School board to take up collective bargaining policy

The Tribune's Catherine Martin does a good job describing how the collective bargaining election will work.
 
By CATHERINE MARTIN
Sunday, September 9, 2012

After years of asking Columbia Public Schools administration for a policy that allows teachers to elect an exclusive representative to bargain with the district, the Columbia Missouri National Education Association is closer than ever to seeing that election happen.

Since the Missouri Supreme Court ruling in 2007 that allowed public employees the right to collectively bargain, the association has been pushing to exercise that right. No legislation has been approved to provide further insight into what collective bargaining should look like for employees such as teachers, leaving that decision instead in the hands of school districts.

Some districts have yet to put a policy in place regarding collective bargaining. Others have a model that allows multiple groups to negotiate with school board and district officials, and others have an exclusive representative for negotiations.

The Columbia Board of Education recently approved a policy for exclusive representation, and tomorrow administrators will ask the board to approve an Oct. 11 election for teachers to choose representation.

"It's so close," said Susan McClintic, president of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association. "We are very excited that the school board has written a policy. We were adamant, they could have easily gone around that, but we felt it was so important that our school board have a policy that we all agreed on and worked with."

The association is the only group on the ballot to be the exclusive representative.

Columbia Missouri State Teachers Association, the other major group in town, opted to leave its name off the list. Instead, its members are hoping teachers will check the other box, which would keep the informal "meet-and-confer" process that is currently in place in the district.

In the past, the group has cited concern that its members would be left out of negotiations in an exclusive representation model. Columbia Missouri State Teachers Association President Kari Schuster said the group still has some of those concerns.

"Right now, we know it's the policy that's been adopted by the board, and we're working to make sure that our concerns are voiced in a democratic way," she said. "We still support the meet-and-confer option as the only option that allows all voices to be heard."

McClintic also said that if Columbia Missouri National Education Association is elected as the exclusive representative, the group won't exclude anyone in the bargaining unit, which would consist mainly of teachers.

"When you are the exclusive representative, it's your responsibility to represent everyone in the bargaining unit, not just members associated with your group," McClintic said.

If an exclusive representative is elected, Superintendent Chris Belcher said, the group will negotiate working conditions and salaries. Other than that, he said, there will just be some formalities put in place, and both groups will still have opportunities to address the board and administration directly, such as at school board meetings.

Teachers in every major district building will have a time to vote in the morning and afternoon on Oct. 11 if the board approves the ballot, Belcher said.

The board will meet at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the administration building, 1818 W. Worley St.

Reach Catherine Martin at 573-815-1711 or e-mail cmartin@columbiatribune.com.

This article was published on page A3 of the Sunday, September 9, 2012 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "Bargaining before board: Teachers could vote on Oct. 11."