Why Our Contract is Important

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The Union recently addressed an issue regarding Common/Collaboration time at one of the District’s elementary schools during a Union building meeting. Discussions from that meeting found their way back to building administration, and as a result changes were made to the schedule that had been put in place at the beginning of the year.

Now first, it should be made clear that the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) is an agreement that is reached between the District and the Union, to establish work rules that protect employees and address issues to promote student achievement. These are not work rules that have been unilaterally established by the District or the Union.

Now that we have addressed that bit of housekeeping we can go back to the original reason for drafting this document. As a result of this adjustment to the schedule there were a few employees that expressed displeasure with the changes that were made. I understand that, and I believe, as a Union member, you should have the right to voice your concerns and work toward mutual resolution of the issue. Union members pay their dues, most take an active role in the direction of the organization, and many help to insure that the rules established in the CBA are followed. Some of these concerns were expressed via e-mails that were forwarded to the Union office. One of those e-mails really stood out, it was actually from someone that did not belong to the Union, and this was their question as taken directly from the e-mail; "I just want to know why those of us who are NOT part of the union still have to abide by this 'contract'."

Wow, what a novel idea. Why should those work rules apply to her if she is not a member? What would that mean? Well, as we look at the CBA, this is what it would mean for non-members:

· Reprimands and criticisms whenever, wherever, and in front of whomever could occur regularly.

many more . . . http://mo.aft.org/691/index.cfm?action=article&articleID=55edbf4e-d073-482c-86b7-95112961b42f