Strike vote approaching for Fresno teachers union. District to pay substitutes double
The Fresno Teachers Union appears to be headed into a strike as a deadline has passed and Fresno Unified School District has begun promoting its $500-a-day pay for substitutes.
Union leaders have said the plan by the district to more than double the pay for substitutes is a sign district brass isn’t looking to compromise to make a deal with teachers.
Superintendent Bob Nelson said students remain the district’s top priority, so substitutes are needed to keep schools open during a potential strike.
“While we continue to work toward an agreement with our teachers, our students can’t afford to lose any more learning time and we’re committed to ensuring that doesn’t happen,” Nelson said in a news release on Tuesday.
Friday was the deadline imposed on the district by the union. The union’s some 4,000 members are expected to vote on whether to strike on Oct. 18 at the Fresno Fairgrounds.
“Our goal is to make sure that we don’t have a strike,” FTA president Manuel Bonilla said in an interview with Fresnoland. “If it happens, it’s because the district has not listened to its educators.”
The district and FTA participated in a fact-finding panel and hearing in September before the state Public Employment Relations Board.
FUSD and FTA await a report from that panel with recommendations on a potential compromise, taking into account the financial feasibility of each side’s proposals.
District leaders have said they believe the third-party review will lend support to their offer to the union.
Union leaders said the report is non-binding and simply a recommendation, and does not represent the final word on offers from either side.
If the work stoppage goes forward, the district said grades will be given out as usual. No modifications will be made related to a strike.
The district also intends to document employees’ participation in a work stoppage and ensure they don’t use sick leave or other contractual time off if they walk off the job.
The negotiation troubles have lingered for some time.
The district accused the union in April of failing to adhere to the “interest-based bargaining” they’d originally agreed to. The approach differs from the traditional bargaining method of passing proposals back and forth. Interest-based bargaining instead involves identifying mutual interests between the two parties and then coming up with contract language together.
In May, the district decided to revert to traditional bargaining with FTA.
