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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Mark
Coplan <a href="mailto:markcoplan@berkeley.net">markcoplan@berkeley.net</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>(<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">BERKELEY</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State></st1:place>) ¯ After over a month of
delay, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Berkeley</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Unified</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School
District</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> is moving to the final step in the
negotiations process in order to try to reach agreement on a contract with the
leadership of the Berkeley Council of Classified Employees (BCCE) covering 570
of the District’s employees.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>“We deeply value our classified staff,”
said School Board President Josh Daniels. “They work hard and are dedicated to
our district and our students. This further delay is unnecessary and is
harmful to our employees and our students.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>On June 16th the District team made a
comprehensive settlement proposal that would benefit BCCE members. Most
notably, the proposal offered all BCCE members on-going raises that are higher
than those received by any other bargaining unit. (Specifically, the proposal
offers a 2.5% retroactive raise for 2013-14, an additional raise of 2% for
2014-15, and a 0.5% bonus for 2014-15.) This is in addition to the 2.5%
on-going salary increase and 3.5% bonus that all district employees received
last year.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>It appears the main sticking point
concerns employee transfers. The District seeks the ability to transfer staff
to best meet the needs of students (especially special education students) with
built-in employee protections. The District also wants to facilitate voluntary
transfers requested by BCCE members. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>BCCE leadership took over a month to
provide a counter proposal, which was followed by a final mediation session
between BCCE leadership and the District yesterday on July 29th. At the end of
that session, the state-appointed mediator determined that further mediation
would not be productive. The proposal by BCCE leadership did not include the
ability to transfer staff to best meet the needs of students and the BCCE
leadership actually hardened even further during the last session. The
mediator has now released the parties to fact finding – the next step in the
process – in order to try to reach an agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> “Both sides have devoted countless hours
over the past three years trying to reach common ground,” said Daniels. “It’s
time to move this process forward and get a contract.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>The District has been negotiating with
BCCE leadership for three years. The negotiations have been unusually complex
as a result of the need to merge two different contracts. (In late 2011, BCCE
merged with another union of BUSD classified employees.) In the vast majority
of instances where there are differences between the two contracts, the
District’s proposals give BCCE members the more favorable terms between the two
contracts. For example, the District's proposal equalizes and provides the more
favorable health contribution and salary schedules for their unit members.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>“At this point, we are just exasperated
by the delays on the part of BCCE’s negotiating team, which only prevent BCCE
members from receiving the proposed raises and bonuses. And we are concerned
about the impact that the lack of a contract may have in the Fall on our
employees and our students,” said Daniels.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>“We are disappointed we could not reach a
settlement in mediation but we agree with the mediator's assessment that these
talks have gone on long enough,” Superintendent Donald Evans said. “We welcome
the opportunity to demonstrate before the impartial fact finding panel that the
District's proposals are fair and reasonable. We will encourage the panel to
set a hearing date as soon as possible so we can move forward with the best
interests of our students and employees at the forefront.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>It is important to note that nothing prohibits
the District and BCCE leadership from conducting negotiations during the fact
finding process and the District welcomes the opportunity to do so when the
BCCE negotiating team is ready to genuinely engage.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>“We are hopeful that we can resolve our
differences with the BCCE bargaining team and move forward into the new school
year focusing on our students’ educational needs without the distraction of an
ongoing labor dispute,” Evans said. The District will keep employees and the
public fully informed as the negotiations enter this final phase. For updates,
please visit <a href="http://www.berkeleyschools.net/negotiations-update">http://www.berkeleyschools.net/negotiations-update</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>For the past six months, the parties have
been in mediation with a neutral state-appointed mediator in the hopes of
reaching agreement. The mediator has now released both parties to fact finding
after determining that further mediation would not be productive. Under fact
finding, an impartial three-person fact finding panel is convened to hear the
arguments from both sides and issue a non-binding settlement recommendation.
Under state law, the fact-finding hearing is not open to the public. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Mark Coplan, Public Information Officer<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Berkeley</span></font></st1:City><font
size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'> Unified <st1:place w:st="on">School District</st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>510-644-6320 Cell: 510-472-3811<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>_________________</span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>_________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Marguerite Fa-Kaji and Catherine Ference
are the parent-volunteer facilitators of the etree; please direct any questions
to them at </span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'><a
href="mailto:bhs-owner@lmi.net" title="mailto:bhs-owner@lmi.net"><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>bhs-owner@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>. To post a message, send to: </span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs@lmi.net"
target="_blank" title="mailto:bhs@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>; BHS etree archives: </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><a href="http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/"
target="_blank" title="http://lists.lmi.net/pipermail/bhs/"><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>http://lists.lmi.<wbr>net/pipermail/bhs/</span></font></a>; </span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>BHS website:</span></font><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'><a href="http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/"
target="_blank"><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>http://bhs.berkeleyschools.<wbr>net/</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>To <u>unsubscribe</u> from the etree, send
an email to </span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'><a
href="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net" target="_blank"
title="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs-request@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> with one word only in the subject line: <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>unsubscribe</span></b>. To <u>subscribe</u> to the
etree, send an email to </span></font><font color=black><span
style='color:black'><a href="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net" target="_blank"
title="mailto:bhs-request@lmi.net"><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>bhs-request@lmi.net</span></font></a></span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
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