January 11 Bargaining Update
HTEC Unit Members,
Yesterday our bargaining team met with the CMO’s bargaining team to start the process of negotiating a historic first contract for educators (all proposals are linked below). We're committed to innovating the experience of TEACHING just like we continually innovate the experience of LEARNING at High Tech High!
Our bargaining team focused on trying to address the biggest and most critical issues we're facing together right now in order to ensure High Standards for High Tech. First of all, prior to presenting any contract proposals, our bargaining team notified the school of our desire to bargain over safety measures related to COVID and made plans to schedule a small group meeting as soon as possible to discuss safety plans.
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Our High Tech Education Collective contract proposals based on our needs included:
Our bargaining team proposed a comprehensive restructuring of the salary schedule to make sure our work as educators is sustainable. Our plan addresses the school's desire to obtain a minimum salary that keeps all unit members exempt from state overtime requirements while also giving us a salary schedule that is comparable and competitive with other charter schools and school districts in the region.
Where we put our money shows our values, and we as teachers -- our passion, our collaboration, our commitment to our design principles -- ARE High Tech High. Under our proposal, ALL unit members would receive an immediate raise, as the bottom seven steps of the current salary schedule would be eliminated to increase everyone’s placement. Under this proposal, salaries would range from $57,859 for new teachers with a bachelor’s degree to $102,800 for teachers with 25 years of experience and either a doctorate or a master’s degree plus 84 additional units. This schedule recognizes that teachers are continually growing and incentivizes that growth, not just degrees.
Our members on the bargaining team believe this is a fair and equitable way to address the minimum salary for overtime exempt employees, versus the school’s proposal of members with up to seven years of experience being paid the same as newly hired employees without any experience. We ALL bring important ideas and experience to our work and we want to improve salary for all of us.
Our hours proposal also focuses on making our jobs as HTH educators more sustainable, this time by making sure we have protected time to prep quality project work for kids. The proposal sets a minimum standard for prep time and guarantees a 30-minute duty free lunch for all unit members. It also preserves unique aspects of HTH by protecting Exhibitions, Presentations of Learning and Student-Led Conferences. The proposal also ensures additional pay for additional work, including providing $50 per hour to unit members who either volunteer or are required to cover a classroom.
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The CMO’s bargaining team made three proposals, two of which surprisingly did not address any stated critical issue or need during this stressful time for us as teachers. Their proposals were:
Salary "Memorandum of Understanding" Separate from Contract Bargaining
Full proposal here
The school presented the same proposal they previously provided to HTEC officers, which would only provide a pay increase to those making less than $57,200 per year. Since early December, our officers have requested that the school’s desire to increase salaries in order to avoid paying overtime be addressed through a comprehensive proposal that could be included in a final contract. The school’s proposal would exist as a standalone agreement that would not be guaranteed to be included in a final contract and would divide members between those who receive a raise now and those who would continue to have frozen salaries. We feel like this proposal was not about compliance with the law, but to take the urgency away from needing to bargain on improving salary for ALL of us. We want them to show they're concerned about us as people. We were disappointed that there wasn't an updated proposal on their end, but are hopeful they'll show us their support of our work by considering ours.
Management Rights
Full proposal here
The school presented a proposal that would allow it to cancel or suspend provisions of a final agreement under certain circumstances. Our bargaining team raised concerns over a section that would allow provisions of lease agreements to nullify the contract, because the school leases properties from a related organization, HTH Learning, that is controlled and operated by people who also work for HTH. In practice, HTH and HTH Learning could agree to future leases that would cancel aspects of the contract.
In addition, the school proposed that the entire contract could be suspended for 90 days in the event of an emergency. Our bargaining team believes this is unnecessary because we ARE High Tech High and we are incredibly invested in our school's continued survival and success. Examples of the impact of the school’s proposal include significantly limiting the right for us to bargain changes that resulted from the pandemic. A member of the CMO's bargaining team at one point implied that educators cannot be trusted and that a union contract could have been used at the start of the pandemic to block changes to the instructional program, such as moving to online learning. This was hard to hear since we are on the ground every day with each other and see the incredible sacrifices we've all made and how diligently we've all worked to make learning happen for kids.
Negotiation Procedures
Full proposal here
The school made a proposal that outlines the timelines for the bargaining of future contracts. Their proposal would impact unit members the year in which the finalized contract expires.
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Our next bargaining session is scheduled for January 20. Additional bargaining sessions were scheduled for February 2 and 23. We're also scheduling that urgent small session about COVID safety as soon as possible.
The HTEC Bargaining Team
Avery Barnes, HTE Chula Vista
Hayden Gore, HTM Chula Vista
Grady Gumner, HTE Mesa
Charley Jacob, HTH North County
Jennifer Merrill, HTE Point Loma
Chris Mutter, HTH International
Chris Olivas, HTM North County
Julie Ruble, HTM Mesa
Roxanne Sepehri, HTE North County
Carly Sumrow, HTM Chula Vista
Mary Williams, HTM Point Loma
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