Dear Colleagues,
As you complete your second PD day this year, and as we gear up for the second quarter, I know that you will all make it to Thanksgiving knowing you have done your best for your students. If you have not already voted today please do so after work before the polls close. Cleveland Heights-University Heights is not the only community with critical BOE elections on the ballot. Be sure to vet your local BOE candidates and support local levies.
We have been busy at our office negotiating LOU’s and preparing for a mediation for our grievance on substitutes. Below is an update of these four items.
Psych LOU:
The school psychologists, like so many of us, are overwhelmed with their workloads. They are understaffed due to the nationwide shortage of school psychs. There is currently a full-time psychologist posting that the district has been unable to fill. Our contract allows the Board to subcontract 5 specialized positions which have already been subcontracted for this school year. This new LOU allows the district to subcontract 2 additional positions specifically for school psychologists. The district will be contracting with a private business to hire these virtual psychologists. This agreement also maintains the current number of psychologists, so our members can not be laid off due to subcontracting. In return for permitting this temporary subcontracting, our psychologists get the relief they need.
Monitor LOU
The monitors have contract language requiring a $0.75 per hour differential when they work an 8 ½ hour shift that begins at 11:30 a.m. We negotiated this additional pay language because a monitor who works a late shift will not be eligible for overtime. The administration was attempting to refuse to pay the additional $0.75 to monitors that have worked or are currently working the later shift. Below are the main points of the LOU.
Change the language from “after 11:30” to a shift that begins at 11:30 a.m. or later. This means any monitor starting at 11:30 receives this differential. The first month of this school year the two monitors that were affected did not receive this pay differential based on not starting their shifts “after” 11:30 a.m. They will receive the back pay owed to them.
A monitor last year had a schedule change and did not work the second shift. However, this monitor continued, in error, to receive the $0.75 differential. Because of the pandemic the second shift did not exist, but the monitor was still entitled to the differential.
Nurse LOU
We are happy to announce that the new nurse position was posted. This is a big win for our nurses. This LOU allows the district to hire another nurse, but not be restricted by our contract language to reduce the number at the end of the school year. If contact tracing is not mandated next school year the need for an additional nurse may not be needed.
Substitute Mediation
Step II Substitute Grievance
On September 21 we filed a grievance over the district’s failure to obtain substitutes. At our grievance meeting the Union provided many ideas to solve this problem including raising daily pay for casual substitutes, higher coverage pay for staff, using administration that do not work with students to sub on a rotational basis and allow ancillaries to be substitutes.On Friday, October 22 at 4:31pm we received the response to this grievance from Dr. Lombardo. Our grievance was denied. We responded and submitted a notice of Step 3 of the grievance procedure which is mediation. Mediation is scheduled for December 8.
In Union,
Karen Rego
CHTU President