Installment one: Stay focused on the Horizon
Our Contract and TVEA under Attack
The TVUSD majority board members made numerous comments that either speak negatively of the union, encourage members to terminate TVEA membership and join an organization that sells insurance products, or attempts to bargain directly with members. The flagship policies that were pushed through the TVUSD Board of Trustee agenda continue to violate our fairly bargained Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Is this the kind of Board you would trust to bargain directly without protections? To protect your due process?
The attacks on the TVEA are all Public Employment Relations Board violations (more on this later in the week). Unfortunately, they do not understand that the union is not I, the President. TVEA is US, the 1320 Certificated employees of TVUSD. We work and support each other. We stand by each other. We advocate for the teaching and learning conditions that create effective student-centered classrooms. This in turn, fosters academic rigor and opportunities for all learners.
The attacks on our Contract and our Union is an attempt to break TVEA!
Thursday October 5th, encapsulates the drama brought to TVUSD. Assistant Superintendent Francisco Arce contacted TVEA Bargaining Chair Brian Balaris to let him know that the TVUSD plans to sunshine “Article 2: Unit Rights” at the October 17th TVUSD Governing Board meeting. They will then implement CA Ed Code 44987 and only bargain the impacts and effects. In other words, they will void a provision in the contract and bargain from there. (That is ridiculous! It is the equivalent of TVEA sunshining “Article 13: Evaluation Procedure” and imposing CA Ed Code 44664, where permanent status employees can be evaluated at least every five years. Why is it ridiculous? We have clear contract language on this matter in our CBA!)
What is CA Ed Code 44987 and TVEA “Article 2?” This section details how a TVUSD employee is released from duty to serve as an officer of a public employee organization, continuing to receive service credit for retirement, how the organization reimburses the district for the cost, and so on. While California Education Code exists, components of education code can be bargained with local unions. For example, CA Ed Code 42238.02 speaks to grade span adjustment where in grades K-3 the average of the grades shall not exceed 24, the language can be bargained for local implementation to be compliant and continue to receive state funding. For example some districts bargain hard caps in K-3rd grades.
TVEA and TVUSD bargained CA Ed Code 44987 into the Collective Bargaining Agreement in Article 2, where TVUSD will contribute $100,000 into the associated costs, and TVEA will continue to be responsible for the balance. How does this work? TVUSD calculates the employee’s salary, benefits and associated costs amount over $100,000 from the appropriate salary schedule placement, and TVEA makes monthly payments over ten months to cover the remainder of the salary, health coverage, STRS, and other associated costs of releasing an employee to the service of the employee organization as an officer. TVEA pays this through member dues. This is not new. This agreement was incorporated long before I became the TVEA President.
TVUSD’s position is illegal! TVUSD is intending to violate our contract for retribution against our union and contractual clause of a full time release president. This is the latest action that follows the pattern of the majority board not following board protocols and norms, TVUSD Board Policy, Administrative Regulations, CA State Ed Code and Public Employee Relations Board statutes enshrined into law by the Educational Employment Relations Act of 1975.
This all comes at the heels of an email sent last Tuesday morning (10/3) with a board member’s name to the work emails of TVUSD employees stating that the COLA will be approved “However, it will NOT include the proposed 100k to union president Diaz (sic).” Twelve hours later, the District released a statement that the Board President did not send the early morning message.
Another email sent to TVUSD emails on Wednesday morning (10/4) targeted TVEA members, stating “TVEA goes Political! Temecula Parents, Teachers and Community Members are Awake from the Union’s Lies.” This email by Temecula Parents and Teachers UNITED (sic) recounts the TVUSD majority board narrative published on Instagram accounts and also states the TVEA cares about politics and social issues. TVEA’s focus is the CBA and conditions that allow educators to be effective in their positions to help Temecula’s students succeed, including family involvement and voice in schools.
Was the Thursday (10/5) notice of Sunshine to Article 2 of the contract a coincidence? I don’t believe so. All of these are coordinated attacks on our Contract and our Union using misinformation and misconstrued applications about legal processes. Again I ask you, is this the kind of Board you would trust to bargain directly without protections? To protect your due process?
Our collective voice will NOT be silenced!! TVEA will always advocate for our Members and our Students Learning Environment!
Update on Employee Rights:
On posted signs: If your administrator asks you to take down a sign, ask them to send you the request in writing and provide the justification on the factors that contributed to taking down a posted sign. Also, take pictures of signs that are allowed, to make a case for a discrimination complaint. Send pictures of allowed signs to tveducators@gmail.com
Another classroom sign you can use is “Supports a vibrant educational community of students, educators, and parents at (name of school)!” Click on the link to copy the Google Draw document and personalize the name of the school.
