Welcome Back

Greetings and Welcome Back!
 I hope you had a wonderful summer and that our returning students are smiling while sitting in your classrooms and offices.


 Our Union is off to a busy start.  First, we welcomed 56 new teachers, counselors and specialists to San Leandro.  As you see our newest folks around your campuses, please be sure to make them feel at home in your school communities. 


 SLTA’s Bargaining Team is back to work already.  We met on Wednesday to prepare for a bargaining session next week on Monday.  We had two bargaining sessions in the Spring, and one during summer vacation.  The biggest issues on the table are compensation, class size and caseloads for nurses, speech and language professionals and psychologists.  Also, your SLTA executive board spent a day last week mapping out our goals for the year. 


 Rep Council meets next week, especially to talk about negotiations and organizing around our contract demands.  While each school site has elected representatives, all members are invited.  The first meeting will be at 3:45 PM on Tuesday in the SLHS Staff Cafeteria.


 Some reminders…


            • If you were asked to move classrooms at the last minute, remember to record all of the hours outside the normal school day that you worked on moving, and turn in a time sheet.  You will be paid hourly for up to 18 hours.
            • If you are experiencing class-size issues, the district has 15 school days to rectify the situation.  September 4 is the last day the district can be over class size limits, and September 5 is the first day they must be in compliance.  Your site reps will be monitoring progress in your school.
            • First and second year teachers, there will be a New Teacher Workshop on October 1 at 3:45.  Location TBD.  The focus is on teacher rights, the evaluation process and member benefits.  Please put this in your calendar right away.
 
As always, please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas.
 
In Solidarity,
Tom Morse, SLTA President