Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Bargaining Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teachers, union members press Lodi Unified board to settle contracts, address pay and health care
Summary
During an extended public comment period multiple teachers and community members urged the board to resolve stalled bargaining, provide retroactive pay, and increase the district share of health premiums to meet affordability standards.
Multiple teachers, union representatives and community members used the meeting's public-comment period to urge the board to move negotiations forward, pay retroactive amounts and address health-care affordability for employees. Michelle Orgon, identified as a classroom teacher and union member, asked the board to "include retro all the way back to the for the entire year that we taught last year" and expressed concern about bargaining language and the pace of negotiations.
Answela Garcia and other comment speakers said the district's current offers are insufficient; Garcia referenced bargaining standstills and asked the board to provide a one-time health and welfare stipend and retroactive cost-of-living adjustments. Kenny Hanston argued the district's health plan share could violate state affordability standards, saying the district's current share for credentialed teachers is "9.12%, which means our district is breaking the law." Community members and teachers, including Mary Guida, said they would support union action if negotiations do not progress.
Speakers asked the board to prioritize contract language as well as finances, to publish committee and bargaining notices broadly, and to consider better hourly adjunct/adjunct-summer rates to recruit experienced teachers for intersession programs. The board did not act on bargaining demands at this meeting; multiple trustees acknowledged the comments and asked staff for follow-up reporting.
