Collective Bargaining in California Public Schools

1. Collective Bargaining in California Public Schools The Collective Bargaining Contract: Typical Components

2. Typical Contract Components • Compensation Benefits • Leaves Hours • Assignment Layoff & re-employment • Evaluation Organizational Security • Grievances Management Rights • Work Stoppage Safety conditions • Duration Class Size / Loading • Retirement

3. Auditing your contract • Auditing your contract • Preparation for the next negotiating session begins the day that you sign the agreement. • Immediately begin keeping an annotated contract, noting every time a concern or question comes up about a specific section of the contract.

4. Establish goals for next contract • First of all, you want to limit restrictive work rules that are making the management of schools or the district difficult. • Second, you want to clarify any ambiguities that are restricting your ability to manage. • Third, you want to reduce costs whenever possible and not add new items that increase costs.

5. Obtain sample language • Make arrangements with the other districts in your geographic area to share copies of collective bargaining agreements. • Find out things that are working well in other contracts and then review those sections for language that might be helpful to you. • If you have an idea for something new in your contract, contact ACSA or ask your legal firm if they’ve negotiated anything with one of their other clients that might be of use to you.

6. Binding arbitration • Binding arbitration is a way of resolving disputes by taking the disagreement to an independent third party who makes a determination that the two parties must follow. • Since most contracts put the final authority in the hands of the Board of Trustees, binding arbitration reduces the power of the superintendent and Board to make decisions about grievances or other disagreements in a collectively bargained contract.

7. Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s) • An MOU is typically an agreement on a narrow topic with a specific ending date so it stays in place for a particular period of time and doesn’t become part of the full contract. • Ideally, an MOU expires and becomes void at a particular time. • If the parties decide that the MOU was effective, they can then fully negotiate it to become part of the collective bargaining agreement.

8. DO Become thoroughly familiar with the contract. Implement the contract impartially, objectively and consistently. DON’T Abdicate your rights as a manager and your role as a leader Act in arbitrary, discriminatory or capricious fashion toward any employee. Implementing your Contract

9. DO Curtail any undesirable past practices through clear written instruction to make it clear that those practices are not supported. Maintain regular and substantive communication with union leaders. DON’T Allow undesirable practices to remain in place and become ingrained as past practices you will have to live by. Wait until closer to the time of the next round of negotiations to open communication. Implementing your Contract

10. DO Consistently and positively assert the rights of management to direct operations. Be visible, accessible and responsive to concerns and input from employees and their representatives. DON’T Exert only those management rights embedded in the contract. Take a break from being visible and accessible to catch up on activities you put aside during negotiations. Implementing your Contract