Union and district negotiate revisions to grievance procedure, parties report mutual agreement

Negotiators for the Ithaca Teachers Association and the Ithaca City School District reported reaching mutual agreement on revisions to the contract grievance procedure after joint editing and discussion.

The draft presented to the table expands the people covered by the grievance language to be more inclusive of anyone represented by the association, clarifies which meeting notes will be retained as official minutes and extends several timelines. David Isley, a staff member speaking at the table, summarized the changes: “Wherever possible, changed any timelines of 5 school days to 10 school days. We extended the board meeting window to 2 voting meetings.”

Why it matters: The revisions affect how alleged workplace problems move from informal conversations to formal grievance steps and how long each side has to respond. Negotiators said the changes aim to allow more time for both sides, reserve informal side conversations as internal notes and preserve existing procedures for serious misconduct.

Key elements negotiators described: - Coverage: The revised language is written to cover anyone represented by the association, whether or not they are union members, to eliminate gaps in who can use the grievance process. - Notes and confidentiality: Note takers will record official joint meetings; internal side conversations (for example, private union or management deliberations) were described as not being part of the official grievance record. - Timeline extensions: Several deadlines that had been five school days were changed to 10 school days to give both parties more time to respond and gather information. - Board consideration window: The district and union agreed to give the board two voting meetings to consider grievance-related actions so the board can confer in executive session and then hold a public-facing hearing at the next meeting. - Arbitration language removed: The prior text that required an arbitrator to issue a decision within 14 days was deleted after negotiators said the contract cannot control an arbitrator’s calendar. - Administrative filing: The ITA will notify central administration when an informal grievance arises so the district can open an official file.

Negotiators also added an appendix that lists required elements for moving grievances forward and removed an “expedited” summer arbitration track that both sides said was unnecessary. Bob (staff member) thanked Isley for the collaboration at the table; later, a union representative reported the parties were “fine with this as it is now” and said they had reached mutual agreement on the revised grievance wording.

What was not decided: Negotiators indicated some detailed wording will be finalized in follow-up work, but they described the principal changes as settled at this session.

Next steps: The revised language will be circulated in packet form to both sides and incorporated into the broader negotiations as needed.