October 4, 2015
Early October finds the LEA bustling with lots of activity. Please read through the following to stay on top of developments:
This weekend Jane McEvoy, and Ginger Armstrong and I attended the MTA’s Collective Bargaining Summit. This event was very informative (Bernie Sanders stopped by!) and our team was able to formulate a few ideas to bring back to Lee. Our negotiations with the school committee are scheduled to begin on October 22nd. This first meeting will be organizational only, but as a result of our experience at the summit, the LEA negotiation team will be proposing that the negotiations be open to the public for viewing only. Other associations in the state have engaged in this format and feel that it allows for transparency and encourages participation by a larger segment of the membership. In addition, the LEA negotiation committee, with the assistance of a few other committees, will be reaching out to all Unit A members over the next few weeks to solicit opinions concerning the negotiations. Once all members have been contacted, the negotiation team and the executive board will identify areas of mutual concern and craft a platform for the Unit A membership to approve and for the negotiation team to use as its base for talks with the school committee.
The Executive Board held a special meeting on September 21st to discuss the Berkshire Record article concerning Berkshire Hills School District’s intention to extend an invitation to the Lee Public Schools to share a superintendent. Board members were in agreement that this possibility could have a direct impact on the association’s members. The group unanimously agreed to stay abreast of developments in the search for a new superintendent and to approach Lee school committee chairperson Andrea Wadsworth concerning the LEA playing a role on the future interview panel. LEA members who would like to read more about this topic can Google search using the keywords, “lee school shared services”. Your results will provide links to Berkshire Eagle and Berkshire Edge articles on this topic.
I met with Mr. Skrocki in late September to discuss the focus of our 2015-2016 Joint Labor/Management committee. I proposed the group study the concept of shared services and its impact on students, learning and educators. Mr. Skrocki was in favor of devoting the entire year to this topic. The first meeting of the Joint Labor/Management committee will be Tuesday, November 10, 2015.
This week the LEA will be collecting signatures from its membership supporting the MTA’s goal of securing 20,000 signatures towards the “Raise Up Massachusetts” coalition. The goal of the petition drive is to gather enough support to have a question on the 2018 ballot. Raise Up Massachusetts is seeking to change the state constitution by taxing income over one million dollars by an additional 4 cents on the dollar. If passed, this change would generate approximately 1.2 billion dollars of revenue for Massachusetts schools. If you would like to add your name to the petition and you work at LES, please contact Brandon Boule; if you work at LMHS, please see Josh Hall.
This Thursday, October 8, will be the first time LEA dues will be withheld from paychecks. Please take a moment and confirm that the deduction has been properly taken. Please email Matt Fillio if you have any concerns.
The next school committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 13 and the next Executive Board meeting will be Wednesday, October 14. All are welcome.
Finally, I would like to reinforce that the LEA officers and committee members volunteer their time to assist the membership and make our association stronger. Please feel free to contact any LEA officer, Executive Board member, or School Representative if you have questions or concerns about how our union works, questions regarding the contract or other things that may come up. Your concerns will be passed on for research and I will be sure to contact you regarding your question. However, please be aware that all questions/concerns must be filed with ownership. Anonymous concerns cannot be effectively addressed and in situations which involve other association members, anonymous charges create an atmosphere of paranoia and chip away at the association’s strength. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
As you can see, the LEA is busy! Be prepared to have a member contact you in the next few days to discuss negotiations. We are all in this together and your contributions make our team stronger. Take care.
