'The worst in the state:' School employees packed the board meeting to speak out on the resolution
PETERSBURG—Teachers and school employees have been riled up since the board passed a resolution that did not include their input last month. The resolution, which was intended to give teachers a form of collective bargaining, was in fact not what the essence of true collective bargaining is, according to union members.
The resolution excludes key points: It only gave collective bargaining power to the teachers, and guidance counselors and librarians who hold a teaching license. The union wanted all school employees to have the ability to negotiate.
Furthermore, the resolution does not allow teachers the ability to negotiate their wages or benefits, limiting the scope of negotiations to hours and scheduling, health and safety, and work rules.
It also includes a provision that would allow the school board to terminate the bargained contract at any time, leading the president of the Virginia Education Association to call the resolution the “worst in the state.”
VEA President James Fedderman, as well as over dozen union members and citizens, packed the school board meeting last week to speak their minds.
Why is Petersburg’s resolution the worst?
Unlike other school districts in Virginia, Petersburg’s school board did not once consult the Petersburg Education Association (PEA) union before writing up a resolution, said Fedderman. They did not take into consideration the union's requests nor let them come to the table before writing a resolution.
“Your attorney should have collaborated with our attorney and it did not happen,” Fedderman said to the school board. “What has happened is a disgrace for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Once the school board passed the resolution on June 21, Fedderman says that the school board’s attorney has refused to speak with them, despite multiple attempts.
“The US military has a sacred commitment to leave no one behind on the battlefield. We have been left behind on the battlefield,” said Kimberly Mason, a nurse at Cool Spring Elementary who would not have the right to collectively bargain. “All or none. Please relook at this resolution and do what's right.”
Freida Curtis, a retired educator who taught Petersburg schools for over 30 years, says that she’s seen the rise and the fall of the school system. Back when she was a teacher, she said that the community could count on the school board to do the right thing and the schools flourished.
Fast forward to today, the current school board’s leadership “is not a democracy, but a dictatorship,” Curtis said.
“Seems like you just put this together and didn’t consider them,” said Reverend Vernon Lee of Greater Faith A.M.E. Zion church. “I get tired of riding around Petersburg and seeing the sign love. My mother taught me, don't just tell me you love me, show me you love me. And I think that we need to love our teachers... if ever we need to get together, it’s now.”
After people finished speaking, school board chair Kenneth Pritchett thanked them for their comments and continued with the agenda.
The union's fight:School union members want collective bargaining. They say the board is stalling to vote on the resolution.
Joyce Chu, an award-winning investigative journalist, is the Social Justice Watchdog Reporter for The Progress Index. Contact her with comments, concerns, or story-tips at Jchu1@gannett.com or on Twitter @joyce_speaks
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg teachers packed the board meeting to speak against the resolution
