Jan. 11, 2008 — Whizzing down the road past Addelita Cancryn Junior High School Friday morning, several motorists paused briefly to honk their horns or send out shouts of support to a large group of teachers gathered in peaceful protest outside the campus gate.
"What do we want? Contracts! When do we want it? Now!" shouted members of the teaching and support staff, along with many of the school's paraprofessionals.
"No teacher left behind," many added, raising signs and banners over their heads that called for the government to speed up negotiations on a collective-bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) that has been in the works for the past few months.
"We're one of the biggest unions in the territory — we should have a contract in place," said K. Leba Ola-Niyi, an AFT senior building representative. "Our last one expired in August of last year, and while negotiations are currently going on, we want to show that we are dissatisfied with the progress — we want a contract this year."
Sticking points for union members, who conducted the protest during their 45-minute lunch break, include making sure teachers' rights are protected and maintaining high working standards, Ola-Niyi said. Better working conditions is also an issue, he said, pointing out that Cancryn is in desperate need of a makeover, including the construction of a cafeteria, gym and auditorium.
Salary increases for union members is also a sticking point for the district's union president, Vernelle de Lagarde, who said Friday that the starting salary for teachers is currently about $28,000 — several thousand dollars below the national pay scale. A bump up to about $50,000 per year should be sufficient to retain teachers currently in the public school system and attract new recruits, she added.
De Lagarde also lamented the extensive negotiation process, saying that the union's 2005-2007 collective-bargaining agreement had taken more than a year to finalize. While the AFT had begun renegotiating before the contract's expiration date at the end of August, delays in nailing down specific dates for union and government representatives to come to the table has kept the process from moving forward, she said.
"There's so many things to think about," she said. "There's paperwork and issues with retroactivity, and this year, both the district unions are coming together in the negotiation process, so finding times where everyone can meet is difficult. By the time everything is complete, it's going to be time for another school year."
Calls made to Jessica Gallivan, chief collective-bargaining negotiator, were not returned Friday. She was reported to be in negotiations with representatives from the police unions.
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