I am writing to clarify exactly where we are with regard to the negotiations between the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and Teamsters Local 215.
There have been two issues that the School Administration has insisted must be addressed in these negotiations. One is to have employees have the choice as to whether or not they join the union or pay an agency fee, and the other is to have the School Board be the final arbiter of employee grievances.
While we felt it was unfair and unnecessary to change the existing perfectly legal agency fee provision, in the spirit of compromise, we agreed to allow the employee a choice on joining the union or paying agency fees. Under our proposal all existing employees will have a ten (10) day period to opt out of union representation and the fees associated with that representation, and all new employees will have the choice as to whether or not they join the union. The EVSC can now stop repeating over and over that our union won’t agree to do away with the agency shop.
The demand by the EVSC to be the final step in the grievance procedure is a proposal that no fair minded person could ever agree to. The School Board is the party that approves and signs this contract. In other words, it is a party to the contract. There is nothing fair or just about a dispute resolution procedure where one party to the dispute gets to act as judge and jury.
Based on the response we have gotten, it is clear to me that the overwhelming majority of this community also agrees that the School Board should not be the final arbiter of disputes.
We have made a variety of proposals on this issue, but have been unwilling to agree with the Board being the final step of the grievance procedure.
Because of the EVSC’s negotiating approach, none of our members’ proposals or concerns have even been talked about.
Last year, the EVSC held quickie elections on union “recertification†for both our bus driver unit and secretarial unit. The bus drivers affirmed their desire for union representation by a vote of 120-27 and the secretaries affirmed their desire for union representation by a vote of 70-27.
At that time Superintendent David Smith said “our employees have a voice, and they certainly have spoken. As we have said before, we will honor their wishes.â€Â It is time for those words to be lived up to.
Sincerely,
Chuck Whobrey
President and Business Manager of Teamsters Local 215
As the school year gets ready to begin I find that the community is becoming more educated about the lack of respect being shown the almost 700 EVSC employees who are on the front line of ensuring the schools operate efficiently. I hope the EVSC board members are engaging the community also and asking how they feel about this issue as I have been doing at coffee shops, doctors offices, dentist offices, grocery stores and churches. This community is overwhelmingly supportive of these employees and want them to be treated fairly. In fact many are now coming to see that it does appear that this is just political retribution by David Smith and Chris Kiefer because the Teamsters supported another candidate against Mr Kiefer for the board last year. Even after the board requested the last minute vote last year the employees overwhelmingly voted yes for representation. I guess they didn’t like that either BUT Mr Smith did say he would
” honor their wishes”. There just doesn’t seem to be any other reasonable explanation for having created this unnecessary crisis. l would hope the rest of the board remembers they hired Mr. Smith and he answers to them. I would like them to ask him why he is on this path of destroying the efficiency , goodwill and morale of this school corporation’s employees. Please get back to bargaining in good faith ,like the 40 plus years prior, for the sake of the students ,their families and this community . There are far more important issues for this board to be spending time and energy on.
Am I wrong or did one Evsc School Board member lose her seat last election because of being a Bobble Head Board Member I sat in a meeting after last yrs. Negotiations Debacle and remember her saying she had not been told the truth by Dr. Smith and some of the other Board Members imagine that. The Members that are non responive about negotiations might want to beware and get back to bargaining table and bargain in good faith. You could be next?
I can only hope that there are Board members who know what Smith and Kiefer are up to and put a STOP to it and get back to the negotiating table. EVSC is wasting hard working TAX PAYERS MONEY on this Union busting lawyer. They need to send her back to Indy and do the job that they were elected to do. We are not being treated fairly, we are being BULLIED from an ANTI-BULLYING Corporation. The board needs to hold Dr Smith accountable for his words he said last year. HONOR THE EMPLOYEE’S WISHES” We have spoken and “WE ARE THE UNION” Because we want to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why are we busting the union any how? Your employees made it clear last summer that they wanted to be represented by the Teamsters. Now you throw out this 15 percent of the Union memebers want out of the Union, okay so that means 85 percent wants the Union. Duh… Wake up Dr Smith and our elected school board, they want to be represented and you need to stop wasting so much time union busting and concentrate on the improvement of our schools. One 4 star school is embarassing. Wake up and get back to the tables and do what you were elected to do!
I WORKED IN MAINTENANCE, FOR 17 YEARS. I SAW CRY BABIES, GALORE. DIDN’T WANT TO PAY THEIR UNION DUES, BUT WOULD SAT ON THE BACK SIDE – 4HOURS OF THEIR SHIFT. I HAD AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT, AT OAK HILL MIDDLE SCHOOL. A BROKEN STEP PITCHED ME FORWARD ONTO A CONCRETE FLOOR. I COULD NOT LIFT 75 LBS. SO I WAS FORCED TO RESIGN. CRYBABIES STAY, SMOKING WORKERS HIDING BEHIND DOORS. BUT, I AM, DISMISSED. IT’S ALL CORRUPTED. NO JUSTICE. LOST MY PENSION.THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. SINCERELY, ANNA SKEES
This is not an unbiased attempt to negotiate with the Teamsters by the School board. Mr. Duckworth said in an April 17 Courier and Press article, “ The board, I think, is very interested in letting negotiators negotiate,â€. Well, there hasn’t been much of that going on.Last year, the administration was at the forefront of the negotiations, or rather non-negotiations with the Teamsters. This year a different approach has been taken by the by the administration to allow the School Board to be the main objectors in the union negotiations.
The Teamsters have addressed the issue of employees being union members or not in a recent proposal. I think the proposal was fair and both sides benefit. This issue of arbitration seems to be the main contention at this point. The School board wants sole discretion in arbitration matters while the Teamsters would like to see a third and impartial party take that role.
I see some problems with the School Board taking the role of final arbitrator. Although we all know well and good that the Superintendent is supposed to answer and be accountable to the School Board, it seems there is more of an alliance. I saw with my own two eyeballs, the lawyer hired by the School Board, Ms. Chastain, walk out and shake hands with the Superintendent after the last school board meeting. So is Ms. Chastain lawyer for the School Board, the Superintendent, or both.
If the negotiators are to negotiate, then would it not make sense for the School Board to remain neutral and hear both sides of negotiation instead of halting further negotiations, with NO contract extension? How is that fair and impartial?How can we ever be assured that the School Board would be fair in arbitration when these negations have been anything but fair over the last two years?
I think it’s a good thing that there is open communication between the School Board and the Administration. I’m not trying to suggest otherwise. I just wish it was the same for the employees. I got zero response from the School Board to an email I sent them on my concerns for negotiations. Employees have been told not to contact the School Board but instead contact Ms. Chastain on concerns. I guess employees are not as privy to the School board as the administration is.
I am very disappointed with the EVSC . So many things have changed in the past few years since Dr Bertrum first became the Superintendent and seems everyone else is following suite INCLUDING THE SCHOOL BOARD. I have a lot of concerns about the decisions that are being made. Evsc made the statement that NO jobs have been lost. Well I know for a FACT that several jobs have not been filled so WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT. I will tell you what you call that. Its called OUTSOURCING THROUGH ATTRITION. You then hire more and more administrative positions. Im not ALBERT EINSTEIN but I can see that if you continue to trim a tree from the bottom over and over and over again IT WILL SOON FALL. EVSC has some of the best employees I have ever came in contact with, from the teachers, principles custodians as well as the Cafe workers. It sickens me to know what is actually going on with our schools. I have 6 kids at EVSC , 3 step kids and 3 of my own. My son was bitten in the eye by a dog, I took him to the emergency room for treatment. They told me the things I needed to watch for and I passed that information on to the school. Unfortunately EVSC Administration has cut everything in their power INCLUDING NURSES. Tekoppel did not have a nurse for my son to go see and NO ONE at that school had the time to take care of him. His eye was so swollen and pussy when he got off the bus I immediately took him straight to the hospital where he was given an IV and antibiotics and hospitalized for a week. My son missed three weeks of school due to this event. Had there been a nurse there to care for my child I’m sure the outcome would have been much better. So now the REAL question is: Who is responsible for MY CHILDREN. I recently learned exactly how much the Administrative positions pay and I’m wondering WHY the school board allows such?????????? Seems this is becoming a business and the children are the customers. Is it really all about the kids? IM THINKING ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. I’m currently checking into private schools and maybe go as far as home schooling. AT least I would know that my babies are being taken care of properly.
Comments are closed.