School Employees Labor Relations

Members of Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District's classified employees union picketed this week's Board of Education meeting, angry at the rejection of their latest contract proposal. About 100 classified employees protested on Yorba Linda Boulevard and Casa Loma Avenue, carrying signs calling for a fair contract from the district. When the meeting started, they filed in to hear California School Employees Assn. labor relations representative Luci Cormier address the board.

Nearly two-thirds of the secretaries and office clerks who staff Los Angeles' public schools skipped work Tuesday to protest what they called an inadequate pay hike offer from the school district. The one-day sickout left many campuses shorthanded and forced teachers and administrators to double up on duties. Members of the California School Employees Assn. want a 15.1% increase in pay and benefits over one year. The Los Angeles Unified School District is offering 9.

Classified employees in the Orange Unified School District are threatening to strike following a school board vote approving a new contract. The contract cuts health benefits, imposes furloughs and empowers the district to unilaterally force layoffs and hour reductions without negotiating with the union. Union employees vow they will continue picketing district headquarters until April 7, when the membership is expected to reject the contract.

Day 14 and counting: With the midday temperature hitting 90 degrees Wednesday, 22-year-old Brent Zettel leaned out the window of the Harvard University administration building. Standing outside, his government professor inquired: "Got everything you need? Books? Class outlines? Deodorant?" The longest sit-in in Harvard history reached the two-week mark Wednesday, with about three dozen students camped out in Massachusetts Hall to demand higher wages for university workers.

Contract negotiations stalled again Tuesday between the Santa Ana Unified School District and its 3,000 teachers and 1,900 classified employees. The employees have been working without contracts since July and had hoped to reach a tentative agreement before the winter break, which begins Friday. That will not happen now. Representatives for the Santa Ana Educators Assn. say they hoped to be rewarded for their part in the successful passage of the $145-million facilities bond last month.

Fountain Valley School District trustees have approved the district's 1999-2000 initial contract proposal to the California School Employees Assn., which represents employees who do not teach. The proposed issues to be discussed during negotiations are terms and conditions of employment, salaries and early retirement. Negotiations will begin in the spring.

Twenty unions representing 93,000 employees at California's public universities are just a signature away from getting the biggest windfall in their history. The California Legislature has approved a controversial bill that would force all employees covered by union contracts to become dues-paying members or pay a "fair share" fee--about 85% of regular dues.

A four-year fight by USC cafeteria workers and janitors to win a written guarantee of job security took a dramatic turn Tuesday, when the hunger-striking leader of the workers' union made a tearful plea for help before the Los Angeles City Council. "I am Maria Elena Durazo, and I am on the ninth day of a water-only fast," said the president of Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union before breaking into a quiet sob in the City Council chamber.

Day 14 and counting: With the midday temperature hitting 90 degrees Wednesday, 22-year-old Brent Zettel leaned out the window of the Harvard University administration building. Standing outside, his government professor inquired: "Got everything you need? Books? Class outlines? Deodorant?" The longest sit-in in Harvard history reached the two-week mark Wednesday, with about three dozen students camped out in Massachusetts Hall to demand higher wages for university workers.

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday rejected school employees' request to begin talks on a pay increase, voting instead to come back with its own proposal that would tie any raise to accountability measures. During a five-hour closed session, the board instructed Supt. Ruben Zacarias to prepare an opening proposal by the Oct. 27 board meeting.

Padlocking Pitzer College's president out of her own office, students from the Claremont Colleges occupied an administration building Thursday and vowed to remain there until the institution's cafeteria workers get better working conditions. The group of students took over the the hub of Pitzer College--the Broad Center--as the doors opened early Thursday. They quickly padlocked and chained the doors and covered windows with blankets to shield their identities.

Contract negotiations stalled again Tuesday between the Santa Ana Unified School District and its 3,000 teachers and 1,900 classified employees. The employees have been working without contracts since July and had hoped to reach a tentative agreement before the winter break, which begins Friday. That will not happen now. Representatives for the Santa Ana Educators Assn. say they hoped to be rewarded for their part in the successful passage of the $145-million facilities bond last month.

Beginning in January, about 74,000 employees at the California State University and the University of California will discover their "fair share" of union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. The deductions, expected to generate millions of dollars for the 20 unions representing employees at the two public university systems, are the result of legislation that Gov. Gray Davis signed into law Saturday.

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District opened contract negotiations with the district's classified employees union Tuesday. Don Sedgwick, vice president of the district's board, said the formal opening of negotiations allows each side to lay out its proposal for changing the contract. The district and the employees already have a three-year contract. The current negotiations allow each side to pull a limited number of items from the contract that they would like renegotiated.

Twenty unions representing 93,000 employees at California's public universities are just a signature away from getting the biggest windfall in their history. The California Legislature has approved a controversial bill that would force all employees covered by union contracts to become dues-paying members or pay a "fair share" fee--about 85% of regular dues.

After 16 years of struggle, graduate students at eight University of California campuses have taken the final step to unionize, hoping for more control over how they help professors teach classes and grade papers. Election victories at all UC undergraduate campuses empower the units of the United Auto Workers to begin collective bargaining on behalf of 10,200 tutors, readers and teaching assistants.

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District opened contract negotiations with the district's classified employees union Tuesday. Don Sedgwick, vice president of the district's board, said the formal opening of negotiations allows each side to lay out its proposal for changing the contract. The district and the employees already have a three-year contract. The current negotiations allow each side to pull a limited number of items from the contract that they would like renegotiated.

Nonteaching employees in the Inglewood Unified School District held a lunchtime rally Tuesday to protest a school board decision to give teachers a raise that is nearly twice the amount approved for support staff. More than 25 employees participated in the demonstration, the second protest in the last week, to express their anger over the district's plan to give teachers a 6% raise while increasing salaries of nonteaching workers by only 3%.

California State University professors are spoiling for another labor fight. This time, it's not against the administration, but their own union. A growing number of faculty members are hopping mad at a bill speeding through the Legislature that would force about 74,000 Cal State and University of California employees to pay union dues or donate an equivalent amount to charity for at least four years. "Is this a new form of government?"

A four-year fight by USC cafeteria workers and janitors to win a written guarantee of job security took a dramatic turn Tuesday, when the hunger-striking leader of the workers' union made a tearful plea for help before the Los Angeles City Council. "I am Maria Elena Durazo, and I am on the ninth day of a water-only fast," said the president of Local 11 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union before breaking into a quiet sob in the City Council chamber.