2008-09 News

June 11, 2009 - Joint Bargaining Session Update

The West Contra Costa Unified School District, Public Employees Union Local One, School Supervisors Association, and the West Contra Costa Administrators Association participated in a joint bargaining session regarding health benefits utilizing interest based bargaining. To date the group has met seven times. During these meetings numerous options have been developed. At this point there have been no decisions made. Negotiations will continue and meetings are being scheduled. We will update you on any new developments.

June 10, 2009 - New Executive Director

Our new Executive Director, Sandra Falk, was hired on an interim basis on June 10, 2009. She attended the 6/11 coalition negotiation and is already actively working on other issues for our unit. We are happy to have Sandy on board with her vast knowledge and experience working with unions and our District. If members would like to contact her, she can be reached at (510) 478-4030.

March 26, 2009 - In Memory of Bill Young

On March 26, 2009, our Executive Director , Bill Young, passed away. Bill Young served in the US Air Force with an assignment as a diplomatic courier traveling to many countries. Returning to civilian life, he was a fire fighter for a number of years; then a labor negotiator for California School Employees Association for ten years. He obtained his Masters Degree in Business Administration and was employed in various school districts in the positions of Director of Classified Personnel and Assistant Superintendent of Business and Personnel. He retired from education but continued to be active in the education area, serving as Executive Director of the School Supervisor Association (SSA) for 24 years. He also volunteered in many capacities as a member of the California Hawaii Elks program. His health was declining for a number of years but he would not limit participating in any of his activities. He was caring, personable and a loyal friend to many and an outstanding individual.

March 4, 2009 - Joint Bargaining Session

The West Contra Costa Unified School District, Public Employees Union Local One, School Supervisors Association, and the West Contra Costa Administrators Association are participating in a joint bargaining session regarding health benefits utilizing interest based bargaining.

The second joint meeting was held on March 4, 2009, at the Local One Offices, 4197 Lakeside Drive, #170, Richmond from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. As the meetings progress, additional joint updates will be provided.

The session began with a presentation on the budget. The presentation included the impact of the State budget, the Federal stimulus package and the current District deficit. The issue statement was finalized: “How do we provide a high quality health care package that is fair, equitable and responsible?” In addition, the “stakeholders” and their “interests” were identified.

A sub-committee was formed to collect the necessary data from comparable districts. The sub-committee is comprised of two members from each group. The sub-committee will be meeting as soon as possible to begin the work of collecting all the data. Currently the groups are working to identify the next meeting dates.

February 25, 2009 - Joint Bargaining Session

The West Contra Costa Unified School District, Public Employees Union Local One, School Supervisors Association, and the West Contra Costa Administrators Association are participating in a joint bargaining session regarding health benefits utilizing interest based bargaining.

The first meeting was held at the Local One Offices, 4197 Lakeside Drive, #170, Richmond from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on February 25, 2009. Ground Rules were developed and the groups began defining the issue. Our new facilitator is Judy Vonada. She did an excellent job keeping the group focused on the issue.

The next meeting will be held on March 4, 2009. As the meetings progress, additional joint updates will be provided.

December General Membership Meeting!

The next General Membership Meeting will be held on:

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Ground Round Restaurant
3190 Klose Way, Richmond
4:30pm to 6:30pm

Please RSVP by December 12th to Mary Jones, SSA President (233-3988).

Negotiations Update!

SSA starts impact bargaining on non-Benefit items on 11/4/08. We have full contract negotiations so it will give us an opportunity to review our entire contract with the District.

To date, the District has not set up any dates for negotiating benefits. The rumor floating around is that the District wants to "cap" all employees' benefits. In an effort to not let this happen, SSA, Local 1, and WCCAA will again be negotiating the Benefits portion of our contract collaboratively - as we did in 2005. Members of our negotiating team have been meeting with members of the other 2 units in order to come up with up-to-date information to pass on to our members. Phase I is to distribute the Health Benefits FAQ to our members. Phase II will follow at a later date and will involve surveying members.

October General Membership Meeting Announced!

The next General Membership Meeting will be on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at Ground Round Restaurant from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The cost of food and drinks will be covered by SSA and there will be a No Host Bar. Please RSVP by October 10th to Mary Jones at Helms Middle School (233-3988).

Parcel Tax Volunteers Needed!

On Saturday, September 20, parcel tax supporters will start walking neighborhoods in the district hand-delivering Measure D literature to voters. They critically need volunteers to walk for 1-3 hours and help get the word out (and get some exercise at the same time!).

To join the fun and make a critical difference in this campaign, please gather at:

Local 1 Office (4197 Lakeside Drive, Suite 170, Richmond, CA 94806)
at 9:30 AM, Saturday, September 20 (and every Saturday until election day)