William S. Hart Union High School District Teachers Association

Category Archives: Negotiations

John Minkus Addresses School Board 11/4/2020

Posted on by Posted in Communication, Covid-19, Distance Learning, Negotiations, School Board Meeting Leave a comment

Good evening board members, President Storli, and staff. Thank you as usual for providing time for me to speak

Tonight, as we all anxiously await the decisions made in the 2020 election, I want to first recognize the service of Mrs. Storli and Mr. Sturgeon for their tireless support of the Hart District and wish them the best. These two board members have been committed to the oversight of our students, staff, and district as a whole. Thank you.

In terms of our current situation, I want to reiterate the association’s deep concern for the safety of all as we begin to return to campus. As word of mouth is an unstoppable force, I continue to ask for a transparent communication of information in regard to cases of covid on our campus’.  As numbers of reported Covid continue to rise, I have become aware of multiple cases throughout our schools that are not widely known. This is why HDTA has asked for the adoption of the standards in AB685 prior to its implementation which would require notification to all employees on a campus where a case has been documented.  Not that we don’t want to come back, but of a concern for safety. Please take these concerns in serious consideration. A colleague of mine reminded me of a phrase, FUD, Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Teachers are fearful of the disease. They are uncertain of what the return will look like, and they are doubtful it can be a safe and pedagogically efficient return for all. Don’t get me wrong, teachers want to be back in the classroom. 

In addition, there is very little clarity to the requests of teachers who submitted letters, including from physicians,  in regard to teaching from off site as we return to a blended model.  Once again fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

On another note, the consent calendar tonight has a listing of costs for students for whom we are paying outside agencies enormous fees. I would think this would be a discussion among our board members who are the fiduciaries of our district. There is between 2-3 million dollars being appropriated for these outside services which does NOT include legal fees incurred during the process. Our teachers are tired of hearing there is no money, the sky is falling, we’re going bankrupt. We have continued to keep up our part of the contract, reinventing the wheel to support our students, but have not seen anything in return. We are all in this together, let’s keep it that way.

J

11/4/2020 School Board Agenda:https://williamshart.agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=159&MeetingID=80472&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

7/15 Board Meeting

Posted on by Posted in Distance Learning, Negotiations, School Board Meeting

After the Wednesday night board meeting your Executive Board met to discuss concerns. We identified three major areas of concern and others that need to be addressed with the district. First of all, we will work to make sure there is flexibility in the location from which you will work. We understand there are still safety concerns about coming on a campus and the lack of knowing how the elementary districts will handle the situation leaves teachers up in the air with their own children’s situation. Second, we will maintain the contractual language in regard to training. Any training that is offered outside of our contractual year will be voluntary and paid. Third, we will work for the ability for all teachers to provide instruction as they see fit. Personally and through social media, I have received a multitude of concerns about livestreaming and being forced to use specific curriculum. There are other issues that have arisen, from taking attendance to the proposed schedule that we will be addressing. We understand that there is much fear/angst in not knowing what will be required of us. Please understand that we are working daily and tirelessly to make sure your concerns are addressed.

Together, John Minkus

Fall Opening-Message from John Minkus

Posted on by Posted in Distance Learning, Negotiations, School Board Meeting

I know many of you watched last night’s Board Meeting. Many of the items discussed will need to be negotiated prior to implementation. I have called a Rep Council meeting for Monday to discuss the issues at hand. We have a meeting scheduled with the district for Wednesday to discuss the details. We have already presented them with talking points in regard to reopening. Dr. Aponik, our CTA staff person will support us in these efforts. We understand that there are more questions than answers at this point and must rely on the local, state, and federal agencies for direction. Your bargaining team and executive board are tirelessly working on your behalf yet as with all decisions in a unit as large as ours, not all will be satisfied. I continue to do my best to answer all your questions. Please share your thoughts and concerns with your site rep(s) to bring to our meeting.
Together,
J

Message to HDTA from Chief Negotiator, Mike Copenhaver

Posted on by Posted in Communication, Contract, Distance Learning, Negotiations

Hi all, I have been busy with my grands, but wanted you to know your HDTA leadership and negotiation team are still active.  If you want to see the comments by nearly 500 HDTA members on FaceBook, please join and answer the two questions to be approved for this private group.  Here is the message from Mike:
“My name is Mike Copenhaver and I am the Lead Negotiator for HDTA’s Bargaining Team. I wanted to make a few comments that will hopefully shed light on some of the topics commented on in this group. First, I will say that due to the nature of my position I often refrain from commenting on posts here. My job is to negotiate the contract and our working conditions, work with the president of the Association and CTA Regional Leaders, attend all District Board meetings, and report to both the Executive Board and the Representative Council. Nonetheless, I wanted to share a few things because I understand that people are yearning for a clearer picture on what work is being done on their behalf. I will tell you that HDTA president John Minkus and I have been in constant communication. We have spoken 3 to 4 times daily for the past 8 weeks. Our topics include negotiations, district activity, current CTA recommendations, current CDC guidelines, the positions of our feeder districts, current legislation, and most importantly, the comments and concerns of HDTA members. Additionally. the Bargaining Team has met both as an individual group and with the District’s Team multiple times weekly over the course of May and early June. The Executive Board will have met 3 times over the last 6 days after today’s meeting.  Since communications have been brought up, the Executive Board will be discussing multiple ways of improving how messages get out to members. So I hope I am conveying that people have been working hard to ensure that your voices are heard, and that  our issues and concerns are voiced. Finally, I’ll close by telling you that I do read every post and comment in this group and take all that is posted into careful consideration when I am representing you. Stay well.