Union Action Makes a Difference

When the MEA and local associations speak up, things happen. The power of the union is in our collective voices, having a seat at that table when decisions are made and standing up for what’s right and needed. This has never been more evident than now, as everyone works under what is a temporary new normal. On the following two pages are a few examples of how the MEA and local associations improved the lives of educators and students who are working and learning during a pandemic.

Beyond the Bump

When Kittery EA member Lauren Roy realized she was pregnant she ump knew she needed to work remotely in order to keep her baby safe. As a cancer survivor, late effects from treatments add to her risk with COVID. While she was concerned for her own well-being, as a new mom with one child at home and another on the way, she knew, for the safety of her baby, she should take all precautions to remain healthy.

Roy’s doctor advised she work remotely, which the 6th grade teacher knew would be difficult under her current district’s hybrid learning plan. As someone who believes strongly in the union, and who joined the MEA when she started teaching, after her mother, a now retired teacher, told her she needed the support, she reached out to the union for help to navigate the “ask” to go remote.

Within 24 hours of bringing her MEA UniServ Director, Judi Beverage, to a meeting Roy, was offered a remote position, keeping her and her unborn baby safe. “I have always felt it was important for people to understand the power and support of the union, and my story is just one example of that,” said Roy.

Mt Blue No Confidence Vote

Led by the Mt Blue Education Association, teachers and support staff in the Mt Blue Regional School District overwhelmingly supported a vote of “no confidence” in district superintendent Tina Meserve. The local education association received 368 ballots back after placing a vote out to all 425 district employees, both members and non-members. Of the ballots returned, 91.3% stated they have lost faith in Meserve’s capacity to lead, supporting the “no confidence” vote.

The vote of no confidence comes after more than two years of poor treatment of staff, lack of support for employees and inadequate skill set needed to run a school district.

“It is a sad day for our educational community that things have come to this. No one wins in this situation. Having said that, though, this is where the teachers and support staff feel we need to be to affect change in our educational community and in our district,” said Doug Hodum, Mt Blue EA President. Since the vote of “no confidence” several members of the School Board have largely ignored the complaints of the educators in the district and now the local association is working to organize the community to better understand the issues they’re facing to impart some change in leadership. “We need support and leadership now more than ever for our students and for those who are working hard to meet the needs of every child,” said Hodum.

RSU 35, Quamphegan EA, Negotiates Language to Help Maintain Proper Lines Between Parents, Students and Staff

With more people working from home than ever, the lines between work and home time have been more than blurred. In an attempt to create a greater division and provide educators with proper boundaries, RSU 35, Quamphegan EA, negotiated an agreement with the district that includes specific language about contact information and how parents/students/guardians should be able to reach an educator. Below is the language on those issues:

Communication

To the extent possible, communication between teachers and students/parents will be through email and/or the online platform being used to posUdeliver instruction. If parents or students request to speak to a teacher who is working remotely, they will be directed to such platforms and the teacher will schedule a mutually agreeable time to talk with the parent.

Personal Contact Information

Employees shall not be required to provide personal contact information including but not limited to personal cell phone numbers and home addresses to students or families. If employees must communicate with parents or students via telephone and do not want to use their personal cell phones or devices, the District will provide a virtual teleconference option that maintains the privacy of employees' personal contact information.

Follow Up Discussions

The parties agree to meet virtually at least once per month or upon request to discuss issues, concerns, and successes regarding matters outlined in this Agreement.

Portland Education Association Negotiates Mandated Pay and Other Benefits

In order to adjust to the pandemic, the Portland Education Association worked with the School Board to agree on several issues related to the pandemic including, sick leave, salary and need for assistance with students who are not engaging. The following is the language adopted on those key issues:

No Discipline Against Educators For Students’ Lack of “Attendance”

Should educators need assistance with students who are not participating as required, the educator shall inform the building Principal who shall work with the teacher and other appropriate staff to resolve the matter. Educators shall not be disciplined for students’ lack of access or lack of “attendance.”

Sick Leave

The Board will grant 15 days of emergency sick leave, without deduction from the employee’s accumulated sick leave, for all staff who have COVID-19 related absences, regardless of whether the staff member has accrued leave time available. There will be no requirement that these days be taken consecutively. After emergency leave is exhausted, employees who are eligible may access leave under FFCRA and/or FMLA. Employees may use a proportional amount of accrued sick leave to supplement FFCRA leave in order to receive their regular salary/wages, which at no time shall this exceed 100% of the employees’ regular wage. After exhaustion of paid leave available under this provision, the CBA and applicable law, educators will not suffer a loss of pay due to necessary absences resulting from the employee’s own COVID-19 or need to care for a family member with COVID-19.

Salary

All staff members shall be compensated their salaries/wages and benefits for the regular school year, in accordance with the provisions of their collective bargaining agreements between the Board and the Association and any applicable law, including the Governor’s Executive Orders. In the case where a sports season and/or an activity or club is canceled due to COVID-19, staff members who coach or supervise co-curricular activities shall be paid an amount to be negotiated by the board and association.

RSU 73 Collaborative Effort Pays Off Big

RSU 73 EA (Jay/ Livermore Falls) successfully negotiated a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with its school board which included safety and work-related guidelines. A MOA is a signed document between the union and the school board that is in addition to the contract but holds the same weight and enforcement. Included in the RSU 73 MOA were specific pandemic related securities.

The local worked with its leadership team and the superintendent and School Board Chair. “Our Board approved the MOA unanimously, showing that they understood a lot of our concerns and were willing to support the needs of our staff. I will say that it was a highly time intensive process, but we wanted to be part of getting our kids back to school in a way that would put the safety of students and staff at the forefront of returning to school. I think we succeeded in that,” said Rob Taylor, President of RSU 73 EA.

The MOA (as well as the Return to School plan) both really empower teacher decision making. Due to the collaborative work with the Board, the district has empowered teachers to make decisions about what and how to teach in these unprecedented times and that has been a benefit to students and staff alike. Additionally, educators have a mandated 3 work days for planning, should they need to transition to fully remote instruction to be

able to implement remote learning effectively. Also included in the MOA is a great deal of health and safety language that mirrors what is in their Return to School Plan. Having that language in the MOA ensures that it will be followed and provides educators with a mechanism for dealing with it via the grievance process should it not be. The MOA also includes what the local calls common sense language, like permitting teachers access to their rooms after they have been cleaned for the day, if needed.

“I believe that the MOA and the Reopening Plan here at RSU 73 have given staff a voice in the safety measures that are occurring and in the education of our students within a pandemic that many districts do not have. I, too, must say that having our Superintendent and Board Chair willing to be collaborative made a huge difference. We have been fortunate to have a positive working relationship in this stressful time,” said Taylor.

We Attitude in RSU 20

After meeting twice weekly, a Health and Safety Committee in RSU 20 (Searsport) agreed upon several changes to school protocols and procedures. The Health and Safety Committee consisted of twelve association members, representing each school and job classification,and eleven others including administrators and employees who are not eligible for association membership.

Based on the committee’s work, the parties agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding, which was written jointly by the Association president and vice president, the RSU 20 superintendent, and business manager. “We spent a lot of time going over the template that our UniServ Director Phyllis Hunter gave us. It really helped guide our conversations. I don’t think the superintendent really wanted to engage in these formal conversations at first, but by the end of our process we were all really proud of the work we accomplished and were glad that we used the guide we had available,” said Dawn Staples-Knox, President of the Penobscot Bay Education Association.

Planning Time Agreement

The Penobscot Bay Education Association says one of

the best agreements reached came in the form of a three-day preparation and planning period, if it became necessary to switch to whole school remote learning. The Health and Safety Committee recommended a practice hybrid model period at the beginning of the school year that really helped educators when they had to return to the hybrid model for two weeks due to a local outbreak. With the MOU in place, educators now have a dedicated amount of time they must receive for planning and potential training before remote teaching occurs, should the time come.

Collaborative Attitude

“I feel the biggest win was the “we attitude” that this process created and not a “them vs us” situation,” added Staples-Knox. Staff in the District feel a sense of ease when COVID questions arise because local leadership have answers due to the continued collaborative conversations between the Union and Administrators. When the full Health and Safety Committee finished its work, the Union president and vice president continued to meet bi-weekly with the superintendent and business manager to debrief, reflect and revise any protocols, for example, outside mask breaks. “We look at problem solving and anticipating issues that will come up, such as the first snow day. Our goal is to be a team doing what is best for everyone in our district and to make our decisions based on science and common sense,” said Staples-Knox.