Bargaining Continues with CSEA on Memorandum

Since the Sept. 3 Bargaining Update,  the Long Beach Unified School District and the local chapter of the California School Employees Association have held two negotiation sessions regarding an Opening of Schools Memorandum of Understanding.

Progress is being made, but the teams have not yet reached agreement on the full MOU. The negotiations process continues, so the school district is providing this overview of its MOU proposals provided to CSEA during recent bargaining sessions.

Common Ground

菠菜网lol正规平台 and CSEA have reached tentative agreements in the following areas:

• Safety
• Reporting Unsafe Conditions
• Testing and Tracing
• Outside Visitors and Groups
• Accomodations
• Work Hours
• Duties
• Term of the Agreement

Pending Issues

Screening of Staff: Teams have reached a conceptual agreement on this area and are fine tuning some of the language to reach a tentative agreement.

Compensation: The school district offered each employee the opportunity to earn up to 24 hours of additional hourly pay by participating in virtual professional development opportunities. Both teams had previously agreed in concept to language regarding not offering hazard pay, however CSEA reintroduced this request at the last bargaining session. Offering hazard pay to all CSEA employees will cost the school district millions of dollars and could lead to additional layoffs in the future. Every $1 an hour additional pay would cost the district more than $2.5 million for a six-month period.

Worksite Flexibility: In an effort to reach agreement, 菠菜网lol正规平台 has proposed worksite flexibility to CSEA for classifications that work directly with students in the classroom including instructional assistants, speech-language pathology assistants, instructional aides and behavior intervention assistants. CSEA has requested that additional classifications are added, however because school facilities remain operational, the school district needs unit members to be available at sites to fulfill operational, clerical, administrative and instructional roles in support of students.

Leaves of Absence: In addition to the 80 hours of Emergency Federal Sick Leave, CSEA is proposing additional paid leave for employees who are asked to be quarantined based on their interpretation of Article VIII, Section T. The school district has maintained a consistent position for all employees to use up to 80 hours of Emergency Federal Sick Leave and/or accrued district leave balances in the event self-isolation is necessary. Allocating each unit member an additional two weeks or 80 hours of paid leave could cost the school district more than $4 million.

The next negotiation session is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17.