OSEA Bargaining Session Update: May 16, 2018

The sixth bargaining session between Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) and Reynolds School District (RSD) was held on May 16, 2018 in the library at Woodland Elementary School from 4:00 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.

OSEA & District: Joe Teeny, Reynolds School Board, absent and replaced by Valerie Tewksbury, Reynolds School Board. Chris Greenhalgh, District Bargaining Team, absent.

The District Presented the Following Counter Proposals:

Article 1 – Recognition – Counter proposal remains the same as original proposal. OSEA had not originally opened this article and the District continues to attempt to add clarification language in C. regarding when balance of the year employees may be hired (to cover leaves of absence or for positions that may use funds outside the general fund and may not be repeated). OSEA had not opened the article and the last counter proposal made substantive changes, reducing the temporary time period from 65 to 45 days. The District does not wish to shorten the time period but rather was trying to allow those who may be covering leaves or in positions that may not have continued funding to be hired and receive contractually provided benefits, other than seniority, while they are working.

Article 2 – District Rights – District counter proposal is current contract language, retaining the District’s right to contract out work with 90 days’ notice prior to implementation. Proposal includes a one-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreeing not to contract out work for the coming year 2018-19 similar to the MOU that has been signed on an annual basis for the last several years.

Article 11 – Work Time – District counter proposal adopts OSEA proposed language in B. Workday to state, “Work time starts when employees start work duties.” Proposal retains District proposed language to deleted specific references to days in specific work calendars in C. Work Year. District continues to propose that employees who work between four and one half (4 ½ ) hours and less than six (6) hours may waive their lunch breaks for the entire work year upon mutual agreement with their supervisors. District adopts OSEA proposed language in F. Rest Periods indicating that rest periods may not be added to the meal period or deducted from the beginning or end of the work shift in order to reduce the length of the work shift or be waived or used to adjust work hours. District also agrees to OSEA’s proposal to add the BOLI chart indicating required rest breaks and meal periods based on shift length. District continues to propose language indicating that employees who work at multiple worksites must take their rest periods at the work site presently being worked at and that additional time will not be provided to travel to alternate locations before beginning the rest period.

Article 12 – Association Rights – District did not adopt OSEA’s language regarding clean, staff only bathrooms. District continues to propose that personal cell phones not be covered under the provisions of E. Property Loss. District adopts OSEA’s language regarding Time Release for Association members as F. and adds language as G. Workplace and Environmental Safety in response to OSEA’s proposed new article of the same name.

Article 19 – Discipline, Dismissal, and Performance – District does not agree to adopt just cause language but does agree to some of OSEA’s replacement language: conducting a fair and objective investigation and making available all information forming the basis for any disciplinary action, including audio and video evidence in response to OSEA’s request to add language regarding posting signs when video surveillance is being used which the District has not agreed to add.

DACA Memorandum of Understanding – District’s response is that this language does not belong in a collective bargaining agreement. The provisions of this MOU would use public school funds for things other than intended uses – providing lengthy paid leaves of absence, district paid legal advice, and long term unpaid leaves of absence during which employees maintain seniority. The District does not agree with the proposed MOU and therefore is not offering a counter proposal.

At this point the teams caucused for 25 minutes (from 5:12 to 5:37 p.m.)

OSEA Presented the Following Counter Proposals:

Article 4 – Fringe Benefits – OSEA counter proposes to District’s Initial Proposal to include the following:

$15 increase to the CAP for 12-month employees for 2018/19 ($1315)

$15 increase to the CAP for 12-month employees for 2019/20 ($1330)

An Economic Reopener for fringe benefits for 2020/21

Proposal also includes increases to the CAP for employees working 195 days or more to receive 83% of the 12-month employees’ contribution each year and the CAP for employees working 194 days or less to receive 75% of the 12-month employees’ contribution each year.

Proposal includes a provision to increase the dollar amount of District provided term life insurance from $20,000 to $50,000 for each employee.

Proposal goes back to current contract language allowing employees to use 50% of their unused district contribution dollars for the purchase of insurance plans outside medical, dental, and vision, prescription, life and disability insurances.

Proposal includes provision for the District to provide an additional contribution to the insurance pool of $250,000 for 2018/19 and $300,000 for 2019/20 to use only for medical, dental, and vision insurances.

Proposal includes language regarding providing information about Section 125 and Dependent Day Care plans to employees.

Article 14 – Seniority/Layoff/Recall – OSEA does not accept District’s proposed language to clean up seniority language to reflect current practices and continues to counter propose that district seniority be used to determine who has more seniority in a layoff rather than classification seniority. As an example, the OSEA proposal would mean that an Educational Assistant who has been with the District for 19 years as a Bus Driver and one year as an Educational Assistant (total 20 years) would be retained as an Educational Assistant and the Educational Assistant who has been with the District for 19 years serving only as an Educational Assistant (total 19 years) would be laid off. The District’s last proposal reflects current practice which would have the Bus Driver bump back into a Bus Driver position and remain on the recall list for a future Educational Assistant position and the Educational Assistant would be retained as an Educational Assistant, having more seniority and experience in that classification rather than being laid off as he or she would not have worked in any prior classification to bump back into.

Article 21 – Transportation – a small work group from Transportation has been reviewing this article together. OSEA’s counter proposal includes the agreed upon language from that small group’s work. The OSEA proposal did not include all of the needed strike throughs and underlining so the District will prepare a new draft and bring it to the next session. Language changes include changing the Average Hour guidelines to include three (3) minutes to pick up keys and prepare for route rather than the five (5) minutes proposed by the District, the addition of overnight trip pay language, and some other changes to clean up the Assignment Guidelines language to reflect current practices.

Tentative Agreements Reached:

Article 5 – Paid Leaves of Absence – Current contract language remains with one change to the article, “or adoption” is added after “Birth in the Immediate family” in D. Personal Leave.

Article 24 – Job Openings – Language added to indicate that in-district applicants who have been previously interviewed by the same supervisor for the same position within the previous 12 months do not have the express right to be interviewed again for the same position unless the supervisor wishes to do so within that 12-month period.

Contract language also changed regarding New Employee Probationary Period to change it from six (6) months to one hundred and twenty (120) work days from the date of hire. This change in language clarifies that the summer non-working months do not count toward completion of the probationary period.

Article 25 – Non-Discrimination – Language updated to reference specific District policies related to Equal Employment Opportunity, Hazing/Harassment/Intimidation/Bullying/Menacing Staff and to list categories of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, age veterans’ status, genetic information, and disability that will not be discriminated against to be consistent with District policies.

The Agenda was set for the next session.

The District will bring counter proposals for Articles 4, 7, 14, 18.
OSEA will provide a counter proposal for Article 8 and possibly some other articles that were discussed this evening once they sort through tonight’s District proposals.

The session concluded at 7:10 p.m.

Upcoming Bargaining Dates Scheduled as follows:

Woodland Elementary School Library: