EPA certificated staff say weekly meetings force unpaid extra hours; union bargaining cited as chance for change

Marilyn Travis, speaking during public comment at the Sequoia Union High School District board meeting on Sept. 10, told trustees that certificated staff at East Palo Alto are required to stay an hour later each week for staff meetings—unpaid—resulting in roughly 35 unpaid hours per year per staff member. She said the practice has persisted since 2014 and amounts to unpaid labor that the union intends to address in upcoming contract negotiations.

"We are required to work an extra hour each week with no additional pay, essentially forcing us to volunteer at our place of employment," Travis said. She urged district negotiators to eliminate contract language that allows administrators to extend certificated employees’ workday and offered the union’s cooperation to design more efficient professional development.

Separately, a union speaker representing SDTA/ASME said a district employee has been on paid administrative leave for 401 days with limited investigative progress, leaving the employee and students in limbo. The union speaker asked for clearer, timelier investigatory updates.

The board did not act on personnel or contract matters during the meeting. Those matters fall to bargaining teams and, where applicable, closed-session procedures. Trustees and staff acknowledged the concerns and the upcoming bargaining cycle was referenced as the appropriate forum to address changes to workday language.

Sources: Public comments by Marilyn Travis and SDTA representative during the Sept. 10 board meeting.