Several members of the Negotiating Team have been asked for a Negotiations update, and we believe it’s important for you to know that we have been plugging along at the table on a regular basis. All the members of the Negotiating Team are committed to delivering a fair agreement for your consideration. As such, we’ve developed proposals to address fair working conditions such as those related to seniority, work hours, salary and others. We have endured changes that were imposed by the school over the last few years. We hope to address these and any future changes through the collective bargaining process.
We are continuing to meet regularly, about twice a month, and some sessions are more productive than others, but we are making progress. Please continue to be patient as we will endeavor to get the best contract possible for you. As soon as we have reached a tentative agreement, we will be able to discuss details with you. Until then, we must observe the rules of confidentiality.
Also, you should know that we are pursuing the arbitration regarding recent layoffs. Both sides are scheduled to meet with the arbitrator on March 15th. We will keep you posted on this matter as soon as anything new develops. We are currently trying to address this matter in the future by negotiating revised contract language that may prevent the need for such arbitration cases.