The Fight is On to Defend Temporary Employees’ Rights!
After an investigation conducted by SDEA staff found that SDUSD may be abusing a provision of state law that allows school districts to hire teachers on temporary contracts. We are taking action through our attorney. Our attorney has notified SDUSD’s attorney in writing that the District may be in violation of state law by employing some teachers as temporary instead of probationary.
Possibly Running Afoul of the Law
The California Education Code allows Districts to hire certificated employees on temporary contracts, but only in limited circumstances. Others must be classified as probationary or permanent, both of which afford greater job security than temporary employment.
SDEA staff recently concluded a year-long look into temporary employment practices in SDUSD. The initial finding indicates that nearly a quarter of the 509 temporary employees towards the end of the 2020-21 school year may not have been appropriately identified as temporary.
Why So Many Temporary Contracts?
Hiring teachers as temporary is necessary to replace teachers on leave and those who are working in positions that have short term funding. However, sometimes district administration takes advantage of this framework to hire more than the acceptable number of temporary employees. Districts have fewer obligations to temporary employees. It’s easier to cut temporary employees. And employees who worry about their job security are less likely to stand up at work.
What should I do if I am on a temporary contract, or was last year?
Wait for further updates on this effort in future Union Notes emails and other union updates. If you’re not a member, make sure to join so that if you have a potential legal issue with your contract our union attorneys can support you.
What can I do to support the fight for temporary employees’ rights?
Teachers are only able to mount this fight because we are a union. If teachers were not organized as a union, each temporary teacher would have to get their own attorney and fund their own legal effort. Both the year-long investigation and the legal action is funded by dues-contributing members of SDEA. If you’re not yet a member of SDEA, now is the time to join. The District knows how many of us are members of SDEA, and when all of us are members, that sends a message that educators are united and we have power.
District Fights to Shortchange ECE Teachers on Their Pay
Union Takes Case Before an Arbitrator
In 2018, Emmanuel Francouis, a veteran SDEA member and Early Childhood Education teacher noticed a peculiar discrepancy in his pay. Despite being employed by SDUSD for over 30 years he was not receiving his longevity pay. That didn’t make sense, so he worked with his SDEA AR and Contract Specialist to determine if there was something wrong with his situation. What they discovered unearthed a systemic underpayment system by SDUSD for veteran ECE teachers and it kicked off an excessively litigious grievance between the union and SDUSD.
In the 2019 round of bargaining, the union won longevity pay for all regular SDEA unit members. However, for ECE teachers that longevity pay had been in the contract going back at least two decades. In 2016, the union won a change to the contract that allowed ECE teachers to get to the top of the salary schedule by year 17, thereby guaranteeing higher career earnings. This change also aligned the ECE pay with that of other SDEA members who also topped out at 17 steps.
When that change occurred, the District unilaterally decided the longevity pay that was in place for many decades for ECE teachers would cease to be paid in addition to the regular salary of ECE teachers. Instead the district paid the longevity on Steps 16 and 17 of the ECE salary schedule. This seemingly benign change meant that a group of teachers who are the lowest paid SDEA members, and predominately made up of women of color, were now being shortchanged in some cases over $200 a month of pay that they were due from the District. That’s because the District is arguing that an unwritten practice somehow allows them to roll the longevity pay for this group, and this group only, into the regular steps of the contract. A practice that other higher compensated SDEA members do not have to live under.
After Mr. Francouis discovered this discrepancy he filed a grievance, and so began a 3-year grievance saga that was finally heard by an arbitrator last month. Although the grievance was initially filed in August of 2018, the District’s legal and labor relations offices, which have inexplicably grown despite the overall size of the District shrinking, took many steps to try to ensure that the grievance didn’t make it before a neutral arbitrator.
SDEA, working with a CTA attorney, was successful in getting the matter before an arbitrator last month. A decision on the case is expected in November; however, Mr. Francouis, the member who first discovered the contract violation, passed away in the intervening years since the grievance was started.
Safety Concern Reporting Platform
As a reminder, members can report safety concerns by submitting a report to the District’s Physical Plant Operations Department. This includes concerns about PPE supplies, lack of air purifiers, etc. Submit your report to https://pposervices.sandi.net/home.html. You must be on the District network to access the reporting platform.
Defending Temporary Employees' Rights
An investigation conducted by SDEA staff found that SDUSD may be abusing a provision of state law that allows school districts to hire teachers on temporary contracts. We are taking action through our attorney. Our attorney has notified SDUSD’s attorney in writing that the District may be in violation of state law by employing some teachers as temporary instead of probationary
POSSIBLY RUNNING AFOUL OF THE LAW
The California Education Code allows Districts to hire certificated employees on temporary contracts, but only in limited circumstances. Others must be classified as probationary or permanent, both of which afford greater job security than temporary employment.
SDEA staff recently concluded a year-long look into temporary employment practices in SDUSD. The initial finding indicates that nearly a quarter of the 509 temporary employees towards the end of the 2020-21 school year may have been inappropriately identified as temporary
WHY SO MANY TEMPORARY CONTRACTS?
Hiring teachers as temporary is necessary to replace teachers on leave and those who are working in positions that have short term funding. However, sometimes district administration takes advantage of this framework to hire more than the acceptable number of temporary employees. Districts have fewer obligations to temporary employees. It’s easier to cut temporary employees. And employees who worry about their job security are less likely to stand up at work.
Resident Visiting Teacher Program
In order to ensure that there are sufficient visiting teachers in place at schools, SDEA has been pushing the District to again increase the pay for visiting teachers. We now have a side letter agreement with the District that does just that. This new agreement increases visiting teacher pay to $285 to visiting teachers who commit to be assigned to a school site every day for the remainder of the school year. Schools may select these Resident Visiting Teachers from the District’s eligible Visiting Teachers pool. Sites may receive additional Resident Visiting Teachers based on their substitute fill rate, and student enrollment.
Deadline for SDEA Scholarships Quickly Approaching!
SDEA annually offers scholarships for members and members’ dependents. The May 7th deadline to submit scholarship applications is fast approaching. The dependent application is for graduating seniors and current college-enrolled students, who are dependents of a current SDEA member. The member application is for current SDEA members who wish to further their education.
Applications can be found under the Membership tab here on the website. If you have additional questions, please contact Lisa Steinberg at SDEA (619) 283-4411 or steinberg_l@sdea.net.
SDEA Racial Justice Statement
In the wake of the Minnesota jury finding former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges for the murder of George Floyd in May of last year, our state California Teachers Association issued a statement calling for educators to “recommit to shared solutions for confronting racism, pursuing accountability, and advancing justice so that we can build a world together that is safer, more just, and more humane.”
Our SDEA Board of Directors unanimously approved a racial justice statement that challenges us to examine whether our practices contribute to systemic racial inequities. As educators, we have a responsibility to model the growth mindset for students by recognizing that our work toward building anti-racist classrooms and school communities is never done. Together, we must continue the call for justice and to hold powerful people, organizations and each other, accountable. What are we doing as union members to work toward anti-racism every day?
2021 SDUSD Teachers of the Year and Runners-up
Congratulations to SDEA members Thomas Courtney from Chollas-Mead Elementary, Guadalupe Celedon from CPMA Middle School and Sharon Apple from Hoover High School. These accomplished educators have been named San Diego Unified School District’s Teachers of the Year for 2021.
The runners-up are Janice Anderson from Johnson Elementary School, Renee Thomas from Marston Middle School, and Francia Pinillos, a Special Education Teacher with TRACE. More information about these educators can be found here. Congratulations to these outstanding educators and union members!
Safety Concern Reporting Platform
Members can report safety concerns by submitting a report to the District’s Physical Plant Operations Department. This includes concerns about lack of social distancing, lack of air purifiers, etc. Submit your report to https://pposervices.sandi.net/home.html. You must be on the District network to access the reporting platform.
SDEA Members Share Hybrid Learning Best Practices
Allison Paredes - Kinder teacher and AR at Franklin and Kristy Drake - 2/3 combo teacher at Gage recorded this best practices video for hybrid teaching, with the help of the CTA IPD department. A big solidarity shout out to Allison and Kristy for sharing their time and best practices!
Presentation links:
• Hybrid Instruction in Kindergarten