Association President The President of the Association has the right to visit schools. The President will coordinate the visits with the offices of the principals in order to facilitate the purpose of this visit. Visits that are made to solve special problems of teachers will be arranged in advance by notifying the office of the principal.
Association Activities The parties agree employees shall have the right to form, join, and participate in the lawful activities of the Association for the purpose of representation in matters of employment relations. No employee shall be interfered with, restrained, coerced, or discriminated against because of the exercise of such rights.
Association Dues The District agrees to deduct Association dues from the paycheck of each employee who individually and voluntarily authorize dues deductions. Employees’ authorizations will be in writing in a form agreed upon by the Association and the District. Said deduction shall be in nine substantially equal amounts during the school year beginning on or after October 15 of the corresponding school year. A schedule of deductions shall be provided to employees on or about September 1st. Authorizations shall continue from year to year unless revoked by the employee in writing prior to July 1 of any year. Dues deducted from employees’ wages will be transmitted to the Association following each corresponding payroll deduction. The Association will annually certify to the Superintendent the amount of Association dues. The following shall also apply:
A. The Association shall provide payroll at District’s Business Office, dues deductions covered under this paragraph by October 1 of the contract year in which the deduction applies for all existing members as of said date, otherwise the employees' previous year deductions shall continue in force for the entire contract year unless terminated by the employee by the dates set forth herein. Deductions for any new employee hired prior to the date of said report shall also be included in the report.
B. The form in which the Association reports union dues for existing membership must include, at minimum, employee name, social security number, and total unions dues to be deducted for the corresponding contract year. The report shall list employees alphabetically by last name.
C. The form in which the Association reports union dues for new members must include, at minimum, employee name, social security number, total unions dues to be deducted for the corresponding contract year, and signed employee authorization.
D. The District payroll office shall make changes to union dues not more than once in any contract year. However, union dues to individual employees may be adjusted as necessary due to changes in employment status with proper notification and reporting from the Association as outlined herein. If an employee elects to become a member after the Association Dues are submitted by the Association, the employee shall be responsible for paying any additional fees directly to the Association.
E. The District shall provide the Association a list of all support staff covered under the collective bargaining agreement upon request of the Association, but not more than once per month.
Association Responsibilities The Association shall have, in addition to other responsibilities expressly set forth herein or provided by law, the following responsibilities:
ASSOCIATION RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES SECTION 1 The Association shall have, in addition to other rights expressly set forth or provided by statute, the following rights:
A. Special conferences for important matters will be arranged between the Association President and the designated representative of the Employer upon request of either party. Such meetings will normally be between at least two (2) representatives of each of the parties and will be held at mutually agreeable times and places. Should the Employer require such meetings to be during participating bargaining unit members’ normal scheduled hours, such members will be released for the purpose of attending such conferences without loss of pay.
B. The Association shall be provided with bulletin board space for the purpose of posting Association materials. These bulletin boards will be designated by building principals. The Association shall also have the right to use the school mails to distribute Association material upon the notification of the building principal. No political matter or advertising of any kind will be so posted or distributed without administrative authorization; i.e., millage proposals, ballot items.
C. The Association shall have the right to use school facilities for meetings as long as the intended use does not interfere or conflict unduly with regular school functions, violate school policy, or increase personnel costs.
D. The Association shall have the right to use non-recreational school equipment, including typewriters, mimeograph machines, other duplicating equipment, calculating machines, and all types of audiovisual equipment for Association meetings with the building principal’s approval and scheduling availability.
E. The Association shall pay for the cost of all materials and supplies incidental to such use and shall be responsible for proper operation and care of all such equipment, including repair costs.
F. After notifying the Principal’s office, duly authorized representatives of the Association, or representatives of the state and national levels, shall be permitted to transact official Association business on school property provided that this shall not interfere with nor interrupt normal school operation.
G. The officers of the Association or their designees shall have the opportunity to discuss, upon request, any new or modified fiscal budgetary educational policy.
H. The Association shall be credited with a total of eight (8) days to be used by the officers or agents of the Association to bona fide Association business; such use to be at the discretion of the Association as provided herein.
1. The Association agrees to notify the Board no less than forty-eight (48) hours in advance of taking such leave, except in an emergency.
2. The Association will provide payment of the substitute employee on all days.
3. Any employee scheduled to work on such leave shall receive full pay for such day (not including overtime).
I. The duties of any bargaining unit member or the responsibilities of any position in the bargaining unit may not be substantially altered, or increased, (Minor modification in job description excepted) during the life of this Agreement without the concurrence of the employee and the Association.
J. The parties recognize that supervisors may perform some duties which are similar or identical to bargaining unit employees and such functions shall not be considered a violation of this Agreement, so long as no full-time bargaining unit positions are displaced.
K. The Employer agrees to furnish to the Association President, MEA Uniserv Director, or Building Designee available information concerning the financial resources of the District together with information which may be necessary for the Association to process any grievance or complaint in a manner consistent with Article 6.
L. Within ten (10) working days the Employer shall notify the Association of a new said hire in writing which includes rate of pay, step, date of hire, and position.
M. The Employer agrees to provide each employee with a copy of the negotiated agreement.
Association Representatives Authorized representatives of the Association shall be permitted to transact Association business on and with school property at all reasonable times provided that such activities shall not interfere with normal school operations.
ASSOCIATION RIGHTS A. Representatives of the Association may make announcements during faculty meetings.
B. Representatives of the Association may make announcements on all school building systems, before or after the student day, regarding meeting times and locations, and reminders of Association deadlines.
C. The Association shall have access to the Board Policy Book on the District’s website.
D. The Association President shall be sent copies of the agenda, minutes, and any other attachments for each board meeting prior to that meeting.
E. The Association shall be granted the right to use teacher mailboxes for any and all communications. No other teacher union shall be given this right.
F. Association representatives may meet with employees during the workday, providing the visit does not interfere with class instruction.
G. The Association shall be granted, at no cost, the right to use the district’s facilities to conduct Association business at reasonable times.
H. The Association shall receive free copies of the financial reports of the district.
I. The Association shall be given time on the first teacher day of each new school year for the purpose of making appropriate Association announcements.
J. The Association shall have the use of bulletin boards in all employee workrooms and lounges, the use of the PA system to make necessary announcements, and the right to make Association statements at Staff/Faculty Meetings, and be provided time at each regular Board Meeting to address the Board.
K. The Association shall be granted paid leave in the total amount of three (3) days to represent teacher interests. The Association President shall notify the Superintendent three (3) days in advance of the person/s who will be using Association Leave and the date/s on which it will be taken.
L. Any employee elected to serve in a State (OEA) or National (NEA) office shall be given an unpaid leave of absence with no loss of seniority. Upon returning to the district, the employee shall be placed into a similar position to that they held prior to the leave and will be placed on the appropriate pay level they should receive based on their experience and educational background.
M. The Association shall be provided bulletin board space in a place readily accessible to and normally frequented by all teachers in the District for posting official notices and other official materials relating to Association activities.
Association Establishment and all other capital and operational expenses of the Association.
Association Grievance A grievance, as defined in Section 7.1, relating to occurrences actually involving at least three (3) nurses or arising under the Association Representative article, may be initiated by the Association at Step 2 of the above-mentioned procedure by the filing of a written grievance, signed by a representative of the Association, within 35 calendar days from the date of occurrence. Such grievance shall describe the problem and the contract provisions alleged to have been violated.
Hospital-Association Committee (a) There shall be a Hospital-Union Committee comprised of representatives of the Hospital, one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or designate and of the Union, one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate. The number of representatives is set out in the Appendix of Local Provisions and the membership of the Committee may be expanded by mutual agreement.
(b) The Committee shall meet every two (2) months unless otherwise agreed and as required under Article 8.01 (a) (iv). The duties of chair and secretary shall alternate between the parties. Where possible, agenda items will be exchanged in writing at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. A record shall be maintained of matters referred to the Committee and the recommended disposition, if any, unless agreed to the contrary. Copies of the record shall be provided to Committee members.
(c) The purpose of the Committee includes:
i) promoting and providing effective and meaningful communication of information and ideas, including but not limited to workload measurement tools and the promotion of best practices. Such communication may include discussion of nursing workload measurement and patient acuity systems. The Hospital will provide, upon request, information on workload measurement systems applicable to nursing currently used by the Hospital, and evaluations completed by the Hospital of such systems.
ii) reviewing professional responsibility complaints with a view to identifying trends and sharing organizational successes and solutions, making joint recommendations on matters of concern including the quality and quantity of nursing care and discussing the development and implementation of quality initiatives;
iii) making joint recommendations to the Chief Nursing Officer on matters of concern regarding recurring workload issues including the development of staffing guidelines, the use of agency nurses and use of overtime;
iv) dealing with complaints referred to it in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, Professional Responsibility;
v) discussing and reviewing matters relating to orientation and in- service programs;
vi) promote the creation of full-time positions for nurses, and discuss the effect of such changes on the employment status of the nurses. This may include the impact, if any, on part-time and full-time, job sharing and retention and recruitment.
(d) The Hospital agrees to pay for time spent during regular working hours for representatives of the Union attending at such meetings.
(e) Where a Committee representative designated by the Union attends Committee meetings outside of her or his regularly scheduled hours, she or he will be paid for all time spent in attendance at such meetings at her or his regular straight time hourly rate of pay. Such payment shall be limited to two (2) Committee representatives per meeting.
