Interim Superintendent Swopes (on behalf of the BOE) was VERY vocal when he expressed awe and displeasure that CATs didn't appreciate their "Step Raise".
(CAT Tracks Editor's Note: Unlike the usual mumbling and whispering at public BOE meetings, Dude can get loud when he is addressing CATs during negotiations. At least this time he simply raised his voice instead of literally yelling like he did in a previous session. Increase the volume and CATs will cower...NOT!)
Anyway...
Interim Superintendent Swopes (on behalf of the BOE) went on to explain how the "Step Raise" was a 2.5% raise and that he/they could not understand how teachers could feel that they had not been "given" anything.
Since Interim Superintendent Swopes was in raging mode, the CAT bargaining team didn't bother to offer a rebuttal that would have fallen unheard upon their steaming ears.
Since someone "over there" DOES read CAT Tracks (since they always know what is said), I will now offer an explanation:
- First of all...CAT did NOT bring up the "Step Raise". CAT stepped into the Interim Superintendent's ire (got "Swoped") when it objected to the BOE bargaining team's insistence that CAT proceed with deciding which parts of the contract to give back before any discussion of salary or benefits (the only thing that the CAT bargaining team put on the table.) The CAT team's innocent question: "Why should we give back contract language when you are not going to give anything in return?" That's when the ire hit the fan...
- "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT THE BOE HAS NOT GIVEN YOU ANYTHING? YOU'VE GOTTEN YOUR STEP RAISE!" (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: Sorry about the all caps...that's how the message was delivered.) As for the BOE's generous bequest of the "Step Raise"... The BOE did not "give" the lowly CATs anything. The "Step Raise" was "given" because the contract mandated it. (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: Although the Collective Bargaining Agreement - CBA - expired at the end of June, bargaining law specifies that the provisions of the old CBA remain in effect while the parties are bargaining a successor agreement.) So...if any "Thank You" is in order, it goes to the CAT team which successfully negotiated that language provision the last time around...after 30+ meetings and 14 months!
- As for the "Step Raise"...there is a difference of philosophy among teachers, as there is in the real world to "longevity raises". Many teachers do NOT think of it as a raise...consider it "their due" for another year of service. Others, including myself, DO consider it a raise...albeit not a very hefty raise. Regardless of your view, it is more "gross (pun or no pun) income" for the employee, more money out of the pocket of the employer. (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: Yes, I know...you are taking home less money than last year despite your "Step Raise". That's because of two factors: 1) the BOE took back health insurance money that it was already paying, and 2) the District's group health insurance premium went up 18%. So...if you have not received your contractually mandated "Step Raise", you would be even further in the hole!)
- BUT...Interim Superintendent Swopes muddied the water by claiming that the "Step Raise" was a 2.5% raise...which it is NOT. (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: The confusion on Interim Superintendent Swopes' part is probably because a 2.5% raise is what the District gave the noncertified employees in their newly negotiated contracts.) Later, after Interim Superintendent Swopes had returned to his lair along with the BOE bargaining team, the CAT team requested and got a copy of a personnel roster that showed the percentage increase for each teacher as a result of the flat dollar "Step Raise". The percentage increases ranged from 1.5% to 3%, with most teachers receiving less that the "advertised" 2.5%. (The CAT team informed the BOE team's "messengers" of this fact and it was duly noted.)
- DOUBLE BUT...all that misses the point! The "Step Raise" is NOT GUARANTEED! Yes, the District had to "give" the "Step Raise" under the terms of the prevailing contract, BUT, BUT they can take it back during these negotiations!!! (In fact, in an ominous move, the BOE has proposed eliminating the "guaranteed step raise" from the next contract.) In short, it is possible that when all is said and done, and the new contract is ratified, the "retroactive pay provision" could have YOU repaying your "Step Raise" rather than the District paying you extra. (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: Interim Superintendent Swopes would probably dismiss the foregoing as "editorializing to heighten emotion", but as long as HE is being emotional - raising his voice and even yelling - during negotiations...and as long as there is no written guarantee to the contrary, well, hope for the best but prepare for the worst.)
Uh, Ron...what's this got to do with Garfield?
Speaking of catty commentary...
...it's everywhere, it's everywhere!
Opened my e-mail yesterday morning and discovered that someone had sent me a creative effort to brighten my day. Since I had already posted several editions, I decided to save it for Saturday...the real Saturday.
If you have been wondering where, oh, where has my "Step Raise" gone, oh, where, oh, where can it be? Well, that most famous of felines, Garfield, will now enlighten you:
