Union wants district to consider pay hike
SMMUSD HDQTRS Every school day for the past nine years, Kathy Sandoval has been the face behind the counter at Santa Monica High School’s Attendance Office, handling matters pertaining to the enrollment of the roughly 3,000-member student body.
While Sandoval has enjoyed the nearly decade-long working relationship with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, she admits that something has been amiss lately.
“I think moral has been down with staff,” Sandoval said. The school veteran referred to the ongoing contract talks between district officials and the Service Employees International Union Local 99, which represents the 700 classified staff in the district, from the maintenance workers to the bus drivers.
The union has been attempting to secure a 6 percent salary increase for the current school year as well as a onetime 6 percent bonus, arguing they have only received a combined total of 4.5 percent in raises since 2002 while the teachers’ salary enhancements have surpassed their classified counterparts, according to Joaquin Flores, who sits on the negotiating team for SEIU.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association last year received a 5 percent raise and on Thursday, the school board approved a 3 percent increase for the current school year.
“We think teachers should also get raises, but at the same time, we pay the same for gas, we pay the same for groceries,” Carol Skowland, who has worked 10 years in the district headquarters on state-mandated student testing, said. “We don’t get a break.”
The union’s frustrations with the relatively minimal raises spilled over on Thursday at the Board of Education meeting when SEIU representatives and classified staff workers rallied at the headquarters on 16th Street and in front of City Hall, addressing the board during the meeting.
“The cost of living has increased and the school board is sensitive to our working men and women who are having a hard time making ends meet,” Oscar de la Torre, the board president, said on Friday. “I hope that we can find a reasonable solution that sends the message that all employees are equally valued in our school district.”
Some union members say moral has been low among workers, some struggling to make ends meet on their wages as they try to keep up with the cost of living increases, many saying they feel they are being neglected and disrespected.
“We cover the nurses office, we help students learn to read, we’re there to make sure the kids are fed and we make sure the kids get to school,” Dolores Gonzales, a 31-year veteran who works as an administrative assistant at Roosevelt Elementary School, said. “We all work hand-in-hand.”
Deputy Superintendent Tim Walker confirmed on Thursday that the district’s negotiating team did present its proposal to SEIU last month, which the union responded with a counter offer. Walker declined to disclose the terms of the contract, citing confidentiality in the collective bargaining process, but according to Flores, the district offered a 3 percent increase with no bonus. “We are 3 percent away from making something happen for this year and with the one-time bonus, we’re farther apart because they’re saying zero,” Flores said.
Negotiations are expected to continue next week.
“We continue to work collaboratively with them to identify what costs the district can incur within our availability given the situation that exists in our budget at the moment,” Walker said. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith to resolve issues for both parties and come to a mutual contract.”
SEIU’s contract with the district expired on June 30 and staff has been working on a month-to-month contract extension, Flores said. Both parties have been negotiating a contract on and off since October.
As negotiations continue, union members remain hopeful for a favorable outcome, saying this isn’t about workers versus the district.
“We’re hoping something will come out of this,” Sandoval said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 23, 2008. Read the original PDF.