MEA VOICE Bargaining Update
One constant in bargaining: MEA stands strong for members
Every year—even in the tough economics times like these—MEA members with unsettled contracts can count on one constant at the bargaining table:
MEA will bargain hard for the issues that matter most to you.
“We are not going to back down or cave on the important issues facing our locals across Michigan,” MEA statewide bargaining consultant Bob Thomas said. Hundreds of EA and ESP locals are bargaining contracts this fall.
“No question, this past year, bargaining has been extremely difficult,” said Thomas, pointing to possible state aid cuts to school funding and the unsettled state budget as reasons school districts have proceeded with caution in contract talks.
Thomas expects the No. 1 bargaining issue this fall again will be maintaining reasonable health care benefits for MEA members.
“There’s no cookie-cutter approach in bargaining,” he said. “Locals have different personalities and needs and what works in one district might not be successful in another.”
Thomas remains confident of one thing—MEA is fully prepared for tough bargaining and to represent its members’ best interests.
“The question for MEA in these hard times becomes: Can we rise up to meet the tough challenges we will face in negotiations? And the answer is, yes, we will.”
Houghton Lake teachers move forward after settlement
District’s hardball tactics took toll on teachers, community and students.
When Houghton Lake teachers signed
a new contract in early August that
ended more than two years of contentious
bargaining, they immediately began
building bridges with the community and
mending fences with the school board.
“We don’t want this to happen again,” Houghton Lake EA President Anjanette Rusmisel said of the recent bargaining that impacted this entire northern Michigan community.
The negative bargaining tactics employed by the district and board surprised the teachers.
“In the previous two contracts over seven years, we used target-specific or winwin bargaining, and that was a positive approach to bargaining for both sides,” Rusmisel said.
But when the last contract expired in 2005, the superintendent and school board started playing hardball in negotiations.
The board’s contentious bargaining approach split the community and took a toll on the district. In the last 20 months, the district has employed five different superintendents—yes, five—and nine— yes, nine—business managers.
Through it all—the five superintendents and nine business managers—the district continued to aggressively seek concessions from the 94-member teacher unit. This past March 1, the school board imposed a contract on the teachers, reducing the salaries of some by 16 percent and forcing others to pay as much as $309 a month toward health insurance.
“This was never about the district’s inability to pay,” said UniServ director Wendy Heinig, pointing to a fact-finder’s report rejected by the board that sided with teachers. “It was about philosophy and how the board felt; not about facts. That was really frustrating.”
Bargaining exacted a toll on teachers. “It was tough on us and tough on morale,” Rusmisel said. “This kind of bargaining isn’t healthy for our members, for the district, for the community and, ultimately, not for our students.”
The three-year contract ratified by both sides covers from 2006-07 through 2008- 09. Teachers accepted a pay reduction in exchange for fewer days on the calendar and also kept MESSA health insurance.
Houghton Lake teachers already are moving forward with an outreach program that Rusmisel believes will strengthen ties with the community and “strengthen unity among ourselves.”
As part of the outreach, teachers began work this fall on cleaning up and restoring a community playground, expanding a little league ball field and adopting a portion of M-55 to keep clean of trash.
“We’re only 18 months from beginning negotiations on our next contract,” Rusmisel said. “We want to grow and build that relationship with the community. We’ve already had some good dialogue with the school board and hope to work together and move on from here.”
Rusmisel said Houghton Lake teachers will remember the lessons learned in this bargaining crisis. “We all need to pull together, and each member needs to recognize how important it is to get involved. Every teacher in our local is equally important.”
She also appreciated the support and help received from MEA during the difficult negotiations. “MEA was there with awesome help.”