The Long Beach Unified School District and teachers union finalized new tentative contract agreements on Thursday after months of protracted negotiations following union members\u2019 unprecedented rejection of the last proposal in June.<\/p>\n
Teachers Association of Long Beach president Gerry Morrison is urging members to vote yes on the new agreements, which cover K-12 educators as well as Child Development Center and Head Start teachers. \u201cIt\u2019s important to lock in this deal,\u201d Morrison said, calling it \u201cthe best we could get under the circumstances,\u201d referring to the district\u2019s large budget deficit and the threat of layoffs.<\/p>\n
The bargaining team believes they have negotiated improvements on the last tentative agreement, Morrison said in a video addressed to members<\/a>. If passed, the contract would cover members through June 2028, though some articles reopen for negotiation each year.<\/p>\n The new agreements include stronger boundaries around workload, greater protections and clarity for nurses and other specialized staff, improvements in leave policies, changes aimed at equitizing evaluations and relaxing standards for requesting transfers, safety improvements and stabilized health care costs, which keep members and their families from having to pay monthly health care premiums \u2014 a priority for members, Morrison said.<\/p>\n The agreements include multiple memos of understanding, including one that establishes a joint committee with the district to address adjunct responsibilities, or work completed outside the school day. These wins address some of the issues teachers raised with the Long Beach Post in September<\/a>, as well as feedback union members offered in a survey TALB administered<\/a>, Morrison said.<\/p>\n Annette Quintero, a teacher at Poly High School and co-chair of the TALB organizing committee, said that while she voted no on the last tentative agreement, she will be voting yes on this one. It makes some gains, she said, such as addressing issues related to evaluations and creates \u201ca stepping stone to addressing adjunct hours.\u201d<\/p>\n No educators will see an increase in compensation, an issue that some members said led them to vote no on the last tentative agreement<\/a>, as they face a rising cost of living.<\/p>\n The lack of pay raises should not come as a surprise. For months, the bargaining team has told TALB members not to expect any salary increase because the district\u2019s \u201cbudget outlook is pretty dire,\u201d bargaining chair Mike Day said at a union meeting in October. Day also warned members that, in light of the district\u2019s $70 million deficit, layoffs could be on the horizon.<\/p>\n \u201cFor those of you who were around in 2010, 2011, that was a complete bloodbath,\u201d Day said at the October meeting, referencing painful staffing reductions in the past.<\/p>\n The district has already announced<\/a> cost-saving measures for the next school year, including boosting attendance, reducing library staff<\/a> and social workers and closing Hoover Middle School<\/a>. Enrollment-based staff \u2014 including teachers, assistant principals and counselors, among others \u2014 \u201cis expected to be reduced by approximately $13.0 million,\u201d aligned with projected enrollment, the district said in their December budget update<\/a>.<\/p>\n