California school unions, district leaders pledge to cooperate on coronavirus challenges
Newsom urged an agreement to reduce potential conflicts on employment issues
At Gov. Gavin Newsom’s urging, school labor and management groups agreed Wednesday on principles to guide them as they switch to distance learning and continue providing meals for students in the months ahead.
The 3-page “framework for labor-management collaboration” is not a mandate. By itself it won’t resolve acrimonious disputes over employee expectations, safety issues, hours and benefits that have slowed progress in distance learning in districts like Yuba City Unified and Sacramento City Unified. However, the document’s preface says, it could “spur collaboration” so that districts can get on with confronting the havoc created by the coronavirus.
“All districts and exclusive representatives should work together to find the best path for the students, the staff and communities,” it states.
Signers include associations representing school administrators, school boards and business administrators, and unions representing teachers and support staff of hourly employees (see agreement for the full list),
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond led the talks over the past month. The talks were difficult, and at one point came close to breaking down, according to some close to the discussions. Meanwhile, on their own, many districts reached either formal agreements or informal understandings on how to deal with safety threats and education challenges from the CONTINUE READING: California school unions, district leaders pledge to cooperate on coronavirus challenges | EdSource