By Ava BreslinFollowing the end of their contract on June 30 2016, Wilson’s Education Association (WEA) has been trying to negotiate the terms of their new contract with the Wilson School Board. Their requests and needs had not been answered and they released a statement on Thursday Jan. 11 2018 that staff would go on strike on Tuesday Jan. 23rd if the board did not come back with what the WEA deems as an agreeable and fair contract. Due to what seems to be miscommunication on both sides, the process has drug out for about 10 months. Currently, the Board and the WEA have reached a tentative agreement. Following the end of their contract on June 30 2016, Wilson’s Education Association (WEA) has been trying to negotiate the terms of their new contract with the Wilson School Board. Their requests and needs had not been answered and they released a statement on Thursday Jan. 11 2018 that staff would go on strike on Tuesday Jan. 23rd if the board did not come back with what the WEA deems as an agreeable and fair contract. Due to what seems to be miscommunication on both sides, the process has drug out for about 10 months. Currently, the Board and the WEA have reached a tentative agreement. TIMELINE: On April 17, 2017, the first step towards negotiations was made from the WEA to the school board. Their first steps included presenting and discussing a new contract with the Board’s negotiation team. Both sides had a follow up meeting on May 25, 2017 where the WEA was given a response “that addressed only one of the several items in our proposal.” The WEA requested a counterproposal to be given around mid-June. According to their website, they brought in a state mediator, who also had trouble getting ahold of the board, by both phone and email. When being asked about this delay, President of the Wilson School Board, Matt Wolf, stated that, “we met face to face with them [WEA] this fall, and everybody recognized that there was some miscommunication on both parts, who was waiting for who. But there was no intentional delay on either side.” Four months later in early Sept. the Board turned over the negotiations to their lawyer (according to the WEA website) and some form of counter proposal would soon follow. Dr. Faidley, the Wilson School District Superintendent stated that, “that is all normal parts of the process...the solicitor [the attorney] is sharing information on behalf of the board, they are not sharing their own individual information so it’s just a normal part of the process.” At one of the later negotiation meetings on Jan. 11 2018, WEA announced the possible strike date for Jan. 23 2018. “This is the last thing we want [WEA], but it seems to be what the board wants.” said WEA Chief Negotiator, Michael Fitzgerald At that same meeting, the Board expressed that, “the Wilson Education Association’s three proposals were addressed.” Refuting this, the WEA stated that, “Our 3 proposals were NOT addressed. Their receipt was acknowledged, then the Board proceeded to promote their proposal and insist the membership vote on it.” Which is assumed to be the reason the WEA was pushed to strike. After a final negotiation meeting on Jan. 22 2018, the WEA and the Board have reached an agreement, canceling the strike. BUT WHY?: Between the back and forth from WEA and Wilson’s School Board, it has been hard for the community to fully understand what their negotiations have been about, and why there is not a conclusion almost 10 months later. With discrepancies between the two opposing sides’ information, it is difficult for the public to distinguish the fact from the fancy. Mr. Wolf describes it as this, “you can look at any data set, and make the numbers say whatever you want to say. You can pull out data depending on what you are trying to show and it can say whatever you want it to say.” According to the WEA website (wilsonea.net), Wilson’s salaries are much lower than others in the district. Wilson’s starting salary is ranked 14th out of 18 schools in the county, making Wilson in the bottom third of the county as well. (pennliv.com) The Board has explained that the top 3 priorities of the Union were that all starting teachers, master degree/experienced teachers, and doctorate degree/heavily experienced teachers received competitive salaries and be in the top third of the county for their level. In the newest proposal the board has given, “our new teachers are in the top 2 [salary], our masters teachers are in the top 3 [salary], and our doctorate are in the top 3 [salary]. On the flipside, the union’s proposal did not accomplish that. So there is miscommunication on what are the priorities for the negotiation,” said Dr. Faidley. The WEA also says things like raise rates, class sizes and teacher retention disagreements are other things keeping the negotiation going. As well as the fact that the contracts the Board was proposing were only two year contracts, which other districts in the county have 4 and 5 year contracts, according to the WEA website and pennliv.com. BOARD REACTION TO STRIKE STATEMENT: The Board made it very clear that they didn’t agree with the strike. They stated, after being asked about the likelihood of a strike that, “Only the union can answer that question. The District does not believe a work stoppage would accomplish anything, but would likely be disruptive and harmful to the students and the families that we serve.” (wilsonea.net) As long as this tentative agreement stands, the teachers will have a contract and the striking will no longer be a possibility. The final vote from the WEA will occur on Jan. 29 to see whether they take this contract or not.
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