 30 of last year. Negotiations for a new pact began in Feb. 2001 and continued after the old contract lapsed. In August, the two sides came to an impasse, and from September to December, neutral mediation took place.
The mediator, agreed upon by both sides, was unable to bridge the gap between them. As a result, the union and the board moved into a "fact-finding" phase in January of this year.
The last contract agreed upon by the teachers and the board ran from 1996-2001. It remained virtually unchanged from the previous contract with the exception of salary increases.
During negotiations, both sides agreed that for the first three years of the contract (1996-99), teachers' salaries would increase by 2.95 percent, which was the average increase for Nassau County at the time of the contract.
The last two years were increased based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for West Hempstead. The index, released monthly by the Labor Department, measures the change in cost of a representative basket of goods and services such as food, energy, housing, clothing, transportation, medical care, entertainment and education.
This would mean a minimum increase of two percent and a maximum of four percent. Because the CPI only went up two percent in 1999-2000, the teachers received a two percent raise. In 2000-01, there was a three percent increase. The low CPI in WH resulted in relatively low salary raises as compared to the rest of the county.
Guercio went on to explain the incremental salary scale on which the district runs. The scale has steps increasing with each year of seniority and schooling. His figures stated that between their incremental increase and yearly salary increase, each teacher in the WH district receives roughly a 7% pay increase each year.
At this point, Guercio's math met with vocal disapproval from the teachers who flanked the sides of auditorium during the meeting.
"Fair salaries are based on the wealth of the residents of a district, and West Hempstead residents' income is about 15% below the median income for Nassau County," said Guercio. "If the WH salary scale is compared to other districts in the county, we are in the 25th to 50th percentile."
The points of contention between the union and the board do not end there. The Board of Education wants the teacher's work day to be increased by twenty minutes from six hours and forty minutes to seven hours. "My days are already longer than seven hours," said one teacher who asked not to be identified. "Factor in prep time, grading and take-home work, it is way more."
The board also wants to see the teachers take part in staff development. These 'professional periods' would, according to the board, allow the teachers to stay current with their professions.
In addition, the district wants teachers to attend two monthly evening PTA meetings instead of half-day meetings during the school day.
One mandatory hour a week is also being requested of the teachers so that appointments can be made for extra help.
When Guercio had completed his presentation, Barbara Haffner, the president of the negotiating team, responded to some of his points.
Haffner brought up that there are no educators involved in the negotiations on the board's side. "Because only Mr. Guercio attends negotiations, and not members of the board, it will be very difficult for the two sides to come to a fair and complete decision," said Haffner. "We will be selling out if we negotiate with anyone other than an educator."
One parent agreed with Haffner, saying, "When I voted for the Board members, I saw Mr. Guercio's name nowhere. If the board members do not go to the negotiations, it's like a member of a jury hearing only one side of the story."
Tom Madison, a corrections officer for Nassau County and father of student in the district, pointed out what he considered quite unfair. "I have a high school diploma and I make more than some WH teachers. The teachers here are aces, and they are teaching our future teachers. The Board should work it out and give the teachers what they need."
Nancy Russo, a parent of students at Cornwell Avenue School, teaches in another district on the island. "The teachers in WH continuously impress me with their dedication and patience and I don't think they are being treated fairly. Young teachers will soon begin to go elsewhere, and I want them to stay in West Hempstead," said Russo.
Another WH parent, Lynn Sullivan, said, "You will take the passion out of teaching if you allocate every minute of their day. These teachers work hard take courses over the summer, and both sides need to find a way to take the next step together."
Guercio explained that later on during the fact finding stage of the negotiations, a hearing will take place. A person appointed by each side is allowed to take as long as is needed to make his or her case for the opposite side. If the sides can agree on all points, a written agreement can come out of this phase.
If an agreement is not reached during the "fact-finding" portion of the negotiations, it moves on to "Superconciliation," during which both sides meet on their own and try to hammer out an agreement before the budget vote in May.
