ESTA UPDATE

East Side Teachers Association/CTA/NEA 888 So. Capitol Ave San Jose, Ca 95127 December 2, 2002

Don McKell, President Julie Pratico, Vice Pres Carla Holtzclaw, Secretary Ralph Giannini, Treasurer

mckelld@esuhsd.org fax: (408) 272-7569 voice: (408) 272-0601 website: www.EastSideTA.org

UNUM PROVIDENT

On Nov 17, CBS aired an episode of 60 Minutes in which reporter Ed Bradley painted a bleak picture of the giant insurance firm UnumProvident. Ordinarily, such negative coverage of a Tennessee-based company would not warrant much space in the Update, except for the fact that UnumProvident has enjoyed a long relationship with CTA and is the carrier of two CTA-sponsored insurance plans open to CTA members.

60 Minutes presented compelling evidence that Unum had arbitrarily halted payouts on certain disability policies, denying vulnerable people a source of financial support they thought they could rely on. This allegation is important to us. Nearly one third of ESTA members have already chosen to enter into the CTA Group Disability Insurance plan offered through Unum, and we are poised to begin another campaign to recruit more. (California teachers are not covered under any state disability insurance, and purchasing a solid measure of commercial income protection is a prudent choice one can make to offset the prospect of being medically unable to work.)

UnumProvident is not the only vendor of Disability Insurance out there, but it is the one with which CTA has chosen to align. What this means to us is that CTA has established an Advisory Panel to examine member claims and deal effectively with assertions of inequity on Unum’s part, should they arise. Our local CTA Director Bob Nichols serves on the Advisory Board, as does ST Site President Theresa Flores. Nichols has assured me that he has no knowledge of any such shenanigans in California as were chronicled in the 60 Minutes piece. In a memo distributed within days of the 60 Minutes episode, CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett stated,

For me, it makes perfect sense to purchase some sort of income protection in the event of my disability. That means I have to choose some insurance company. I must say that I am disturbed by the allegations of misconduct aired on 60 Minutes, but until the perfect insurance firm comes along, I have personally chosen to maintain my CTA Group Disability policy with Unum. This is largely because of the realization that if I ever do have a dispute with the billion-dollar provider, it won’t be just me against Unum. I feel just a little more confident as a result.

SUPERINTENDENT TO LEAVE

Near the end of the November meeting of the school board, Board President Manuel Herrera announced that Superintendent Joe Coto had delivered a letter to the Board stating that Coto would not seek an extension of his contract beyond May, 2003. Thus, it appears as if Coto’s long tenure as superintendent of the East Side UHSD is approaching its end. It goes without saying (and yet I’m saying it here) that the selection of Coto’s successor is as important a task for our school board as any they will ever make. The graying of our current high district leadership suggests that the superintendency may not be the only lofty post needing a replacement in the near future. None of us needs to look very far to see the result of the chaos, stagnation, and lack of progress that can occur in a school district when its school board makes poor decisions in recruiting its top leaders.

I hereby propose to the East Side School Board that it commission ESTA with the duty of locating and hiring the next East Side superintendent.

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT

At a well-attended November 21 meeting of the East Side School Board, several hundred audience members appeared to exhort the Board to move forward with a plan to guarantee that only union tradespeople be employed on building projects funded with proceeds from Measure G. Speakers with both pro and con positions to the PLA voiced their opinions on the matter within the 20-minute time span allocated to each side by Board President Manuel Herrera. The general tenor of the comments against the notion centered around the increased expense of union labor and the possibility that some current contractors on district jobs would be barred from doing business with the district in the future. Those speaking in favor of the proposal cited inherent fairness, higher quality of work, lower ongoing repair costs, and a functioning apprenticeship program that could extend to some of our students. In the end, the Board voted 5-0 to approve entering into negotiations with a goal of producing an agreement to only allow union workers on future building projects.

With the unanimous vote, the Board wholeheartedly thus endorsed a method whereby virtually all of the nearly $300 million in Measure G bond money will be used to increase the quality of life of non-District workers as they labor to build the things so necessary in creating an environment conducive to learning. The irony of the situation occurred to ESTA observers who remember the lukewarm reception shown by the same Board to the much more conservative (and failed) recent Measure J, which of course sought to raise the quality of life of the people (current and future district employees) so necessary for the same conducive environment.

GRADE ENTRY

At most (all?) sites, teachers now have the opportunity to omit the step of bubbling in grades on a scan sheet at the end of the grading period. Instead, the district is making available the ability to directly enter each student’s grade (and up to three comments) by use of a classroom computer. It is unclear just how much time the new process will save, and one admitted drawback is that teachers will not be able to enter student grades in the comfort of their homes, or any other site that does not have SASI access. Deputy Superintendent Bill Kugler assures me that those teachers who desire to continue to use the bubble-in grade scan sheets will be able to do so.

CALENDAR SURVEY

During the first part of November, ESTA members had the opportunity to respond to a survey designed to elicit opinions about potential alternative calendars for the 2003/04 school year and beyond. At issue on this recent survey was whether there was sufficient interest on the part of our members to continue to explore the notion of designing a work year schedule that allowed first semester to come to an end prior to the Christmas holidays. Such a schedule would cause the first day of classes to occur as early as the second week of August and it garnered a slight plurality of support in an earlier survey conducted last spring. Not so on this recent survey.

Respondents were asked to select one choice from among these: (A) I would agree to begin the year on 8/11/03 under some circumstances; (B) I would not agree to start that early; (C) I’m OK with an early start, but not as soon as next year.

* Early-start Preference legend:

2n = 2 week semester break w/ normal second semester vacations

3n = 3 week semester break w/ normal second semester vacations

4n = 4 week semester break w/ normal second semester vacations

2r = 2 week semester break w/ reduced second semester vacations

3r = 3 week semester break w/ reduced second semester vacations

4r = 4 week semester break w/ reduced second semester vacations

One of these days, it would be nice to put out a survey on a controversial subject and get responses back from more than 40% of our members. It is somewhat frustrating for those charged with leadership to try to make decisions for the entire unit based upon such low sampling returns. That said, it now appears as if there is no current groundswell of support for the notion of an early-start calendar, and so it is likely that we shelve plans to bargain it for next year. My thanks to those who returned the surveys.

SICK LEAVE BANK

All ESTA members should have gotten an explanation of the newly-negotiated Sick Leave Bank recently. The paper also included a simple application form to become a contributor. According to the agreement made between ESTA and the district, any bargaining unit member with at least one unused sick leave day can become a participant.

Q: Do I have to join?

A: No.

Q: What does it cost me to join?

A: At a minimum, one sick leave day this school year and one sick leave day next school year. After that, no more than one sick leave day per year, and that only if the balance in the bank falls below fifty days.

Q: What do I get if I join?

A: On one level: satisfaction that you have contributed to the welfare of fellow teachers. On a more personal level: you gain the ability to apply to draw more days out of the bank than you have contributed in the event of a serious, prolonged illness or family calamity.

Q: Will I be able to apply to draw sick leave days from the bank if I’m not a contributor?

A: No.

Q: Can I wait to see if I need the days, and then become a contributor?

A: Not easily. You’ll have only until December 20 this year to join, and only until the end of September in future years. New employees will have one month from the time they get hired.

Q: If I join now, can I "unjoin" in the future?

A: Yes. Once you become a contributor you will remain in the program until you notify the district in writing that you wish no longer to participate. You’ll have to do that by the last working day in September. You will not get your donated sick leave days back.

Q: How does the Sick Leave Bank work?

A: Once the bank has at least 100 days contributed to it, any contributor who has given at least two days can apply to withdraw up to 20 days. Extensions beyond 20 days are possible. (Since contributors only give one day per year and we all need to give two days in order to apply to withdraw, no one can be eligible to draw days from the bank until October of next year.) If a contributor runs out of his/her own accumulated sick leave days, s/he can apply for more from the bank.

Q: What can the days be used for?

A: Regardless of the source, sick leave days can be used to maintain one’s salary at full levels only while one is too ill to work or has a need to miss work due to compelling personal necessity. Article 6 of our contract describes this in more detail.

Q: Can I withdraw days to take a paid vacation?

A: No. Not only are vacations not compelling personal needs, but a committee of ESTA members will have complete authority to grant or deny applications for sick leave days from the Bank.

Q: What keeps people from abusing the new system?

A: The ESTA Sick Leave Bank Committee will create its own procedures for granting sick leave days from the Bank. Presumably, the Committee will examine each application and decide upon its merits.

Q: Does joining cost me one sick day a year forever?

A: No. Once you’ve donated two days and the balance reaches 100 days you will not have to donate any additional days unless the balance falls below 50.