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Welcome to the Anchorage Education Association

Mayor's Action Strips $750,000 from ASD

Mayor Sullivan vetoed an action by the Assembly that would have reduced the charge to ASD for the SRO program by $750,000, or about 8 teachers. We need educators and other community members to let Assembly members know what you think.

Please watch your home email for a message, or go to http://AEAPACE.net for details on the issue and how to contact your Assembly members.

Click for Health Plan Transition info

In the coming month, AEA members will be presented with a choice of plans, from which one will be chosen for our coverage. We are still preparing information to post for members that helps present the choices clearly. In the meantime, we'd like to start with a copy of the PowerPoint that is being used to line out the details of staying with our current Plan A vs. moving to Plan B.

With continued work, the AEA Bargaining Team recently reached a Tentative Agreement with the ASD Team. The AEA Board of Directors met Tuesday night with the AEA Bargaining Team and reviewed the proposed changes to our contract. They voted to support the agreement and move it to the membership for a vote.

Per our by-laws, I am providing a complete copy of the agreement to you for your review. It starts as a copy of our previous contract. Any item that has been changed or deleted shows as a strike-through. Any language that has been added is underlined. This allows for easy comparison to see what has been changed.

You can see this copy at this link.

In addition, there is an executive summary of the significant changes that can be viewed at this link.

Over the coming week I urge you to review the contract carefully and evaluate how it impacts you personally and professionally. You are invited to email me with questions or comments which I will share with the Bargaining Team and respond to as needed.

On Thursday, August 22 we will hold an All Member Meeting at the Dena'ina Center at 4:30 PM. The Bargaining Team and the Board of Directors will be there to answer questions and discuss the contract with you.

On August 26th we will open electronic balloting for members (you will need your NEA Member number to vote - watch for your card in the mail this week!) as well as allowing paper balloting at the NEA-Ak/AEA office on Spenard Road. Balloting will close at 5 PM on the evening of August 28th.

I know members have been anxious about starting the year with continued bargaining. We believe this contract makes significant gains for members while it helps the ASD operate more efficiently and effectively in carrying out its mission. It protects the income and status of ASD educators even as the District faces budgeting challenges and continued cuts in staffing. I want to thank the AEA Bargaining Team, the ASD Bargaining Team, and the ASD leadership for continuing to work through tough issues to find solutions that acknowledge the concerns of both management and the professional staff of the ASD. I think this agreement can be a springboard to the beginning of a positive and successful academic year.

On behalf of the Bargaining Team and the AEA Board of Directors......

Andy Holleman

President
Anchorage Education Association
274-0536

http://AnchorageEA.org

2013 - 2014 Contract Proposals

Subject:

Bargaining Update

Post Date:

August 5, 2013

ASD and AEA Bargaining Teams have continued to meet through the summer, have met this past week and will meet again before school starts. There is still work to be done on specific points, but overall, progress continues to be made. We still believe that an amicable resolution is possible, and it will take more time at the table to make it happen.

It is important for AEA members to understand that we continue to work under the prior contract in what is referred to as "dynamic status quo." You DO have a contract. All the rules about leave, due process, planning time, etc, remain as before while we continue to bargain. You will continue to advance in step and lane just as in prior years.

Historically, new contracts are retroactive to the expiration of the previous one. If there are changes in the salary schedule, addenda amounts, rates of sick leave or other items, ASD has made all those adjustments once the agreement has been ratified by the ASD Board and our membership.

Please keep in mind that it was only the most recent contract that was actually agreed to in advance of the previous contract expiring. In some cases that was because bargaining was not progressing. That does not describe our current situation.

As school resumes this fall the most important thing we ask of members is to focus on your professional duties. You and the District have been through a challenging year this past year, and education is having a tumultuous time in the Legislature. Despite all of the issues, attacks, and funding problems, public educators continue to deliver great quality to students. That quality is the core of the value that draws the support for public education You and the job you do are the most critical and resilient part of the entire system.

Get us off to a great start. We will continue to work for the security and resources you need to do the job you do. It is going to be a year of challenges but I believe we can turn the tide.