LWSD says union violation of contract is ”tantamount to a theft of public funds”
UPDATED
On Tuesday, KOMONews.com ran a story detailing how 119 Lake Washington School District secretaries and office workers called in sick en masse to make a point regarding contract negotiations. The district has responded that it is refusing to pay office personnel who violated their contract by falsely claiming a sick day.
“We understood action of the union taking sick leave without being sick is a violation of the contract. We will not be paying them for that day.” said Kathryn Reith with the Lake Washington School District (LWSD), ”This is a big deal. If you’re staying out sick and really not, that is tantamount to a theft of public funds.”
The faked sick day by 119 employees was a tactic which seems to have backfired. The LWSD and the Lake Washington Educational Support Personnel (LWESP) seem to be at loggerheads. Contract negotiations between the two organizations have dragged on for thirteen months.
This video was posted on KOMONews.com:
The LWESP Local, representing 177 LWSD office/school professionals, has posted the following statement on their website:
GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT?
Lake Washington Superintendent Chip Kimball is trying to set a new example for how low bad bosses can go. Under Kimball’s direct supervision, Lake Washington administrators are going on air to spew lies about our support staff. According to Kimball, if you didn’t make it into work Monday, you’re a thief.
Never mind that employees are out sick every day.
Never mind that some LWESP members were at the doctor’s office on Monday.
Never mind that employees were on pre-approved leave to grieve over the recent loss of a loved one.
Never mind that others had been granted pre-approval for personal leave.
Never mind any facts whatsoever.
Kimball is mad that LWESP members haven’t rolled over in contract negotiations. The district has dragged out these negotiations for nearly 13 months. Instead of settling the contract, he’s making threats and he’s calling names, even though he has no idea how sick our employees have been.
And he’s making up rules as he goes along.
When he directs his HR staff to tell LWESP members, “In accordance with Section 10.2.2 of the agreement you must submit a doctor’s note in support of your use of sick leave,” he is inventing contract language. Here’s what our contract really says in Section 10.2.2: “the District may require the employee to submit proof of illness or injury.” Period.
There is no requirement for a doctor’s note. No required ambulance ride. No required hospital admission. No required cast on your leg, or any other malarkey Kimball might make up. Proof can be as simple as stating that you were sick, you were caring for a sick family member, or you needed to make a medical appointment. When Kimball accuses the majority of his staff of being thieves, we hope he hasn’t forgotten the basic civics lessons taught in our own classrooms. In America – yes, even in the Lake Washington school district — you are innocent unless proven guilty.
Lake Washington employees are stressed. We work for a superintendent who doesn’t seem to understand basic employee relations. We’ve come to work for nearly seven months without a contract. It’s the middle of the cold and flu season. We’ve been showing up for work even when we have been stressed and sick. On Monday, those of us who were sick stayed home to care for ourselves.
There’s a better way for Kimball to help his employees feel healthy. Negotiate a fair contract and stop making excuses for why it’s taken more than a year to reach a settlement that most superintendents can accomplish in a few weeks or a few months.
The Lake Washington School District has responded with the following statement posted on their website:
Information in response to LWESP allegations
The Lake Washington Educational Support Personnel (LWESP), the bargaining unit that represents the district’s secretaries, has provided information to the media and community that contains their point of view regarding the current bargaining with Lake Washington School District. As with any issue, there are two sides to the story. Here are some additional facts.
Lake Washington School District employees who are sick are entitled to take sick leave. However, as specified in the LWESP contract, sick leave is to be used only when an employee cannot make it to work because they or an immediate family member are ill. Misuse of this leave is a violation of the contract. When misuse is suspected, an investigation will be conducted and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.
The LWESP questions the value of last weekend’s school board meetings. Every year district leaders and school board members spend a concentrated weekend doing strategic planning. The team works Friday night, all day Saturday and half of the day on Sunday. At this year’s meeting staff members made presentations to the board on many issues including school grade configuration, instructional programs, district goals, policies, and challenges on the horizon. Very productive conversations among the board helped provide staff with direction on many of these issues.
The board is entitled to $50 stipends for each board meeting they attend. Rather than accept these stipends, they use the equivalent, about $5000, for this once-yearly session. By going to a location offsite, the board removes any distractions and ensures that the entire weekend is as fruitful and productive as possible.
The LWESP has brought attention to pay increases given to district administrators, alleging they are annual increases and they were unusual in size. Wages for administrators were adjusted in the summer of 2008, before the most recent budget deficit. Those employees had not received adjustments other than cost of living increases since 2005.
The basis for determining administrator pay is the same methodology that the district uses to determine compensation for every group of represented employees: third place among a list of comparable school districts in the area. This method of determining compensation ensures the district is able to attract and retain high quality employees by paying the appropriate market rate for that position. This is a fair system that helps balance increases across groups. The increases for these administrators fit this model and show that that they were paid less than their counterparts in other school districts in the region. The numbers quoted also included the 4.4 percent state-mandated cost of living increase that secretaries and all other school employees also received that year.
No employees, including all administrators, received a cost of living increase this school year. We are not anticipating a cost of living increase for teachers or administrators next for next year.
The district has bargained in good faith with the LWESP from the beginning. The goal with this group as with all others is to bring wages to third place in a list of comparable school districts. The district also looks at issues that are unique to that group and works to address them. The district’s proposal is fair, reasonable and consistent with how it has treated other groups.
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