A New Path Forward

Better Is Possible

The educators of ACPS are waiting on the edge of a cliff. Budget constraints are set to hit them all while the stress of the economy only becomes more intense. For five years they have been waiting for EAA leadership to wake up and deliver them a collective bargaining agreement that will bring them much needed relief. A strong CBA has the power to give them prosperity. Unfortunately, one thing has become certain and that is EAA has not done the necessary job of listening to and empowering educators. In the past two weeks alone, EAA has made several alarming claims.

The message is clear, the outcome is all but guaranteed. EAA negotiated a deal that cannot provide what the vast majority members want and educators need. By EAA’s own admission they have said the deal required little effort to negotiate on their part. Because the narrative shifts from sentence to sentence, it was then stated that not all items were achieved and the CBA will not benefit the people in charge of negotiating the deal. Not only are the claims inconsistent, but the person in charge of negotiations - who repeatedly mentioned they are at the top of the pay scale - openly admitted the deal will not deliver for themselves, much less all members. Apparently, this is portrayed as a point of pride for EAA leadership as if it is a victory, and not a glaring detriment to members that everyone else can easily recognize.

Beyond these concerning details and contradicting claims, we still don’t know much else. The details of what non-economic items are included in the CBA have, supposedly, been announced. But much like all the other announcements, no one at RUN nor any educators among our supporters can find these “announcements.” The only confirmation we have regarding non-economic items is that fighting for reforms of ACPS’ bereavement leave was not a priority for EAA. Furthermore, the healthcare offsets set to remove any pay increase is not important enough to even publicly acknowledge. Time and time again it is made clear to members that EAA’s priorities do not align with dues paying members.

Our Demand For Change

Despite this unfortunate circumstance, a better CBA is not just possible, it is within reach. How? RUN is currently drafting and is willing to propose a comprehensive CBA that covers more than just the bare minimum. In the event that our supporters and members review our drafted proposal, we are willing to both publicly share details and alter them based on feedback, because the way to achieve a strong CBA is to make the process collective.

In the meantime, we are excited to share highlights of the draft that we think will best serve the educators of ACPS. Firstly, we find it absolutely unacceptable that EAA has allowed the healthcare offsets to be proposed in the budget. We would have a nonnegotiable hard line that they be eliminated so that pay increases can actually result in an increase in pay.

Next we intend to ensure that disasters like the one that transportation was put through during the snow storm never happen again. Policies that seem trivial to EAA, such as bereavement leave, are essential to us. Not only will they be included but we intend to ensure that educators are supported in their times of need and that these policies do not make trying times more trying. These are only a few of our forward thinking proposals, with more to come based on the information we get back from you, our supporters and any ACPS employee in need of representation.

A Strong CBA Makes A Strong Union

The way towards a more comprehensive CBA that gives educators what they deserve is to be discerning about the current tentative CBA proposal. Members should be offered the opportunity to vote on the CBA once the details are shared with them. We hope that members will be given ample time to review the specifics of the CBA, but we have learned to manage our expectations with EAA. However, we intend to share our details well ahead of the vote so even a cursory glance will, in our opinion, make it clear which proposal is more comprehensive.

Our compensation items will actually deliver competitive increases to salaries and wages and we want our non-compensation items to directly address what you, the member, need. We intend to leave no stone unturned the same way Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William did for their union members when fighting for their CBAs. For us, the decision EAA made in taking the top issues from a survey that only had 5 - 10% response rate is both irresponsible and disrespectful to the hard working educators of APCS.

A successful union understands that it is their duty to provide for all members and resolve any issue that may arise, not whatever is convenient for leadership. We intend to become the leadership that fosters a successful union for the educators of ACPS. It is long overdue, and we understand ACPS educators deserve far better than what they have been getting.

Let’s fight together.