Unions Sign Contracts But Hard Feelings Linger
Seven months of often bitter feuding in the Riverside School District have settled into an uncomfortable silence.
One of the district’s unions filed a lawsuit and formally accused administrators of unfair labor practices. Another packed school board meetings in silent protest. A parents group formed to oust Superintendent Jerry Wilson.
Asked earlier this week if there would be lingering bad blood now that both unions have signed new contracts, Wilson paused several seconds before answering.
“I can’t speculate on that,” said Wilson, head of the district for 17 years. “We’re going on about our business with the schools.”
But others do speculate. Jean Moffatt, regional coordinator for the Public School Employees of Washington, the union representing all non-teachers, said members harbor a grudge.
“No one wins in a situation like this,” she said. “You might get what you want, but you deal with animosity for 10 years.”
Her union largely conceded to district bargaining positions. Bus drivers protested administrators’ plans to shorten their hours and hand school bus keys to a private contractor.
The 30 bus drivers lost in a vote last week to other members of the union, including secretaries, grounds crews and custodians, who number more than 100.
The district had authority to make both changes to the busing schedules but Moffatt and the bus drivers had hoped to show that the administrators’ plans would traumatize paychecks, dissuading them from subcontracting.
The new contract allows administrators to give just three days notice before changing shifts. Pay increases are set by the state Legislature and were not negotiated.
“I was more positive about the chapter being solidified than it turned out to be,” said Moffatt. “There was not as much support for the drivers as there should be.”
The lawsuit and grievance filed with the state labor relations board are now moot but Moffatt suggested other grievances will be forthcoming.
The teachers’ union settled earlier this month after haggling over smaller issues, including preparation time.
Some district employees say the contentious negotiations deflated morale and showed their bosses - including the school board - to be uncaring bureaucrats.
“Money is always an issue in public schools, but the way this occurred was absurd,” said an elementary school teacher who feared retaliation if her name was used. “We’ll see how the community feels at (school board) election time.”
A parents group formed in January, spurred by the feeling the district was acting irresponsibly by holding oddly-timed public meetings. Their request to be given a line on the school board agenda has been turned down twice.
“They took it out of the public’s hands,” said Tricia Blair, head of the group. “There’s a history in this district of bypassing the public.”
Wilson said the public’s animosity - leveled in part at his six-figure salary - is part of the business.
“These things come and go,” he said.
, DataTimes