They might be selling it…but don’t buy it!
SRPE has spent a great deal of energy lately sitting behind a keyboard saying some scary things in regard to the upcoming representation election. While more information will be coming in the Sunday’s weekly newsletter, here are a few facts to consider that shine an uncomfortable light on what SRPE is trying to sell employees.
The centerpiece of SRPE’s campaign is to assert that everything bargained into the Master Contract over the years will simply vanish if Santa Rosa EA is chosen as the bargaining agent. The truth is that if Santa Rosa EA becomes the bargaining agent, the current salaries, benefits, and working conditions in the agreement are mandatory subjects of bargaining which must be bargained to undergo any change. If the District were to skip the bargaining process and make unilateral changes it would be a violation of 447.309 of Florida Statutes which would result in an unfair labor practice charge against the District (447.501).
Consequently, this also is how the process works in negotiations with SRPE right now as the current bargaining agent. Everything stays the same in Master Contract (like your salaries or the absence of Annual Contract teacher renewal language, for example) until the District and the Union have made changes through the negotiations process. The assertion by SRPE that SRCSD could negotiate all new provisions is wholly incorrect because it assumes that the employer could determine unilaterally what goes into a contract when it is illegal to do so.
SRPE’s claims are inaccurate and designed to elicit fear to manipulate employees to keep the status quo. Think about the status quo with SRPE for a moment and consider whether or not it is better for you and your colleagues:
- Have your wages caught up with the rest of the region after falling behind in recent years?
- Do Annual Contract teachers have provisions for another year of employment upon earning good evaluations, like AC teachers in every neighboring district possess already?
- Have relations with the District and/or School Board improved?
- Are the concerns of Annual Contract teachers (nearly half of all teachers) addressed by the current leadership and bargaining team?
- Is SRPE providing any professional development?
- Are members getting thorough and regular SPRE communications outside of stalled bargaining?
- Are relations between SRPE and legislators developing, or do they exist at all?
- Has SRPE visited your school any time recently to hear what you think or what you need from your union?
Although SRPE doesn’t want an election and suggests it has the ability to stop it, an election is coming. In less than one week after Santa Rosa EA filed for an election on March 30th, the Public Employees Relations Commission declared the filing sufficient and the District responded only 2 days later that it had no objections to the filing, either.
The choice in the upcoming election is simple:
- The Status Quo, which has provided diminishing returns, decreased power at the bargaining table, and membership which has eroded by over 400 members in the past decade.
OR - Santa Rosa EA, which offers an opportunity for employees to regain trust in an organization committed to seeking member input and using its resources to bring Santa Rosa back where it should be – leading the pack instead of falling further behind.