VERMONT

South Burlington teachers reject imposed contract, but won't strike yet

Nicole Higgins DeSmet
Burlington Free Press

SOUTH BURLINGTON - City teachers voted Wednesday to reject the imposed contract and called on the School Board to return to the negotiating table.

Noah Everitt of the South Burlington Educators' Association speaks after a meeting of the teachers union at the library of the Tuttle Middle School on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. The teachers are deciding what to do after the South Burlington School Board imposed a contract on them.  Everitt asked the board to rescind its decision and to return to the bargaining table.

"Our vote today should send a strong signal to the board that the men and women who teach the city's children prefer an approach that leads to healing and certainty," South Burlington Education Association spokesman Noah Everitt said at a post-vote news conference at Tuttle Middle School.

But Everitt confirmed that a strike isn't off the table if the board refuses to negotiate.

Members of the South Burlington Educators' Association convene for a closed-door meeting at the library of the Tuttle Middle School on Wednesday, September 6, 2017.  The teachers are deciding what to do after the South Burlington School Board imposed a contract on them.

On Aug. 29, South Burlington's School Board voted unanimously to impose terms and working conditions on city teachers instead of continuing negotiations during the school year. The one-year deal ends June 30, 2018, and incorporates the last offer made by the district to the union negotiators. 

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The South Burlington School Boards conditions include:

  • Teachers will receive an average salary increase of $1,679, but will not make any incremental or "step" percent increases that come with seniority or additional education
  • For out-of-pocket healthcare costs teachers would pay the same amount as in fiscal year 2017 for next two years
  • Annual accumulated sick leave will be reduced from 25 days to 20 days effective, but long term disability insurance will remain in effect and paid by district. 

READ: South Burlington School Board imposition motion

The first time the board imposed employment terms was in February 2011. That conflict over pay structure ended without a strike. In October 2014, teachers went on strike for four days before renegotiating a contact with the board.

Members of the South Burlington Educators' Association listen as Noah Everitt, not pictured, speaks after a meeting of the teacher's union at the library of the Tuttle Middle School on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. The teachers are deciding what to do after the South Burlington School Board imposed a contract on them.  Everitt asked the board to rescind its decision and to return to the bargaining table.

Kathleen Murphy, chief negotiator for South Burlington teachers, wrote in an email on Aug. 29 that one problem teachers have with the board's imposed contract is not with the total amount of salary dollars but how the board chose to distribute those dollars.  

"While they speak of valuing our most experienced teachers, they give them an increase in year 2 of .069%. That shows us that they no longer want South Burlington to be a place where teachers want to come and stay for their entire career," Murphy wrote.

The board, according to a Facebook post made on Wednesday, insisted that the gap in salary between starting teachers and senior teachers needed to be addressed. South Burlington's most senior teachers are paid 6 percent more than other Chittenden County teachers, according to the board. 

South Burlington is among seven boards in the history of collective bargaining in Vermont to have imposed conditions more than once, according to the Vermont branch of the National Educational Association.

South Burlington Educators Sept. 9, 2017

Contact Nicole Higgins DeSmet at ndesmet@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1845. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHDeSmet.