MEA Recommended Bargaining Goals

MEA Recommended Bargaining Goals for MEA Locals Bargaining between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010

Every contract should include as the highest priorities:

Sustained Growth in Compensation:

• Extra pay for extra work
• Comparable pay for work for comparable value
• Sufficient salary/wage improvement to prevent loss in employee spending power for all EA, ESP, and Higher Education locals
• Timely progress toward “40-80 in 10” for teachers. At least $40,000 starting teacher salary and at least $80,000 salary at the 10th step or less of the MA column. Fair and equitable increases that are timely and will increase the quality of life for ESP members
• ESP benefits: same fully paid fringe benefit package as EA unit
• Definition of per diem pay, the work day and the work year
• Maintain or improve the number of work hours and work days in the year for ESP
• All lump sum payments upon retirement from the school district shall be paid as direct employer contributions to the employee’s 403(b) account through MEA-FS
  

Quality Fringe Benefits:

• MESSA as the insurance carrier
• 100 percent employer-paid full-family health coverage (no cap on the insurance premium), including coverage for other qualified adults and their eligible dependent children
• The priority for bargaining fringe benefits into each contract should be:
  1st priority – MESSA Health Insurance
  2nd priority – MESSA Long Term Disability Insurance
  3rd priority – MESSA Life Insurance
  4th priority – MESSA Dental Insurance
  5th priority – MESSA Vision Insurance
• High deductible non-MESSA health plan connected to a Health Savings Account (HAS) or a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is a cost shift to employees and is not a substitute for all or any part of an insurance plan
  

No Rollbacks:

• Contract talks should include no rollbacks
  

In addition, every contract should include:

• Non-discriminatory language
• Access to all MEA-FS products through the payroll services of the school district
• Just cause and progressive discipline for every employee
• Binding grievance arbitration of contractual matters including evaluation, discipline and discharge
• Exclusive reservation of bargaining unit work for bargaining unit members
• Fully paid release time for Association business
• Provisions defining seniority with layoff & recall seniority and vacant positions filled by seniority
• Agency shop
• A defined evaluation process that includes:
  1. The evaluation instrument (form)
  2. The identification of the criteria that will be used to evaluate the employee
  3. A requirement of state whether the employee is “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory”
  4. A requirement that if the employee is identified as unsatisfactory, the reasons for being unsatisfactory will be stated in writing along with a written statement of what the employee must do to become satisfactory, what assistance the administration will provide to the employee to become satisfactory and how long the employee will be allowed in order to become satisfactory.
• Member protections in connection with ESEA restructuring, highly qualified rules and regulations, and any forthcoming changes in curriculum and graduation standards
• Quality professional development designed by members and paid for by the employer. Employees will be paid for attendance when professional development occurs outside the school day.
• Provisions ensuring that members perform and are compensated for all supplementary services
  
  Recommended by the MEA’s Long Range Bargaining Committee (LRBC), the Staff Bargaining Strategy and Implementation Team (SBSIT)