DC Teacher Contract 4% Percent Offer Revealed- WTU Prez Davis Finally Comes Clean!
WTU Prez Liz Davis reveals 4% Teacher contract offer
By Malcolm Lewis Barnes
According to several confirmed sources who attended a May 25th school wide meeting at Cardozo Education Campus, when pressed for answers WashingtonTeachers' Union President Liz Davis admitted that she turned down a 4 percent (4%) offer that was on the table during last year's teacher contract negotiations.
An impatient group of over 40 Cardozo teachers were present last Wednesday who had just attended an afternoon monthly faculty meeting and were later joined by WTU President Davis. Davis declared during the meeting that the 1% raise that Chancellor Kaya Henderson offered was ‘unacceptable.’ Davis revealed at the meeting that late in 2013, there was a four percent offer on the table that she turned down because the chancellor was just beginning to press her initiative on the extended school year.
“Four percent is better than no percent,” said Grace Cooke-Thomas, a special education teacher at Cardozo Education Campus as she expressed her exasperation about the fact that the Chancellor was able to push through the extended school year with nearly a dozen schools, mainly east of the river in wards 7 and 8.
Davis indicated that she didn’t bring the four percent offer to anyone’s attention because she didn’t think it was worth discussing because the WTU didn’t accept it in light of the extended school year issues being discussed across the board rather than at selected low performing schools.
During the meeting, Cardozo teachers demanded to know, “Where was the transparency? Why were only certain schools being targeted for rallies to bring attention to the 1% offer? And most important, why wasn’t Davis playing a more effective role as a union leader instead of expecting teachers to take to the streets in support of her failed effort to get a contract?’
The Cardozo teachers’ group just got tired of President Davis beating around the bush about contract negotiations and they asked her directly to disclose what’s actually in the contract that she claims she is negotiating.
“I’m a bit frustrated and I’ve seen teachers lose their jobs. I hear a lot of talk but nothing is being done. Teachers don’t want to march and hold rallies because they are being bullied by principals and are afraid of reprisal”, said Ms. Cooke-Thomas.
When Davis suggested that a survey be conducted, the Cardozo staff lost their patience and the group asked to The Washington Teacher: DC Teacher Contract 4% Percent Offer Revealed- WTU Prez Davis Finally Comes Clean!:
