NEW BETHELEHEM, Pa. (EYT) – Negotiations in the Redbank Valley Teacher’s Strike have stalled after a turbulent week of backward and forward between the district and the Redbank Valley Education Association (RVEA).
(Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography)
Negotiations At An Impasse
Wednesday, September 29: Redbank Valley School District Responds to RVEA’s Proposal for Voluntary Non-Binding Arbitration
In a Facebook post, the district states:
“The District’s negotiations committee (“District Committee”) met with the school board to discuss the Redbank Valley Education Association’s (“RVEA”) proposal to begin voluntary non-binding arbitration. After discussions with the Board, the District Committee rejected the proposal to proceed to voluntary arbitration for several reasons. First and foremost, the District Committee has already submitted a best and final contract proposal that represents a compromise with the RVEA. The District Committee’s offer will not be changed by the process of arbitration, and therefore, voluntarily paying for arbitration would be a willful waste of taxpayer money. Additionally, the RVEA asked for proposals to the arbitrator be kept private, whereas the District Committee feels they should be public so the community is kept informed. Furthermore, the District Committee would rather the matter be in the hands of the community as opposed to an outside arbitrator.
To this end, the District Committee proposed an alternative to the RVEA which would
(1) end the strike immediately;
(2) ensure there are no other strikes during the school year, and
(3) allow the community to make a binding decision on the issue.
More specifically, the District Committee requests that the RVEA take the District Committee’s Best and Final Offer to a ratification vote in front of its entire membership. In the event the ratification vote is approved, the parties will have a tentative agreement on a successor agreement and the strike will end immediately. In the event the ratification vote fails, the District Committee requests to have a referendum question placed on the ballot in the Spring asking the voters to decide if they wish to raise their tax rates to sufficiently to pay for the difference between the District’s Best and Final Offer and the RVEA’s Best and Final Offer. If the referendum passes, the District will agree to the RVEA’s Best and Final Offer. If the referendum fails, the RVEA will agree to the District’s Best and Final Offer. The District Committee is willing to allow the community (to) decide this important local issue and is hopeful that the RVEA is willing to do the same. As part of this request, the RVEA would agree to end the strike immediately as well as agree not to partake in any other strikes during the school year.
The District Committee has presented this proposal to the RVEA and is awaiting a response to see if the RVEA is willing to take the District Committee’s Best and Final Offer back to its full membership for a ratification vote, as well as whether the RVEA is willing to allow the community (to) decide the issue through a ballot referendum, in the event the RVEA’s ratification vote fails.”
This comes after the school board briefly mentioned the strike during their September 28 work session.
During that meeting, the school board did not consider the RVEA’s proposal for voluntary arbitration, instead stating that “any action or inaction” on the proposal would be done at their upcoming, October 4 meeting.
With the district’s rejection of the arbitration offer, it is likely the strike will continue until, at most, October 19.
Thursday, September 30: RVEA Indicates Strike Will Most Likely Continue
In a response to the district’s refusal to arbitration, the RVEA issued their own statement on Thursday, September 30, indicating the strike is probable to continue, as follows:
“On the evening of September 28, Board President Bill Reddinger announced at the work session that the Board would not be taking any official action on the contract issue at the meeting. Mr. Reddinger also indicated that “any action or inaction” will take place at the board meeting on Monday, October 4. The RVEA was notified on Wednesday, September 29th, that the District is refusing to enter into voluntary arbitration. We agree with the Board that we must follow Act 88 and all other provisions of the School Code related to collective bargaining. Therefore, we have rejected their requests that the community be permitted to vote via referendum, which directly contradicts Act 88.*
*from Section 1111-A: “Collective bargaining is the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer or his representative and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment…”
If the board continues to refuse to bargain and remains unwilling to utilize voluntary arbitration to immediately get students back to school, the strike will continue until October 19. Mandatory non-binding arbitration will be ordered at that time as outlined in Act 88. Therefore, the non-binding arbitration is going to take place regardless of the Board’s desire to participate.
We continue to be willing to meet with the Board at any time, and our offer stand(s) to get the kids back in the classroom pending the Board’s agreement to non-binding arbitration.”
Friday, October 1: Redbank Valley School District Issues Update on Negotiations to exploreClarion.com; Offers RVEA Two-Part Alternative
Replying to a request from comment by exploreClarion.com, the Redbank Valley School District issued an October 1 update to negotiations, written by the board’s attorney and chief negotiator, Robert Zaruta, stating:
“On September 29, 2021, the District rejected the RVEA’s request for voluntary non-binding arbitration. As stated in a prior status update, the District has already presented its Best and Final Offer and the arbitration process will not change its offer. Therefore, voluntarily agreeing to go through arbitration would be a willful waste of taxpayer money. While it is true that if the RVEA decides to continue its teacher strike through October 19, 2021, the District will be required to go to non-binding arbitration, in such a situation the Commonwealth pays half of the cost of arbitration. The Commonwealth will not pay anything if the District proceeds with voluntary arbitration.
While the District rejected the RVEA’s request, it offered the RVEA a two-part alternative which would
(1) end the RVEA’s strike immediately;
(2) ensure there will be no other strikes during this school year; and
(3) allow the community to issue a binding decision on the RVEA contract.
The District first requested that the RVEA put the District’s Best and Final Offer to a ratification vote. To date, the Association has been unwilling to allow its members to vote on the District’s Best and Final Offer. If the ratification vote is successful, the strike would end immediately. In the event the ratification vote is unsuccessful, the District requests that the RVEA agree to allow the community to decide the outcome of the RVEA contract by virtue of a Spring 2022 binding referendum. The community’s input in something both sides should want and not look for ways to avoid. The District believes a ballot question is the best way to get the community’s answer.
On September 30, 2021, the Association’s UniServ Representative Patrick Andrekovich notified the District that the Association rejected the District’s request and opted instead to continues its strike. Notably, with its rejection of the District’s request, the Association continues to be unwilling to allow its members to vote on the District’s Best and Final Offer. Mr. Andrekovich did not provide any explanation as to why the RVEA would not allow a vote.
The RVEA also rejected the District’s request to allow community involvement through a referendum. In its response, the Association appears to suggest that the referendum proposal in not permissible under Act 88. There is nothing in Act 88 which prohibits the parties from agreeing to have a referendum regarding the RVEA contract. While the District cannot unilaterally force a referendum, the parties can mutually agree to it. The RVEA also stated it could not agree to the referendum proposal because the parties are required to follow all procedural mandates set forth under Act 88. Yet, when the RVEA requested voluntary non-binding arbitration, it specially asked the District to disregard some Act 88 procedural mandates. More specifically, the RVEA requested that the District agree to keep the Best and Final Offers of the parties private and to exclude the public from the process, which is contrary to the mandates of Act 88. The RVEA has not provided any explanation as to why it wants to exclude the public from the process.
The District would like to remind the community that the RVEA can choose to end its strike immediately without any action by the District. Act 88 does not prohibit the RVEA from ending its strike prior to October 19, 2021. The choice is solely up to the RVEA. As it stands, the District has presented the RVEA with options to end the strike immediately. The RVEA has rejected the District’s request and has chosen to extend its strike, presumably through October 19, 2021. The District is hopeful that the RVEA will reconsider the District’s proposal and (1) put the District’s Best and Final Offer to a ratification vote; and (2) if the ratification vote fails, agree to end the strike immediately and let the community decide the contract issues via referendum. The District would welcome an opportunity to meet with the RVEA without representation to discuss why our offer should be acceptable.”
Board Member Shaffer States Negotiations Stuck on Health Insurance Copays
According to Chad Shaffer, a Redbank School Board member, negotiations seem to be stuck on the critical issue of health insurance copays.
In an email to exploreClarion, Shaffer said, “The District wishes to investigate an alternative health insurance provider. Any claim to the contrary is false.
“To that end, the District included a clause in its last contract proposal guaranteeing a committee of board, administration, and employees to meet regularly in pursuit of a better option. However, the Association wants to have health insurance copays expire at the end of the contract if another option is not found. The District cannot guarantee that the committee will find an option that saves the District money, has coverage acceptable to the Association, and is willing to accept the District into its group. Therefore, despite its desire to find a better option, the District is unwilling to have health insurance copays expire if one is not found.”
What Is Next For The Strike?
The strike, which began on Monday, September 13, came after the district had only completed 11 days of instruction.
The RVEA has been striking now for 20 days.
According to state law, schools must complete 180 days of instruction before June 15.
For the RVEA, this means they have until Tuesday, October 19, to strike. If no agreement is reached before then, both the district and union will be forced to submit to mandated arbitration from the state.
If both parties enter into arbitration, then the strike must end, according to state law.
The RVEA has the ability to strike once more during the school year, however, state law mandates 180 days of school be completed before June 30.
If the strike would prevent that from happening, the State Education Secretary has the power to initiate injunction proceedings against the RVEA.
RELATED:
Redbank School Board: No Action On Strike Until Next Week
Redbank Negotiations: Parties Fail to Reach Agreement
Redbank Valley Football Team Trying to Make Most of Teacher’s Strike in District
Redbank Teacher’s Union Rejects District’s ‘Best and Final Offer’
PDE Sets Nov. 3 Deadline for Redbank Teacher’s Strike
Redbank Negotiators Respond to Striking Teachers: ‘Both Sides Wish It Could Have Been Avoided’
Redbank Teacher’ Union Representative: ‘The ball is in the district’s court now.’
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