Dear SPFT member,
After months of negotiations, we reached final tentative agreements on all three of our contracts early Monday morning. We are not striking Tuesday.
We made progress that will improve our public schools. We won supports for our students, especially our English Learners and our students who receive Special Education services. We defended our class size language and strengthened the commitment to Restorative Practices.
We also stood together as School and Community Service Professionals, Educational Assistants, and Teachers in a new and powerful way. We advocated for each other, learned from each other, and worked side by side. We are stronger when we are together and we intend to continue to bargain this way in the future.
The only reason we were able to come to a settlement is because of you, our members, who supported us and and trusted us in this process. To those of you who showed up to the marches, who came to the school board meetings, who arranged carpools and brought your coworkers to vote on a strike, who brought food, who called school board members, and who stepped up in your buildings to plan actions and pickets, thank you! Thank you for standing up for our students, for your fellow workers, and for a fair contract for all three of our bargaining units.
Here is what happens next:
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The Executive Board will review the tentative agreements. They have a meeting scheduled for Monday (2/12) night.
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If the Executive Board recommends the agreement, we will hold public meetings for our members to review the tentative agreements. These dates will be announced by the Executive Board.
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Members will vote on the contract at their school or worksites.
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After the ratification vote, the Board of Education will vote on the agreement.
Know the fight isn’t over yet. Our schools still are not funded the way they need to be. We still are not adequately meeting all of our students’ needs. Together, as a community, we can do more. We will continue the fight to fully fund our public schools.
However, for now, you should feel proud of the work that you did to make our schools better places to work and better places to learn. Once again, thank you.
In solidarity,
Your SPFT Bargaining Team
Sue Cammisuli
Joan Duncanson
Diane Durnick
Nick Faber
Victor Garrido
Pete Grebner
Shela Her
Kristi Herman Hill
Shannon Jax
Donald Jones
Laurel Kuhner Berker
Todd Marder
Yasmine Muridi
Ellen Olsen
Diane Olson
Kathy O’Shaughnessy
Ashley Owens
Sylvia Perez
Becky Randall
Dane Ryan
Erica Schatzlein
Tom Stinson
Leah VanDassor
Leigh Vang
Denise Young
Tracy Zanitsch