Sac City Unified teachers approve new union contract
Sacramento City Unified teachers approved a two-year contract that will allow the district to bring back pink slipped teachers and counselors.
The Sacramento City Teacher Association reported on its voice mail this morning that 1,607 qualifying ballots were counted, with 1,009 members voting yes and 598 voting no. That's a 63 percent approval rate.
SCTA's voice mail said the vote represented a high level of participation among its 3,000 members. The contract will now go to the Sacramento City Unified school board for approval.
The two-year agreement ends months of contentious negotiations, which had appeared to be deadlocked until the last two weeks.
SCTA members will take a $950 pay cut in each of the two years of the agreement. District officials say that $2.1 million savings this year is the equivalent to three furlough days from SCTA members.
With the concessions, Sacramento City Unified hopes to preserve kindergarten through third-grade class sizes at 25 students.
The agreement calls for changes to health benefits, with that savings going toward the district's unfunded retiree health benefits. The changes include reducing Health Net's coverage of out-of-area retirees over 65 years old by replacing it with a lower-cost program.
SCTA members also will fund retiree benefits by contributing $15 a month for 10 months in 2010-2011 and $20 a
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0rDw1nrMI
The Sacramento City Teacher Association reported on its voice mail this morning that 1,607 qualifying ballots were counted, with 1,009 members voting yes and 598 voting no. That's a 63 percent approval rate.
SCTA's voice mail said the vote represented a high level of participation among its 3,000 members. The contract will now go to the Sacramento City Unified school board for approval.
The two-year agreement ends months of contentious negotiations, which had appeared to be deadlocked until the last two weeks.
SCTA members will take a $950 pay cut in each of the two years of the agreement. District officials say that $2.1 million savings this year is the equivalent to three furlough days from SCTA members.
With the concessions, Sacramento City Unified hopes to preserve kindergarten through third-grade class sizes at 25 students.
The agreement calls for changes to health benefits, with that savings going toward the district's unfunded retiree health benefits. The changes include reducing Health Net's coverage of out-of-area retirees over 65 years old by replacing it with a lower-cost program.
SCTA members also will fund retiree benefits by contributing $15 a month for 10 months in 2010-2011 and $20 a
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0rDw1nrMI