December 2016 Ohio Schools
- IN THIS ISSUE
- stories of Ohio educators working together to improve student health and achievement, celebrate diversity, and build professional connections
- Know Your Charter report finds local taxpayers have subsidized charter schools at a cost of more than $1 billion since 2012
- OEA members provide valuable input on federal Every Student Succeeds Act
- Educators focus on ways to support GLBT youth at OEA GLBT Issues Conference
Moved recently? Contact the OEA Member Hotline to update the address on file at 1-844-OEA-Info (1-844-632-4636) or email, membership@ohea.org. Representatives are available Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. | OhioSchools — Past Issues
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
Once a Union is Formed
Negotiating a Contract
Once the company recognizes the union (via card check) or the union wins an NLRB election, the company and union must negotiate a contract which spells out terms of employment for those workers eligible for the contract. Usually, the union bargaining team is com-posed of leaders from the organizing commit-tee and union representatives familiar with contracts and bargaining.
Negotiating a contract is referred to as collective bargaining. When relations between unions and management are decent, contracts can usually be agreed to in a relatively short period of time – a few days, a few weeks or at most, a few months. Negotiations that drag on longer than a few months usually do so because a company does not want a contract. Unfortunately, 32 percent of workers in the U.S. who vote for a union for the first time never get a contract.
Enforcing the Contract
A union contract sets forth the terms of employment and a grievance mechanism for dealing with disagreements. A shop steward is the person who assists workers in filing grievances and using the grievance process. The union has a legal obligation to assist workers in the process. A shop steward is usually a worker who has special training in understanding the contract.
Renewing the Contract
Because contracts are for specific periods of time, such as one year or three years, the contract will “come up for renewal.” For most union-management relations, this is a fairly straightforward process. In other situations, it can become contentious.
The traditional way for workers to exercise pressure on a company is to go on strike. This is almost always a last resort for because it is so hard on their families.
Your Right to Organize
The right to have a union, support a union, and engage in union activity is protected by State and Federal law. It is illegal for management to harass, intimidate, punish, or fire anyone for exercising your legally protected right to organize.
From Ohio Revised Code, Section 4117.03 – Rights of public employees:
- Public employees have the right to:
- Form, join, assist, or participate in, or refrain from forming, joining, assisting, or participating in, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, any employee organization of their own choosing;
- Engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection;
From Ohio Revised Code, Section 4117.11 – Unfair Labor Practice:
- It is an unfair labor practice for a public employer, its agents, or representatives to:
- Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or an employee organization in the selection of its representative for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;
- Initiate, create, dominate, or interfere with the formation or administration of any employee organization, or contribute financial or other support to it; except that a public employer may permit employees to confer with it during working hours without loss of time or pay, permit the exclusive representative to use the facilities of the public employer for membership or other meetings, or permit the exclusive representative to use the internal mail system or other internal communications system;
- Discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment on the basis of the exercise of rights guaranteed by Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. Nothing precludes any employer from making and enforcing an agreement pursuant to division (C) of section 4117.09 of the Revised Code.
- Discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he has filed charges or given testimony under Chapter 4117 of the Revised Code
Forming a union
Step 1: Initial Contacts
Organizers and employees meet to assess the level of interest among coworkers and determine who might want to take a leadership role in the organizing drive.
Step 2: Building An Organizing Committee
Employees who strongly support OEA representation begin meeting to form an Organizing Committee, a core group of employees who will lead the campaign and be responsible for decision-making and communication leading up to recognition of the union. The committee should be at least 10% of the total workforce and be representative of the overall group.
Step 3: Building Support
When ready, the committee will reach out to coworkers through one-on-one conversations to assess interest. If it is determined that enough support exists, the committee will begin collecting authorization and membership cards. This is how the committee proves that there is enough “interest” to hold an election. Though state law requires only that 30% of the total unit signs cards, we will need at least 65% on cards to file for and win an election.
Step 4: Filing For An Election
Once the committee has collected cards from at least 65% of the unit, they will be submitted to the appropriate agency, either the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), or the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The agency will work with the union and management to determine and define the appropriate bargaining unit. They will also verify that there are enough signatures to hold an election.
Step 5: The Election
Once SERB or the NLRB has scheduled an election, employees will receive a ballot in the mail. The ballot will have 2 choices: The Association or No Representative. When the votes are received and counted, a simple majority will win.
Step 6: Bargaining
After OEA wins the election, employees will elect a bargaining team of coworkers to negotiate a first union contract. Along with an experienced negotiator from OEA, the bargaining team is responsible for bringing your priorities to the bargaining table. Once an agreement with management has been reached, all employees will vote on ratification of the contract.
ESP Issues
Privatization
Privatization threatens quality public education by severing the school-community link. Learn more about why it’s a bad idea and learn what we can do to combat it.
ESEA and Paraprofessionals
The most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), officially called “The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,” is far more specific than past versions of the law. The law’s provisions about testing, accountability and teacher and paraprofessional quality will have a great impact on NEA members. Learn more about how the law affects ESPs.
ESPS Deserve a Living Wage
Attracting and retaining qualified school staff — K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, and education support professionals (ESPs) — requires salaries that are competitive with those in comparable professions. NEA supports a minimum salary of at least $40,000 for all teachers in our nation’s public schools and at least a living wage for every education support professional. NEA also supports higher compensation for higher education faculty and staff. Learn more about living wage campaigns.
Custodial Issues
Budget pressures, aging buildings, school violence, privatization, safety and health concerns – there are a lot of forces having an impact on school custodians. Learn more about what custodians face on the job, and find resources to help do the job better.
Seat Belts, School Buses and Safety
At first blush, the question of whether seat belts should be required on school buses seems obvious. Seat belts save lives in cars, so it seems logical that they would make school buses safer. But it turns out that the question isn’t so simple. Read more about this hot issue.
Results-Oriented Job Descriptions
Currently, job descriptions for too many Educational Support Personnel are inaccurate, dictated without employee involvement, or nonexistent. A new approach, results-oriented job descriptions (ROJDs), can help ESPs achieve recognition of the vital roles they pay, respect for their professionalism, job security, and equitable pay. Learn more about ROJDs in these two NEA publications:
- Results-Oriented Job Descriptions describes this new approach to ESP job descriptions.
- Results-Oriented Job Descriptions: How Paraeducators Help Students Achieve outlines the process by which new ROJDs can be written to accurately portray paraeducators’ jobs.
Sick Buildings
School buildings have unique features which make them especially prone to indoor air quality (IAQ) problems and “sick building syndrome”:
- Age of buildings: In the U.S., nearly 90% of schools were built before 1980, and 50% prior to 1960. Although indoor air quality problems can occur in any old or new building, increased risks in older buildings may be due to outdated ventilation systems and older roofs that may leak.
- Lack of money for renovation and maintenance: Many school districts cannot afford to complete regular maintenance procedures and renovations on older equipment. Failure to do so may provide a catalyst for increased problems with ventilation systems, roofs, and other areas of school buildings.
- Overcrowding: Almost one-fifth of Americans spend their days in schools. A typical school has four times as many occupants per square foot as an office building. With increased student populations, many schools are overcrowded, with ventilation systems that were not designed to accommodate the high numbers of people occupying the building.
ESPs are the principal people responsible for maintaining buildings to avoid these problems, and for dealing with them when they arise. NEA’s Health Information Network has assembled an extensive set of resources for understanding and addressing IAQ problems in HIN’s Indoor Air Quality pages.
Higher Education Advisory Council
Higher education policy and practice is directed by the OEA’s Higher Education Advisory Council (HEAC).
Specifically, HEAC is responsible for devising and implementing instructional programs to enhance the professional ability of its members and advocating for the interests of its members within the Association.
This includes providing support for collective bargaining in higher education, development of appropriate legislative positions and maintenance of appropriate relations with other groups interested in higher education and supportive of Association positions; and recommending members to be appointed to OEA Committees and other appropriate NEA and OEA bodies.
Members of the Higher Education Advisory Council are nominated and elected by OEA affiliates. The members select officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary) annually at one of four meetings per academic year.
For more information about HEAC, please contact the OEA Higher Education Liaison, Mark Linder, at linderm@ohea.org, or email Dovel Myers, the HEAC chair, at heacchair@ohea.org.
Higher Education Membership
The National Education Association puts the strength of 3.2 million members and the experience of more than 150 years of educational advocacy to work for faculty and staff. No other professional organization or union can claim so long and strong a record of effective representation.
The cohesiveness of NEA higher education membership is particularly important now in light of the constant challenges and threats to our professional and economic rights. NEA strongly supports the efforts of faculty and staff to safeguard intellectual freedom, professional integrity, tenure, and the right to a voice in academic governance.
Through its strategic priorities, NEA works to improve teacher quality and student achievement and to increase the capacity of institutions and associations to tackle tough educational and professional issues.
Higher Education Research Center
The Center provides data and other research products to the NEA higher education affiliates. The Research Advisory Committee, composed of higher education leaders and staff, meets twice a year to review products from the Center and to make recommendations about additional research needs.
Legal Advice and Liability Protection
NEA’s legal staff has effectively argued that academic freedom should be recognized as a constitutional right. As a result of NEA litigations, tenure is now viewed as a property right protected by the 14th Amendment.
The Association’s Legal Services Program protects members subject to dismissal or severe sanction and provides legal advice on other issues.
NEA higher education members are automatically protected by a $1 million professional liability policy at no extra cost. This liability insurance protects members in cases that arise from the performance of their professional duties.
National Conference
Each year since 1983, in March, the NEA sponsors the National Conference on Higher Education, which brings together educational and political leaders and experts along with faculty and staff to discuss issues confronting colleges and universities. The theme of the conference each year deals with an issue that is vital to the interests of higher education.
Leadership Development
The day prior to the higher education conference, faculty and staff leaders convene to discuss issues pertaining to governance and to develop leadership expertise. In addition, the NEA sponsors an Emerging Leaders Academy, open through nominations to new or emerging leaders within the NEA higher education community.
Your Professional Resources
As the largest employee association in the country, NEA’s size and resources allow it to provide its higher education members a wide range of free services and resources.
The NEA’s Office of Higher Education, based in NEA’s Constituent Relations Department, coordinates the efforts of staff assigned to higher education activities in other NEA departments. Staff ensure the development and delivery of NEA-sponsored programs for higher education members and affiliates. They assist the states with organizing membership and chapter development through the NEA regional offices, work with higher education governance, and work in coalition with other associations and unions.
For more information about OEA/NEA membership, contact Matt Ides, OEA Organizer, at idesm@ohea.org.
Higher Education Resources
OEA Higher Education Resources
OEA member advocates and staff can provide a range of resources for your local, including assistance with grievances, contracts, professional issues, and organizing. Please contact your local president for more information.
NEA Higher Education Advocate
Recent issues of the NEA Higher Education Advocate are available
College and University Data Analysis System (CUDAS):
This CD-ROM allows members to analyze their institution by a series of indicators and to compare it with their peer institutions. The source of the data is the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The CUDAS CD-ROM can be found in the NEA Almanac of Higher Education published annually.
To access this information, login as a member. If you have any questions or concerns after reading the instructions, contact Russ Harris, the OEA Higher Education Liaison (harrisr@ohea.org).
Higher Education Contract Analysis System (HECAS):
HECAS CD is a CD-ROM with full-text retrieval software, containing over 840 higher education collective bargaining contracts. The system, updated twice a year, has contracts for faculty, support staff, and academic professionals. The most up-to-date collection of contracts resides on the Web-based version, which is updated monthly. Access to HECAS on the Web and the HECAS CD is restricted to NEA state affiliate staff and local leaders. You must contact the higher education contact person in your state to be granted access to both products.
To access this information, instructions and an example, login as a member. If you have any questions or concerns after reading the instructions, contact Russ Harris, the OEA Higher Education Liaison (harrisr@ohea.org).
The Ohio Board of Regents:
The Ohio Board of Regents, a nine-member advisory board to the chancellor with two ex-officio representatives from the state legislature, was created in 1963 by the general assembly. Members of the Board of Regents are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Responsibilities of the board include, developing an independent annual report on the Condition of Higher Education in the Ohio, and issuing an annual performance review of the chancellor. The board is also responsible for advising the chancellor on issues of statewide importance affecting higher education.
About the Ohio Education Department of Higher Education
Higher Education Data & Reports:
These reports provide statistical data related to the enrollments, student preparation and academic progress, degrees awarded, post-graduation employment outcomes, tuition, financial aid, and costs and expenditures per student at Ohio’s higher education institutions.
- College Readiness
- Credit Transfer Reports
- Degrees
- Employment of Graduates
- Enrollment
- Finances, Faculty & Facilities
- Graduation & Retention Rates
- Tuition & Financial Aid
Historical Reports: Student Inventory Data and Basic Data Series Reports (1966 through 2006) Annual reports containing enrollment, facilities, faculty/staff and financial data for state-supported colleges and universities.
Special Topics Reports
Reports responding to specific questions or concerns about higher education in Ohio.
Social Media Guidelines for Educators
Dos And Don’ts For Educators
Whether you’re just considering becoming involved with social media or you’ve already established an identity on one or multiple sites, you need to use these channels wisely. OEA has developed the following guidelines on using social media to help protect yourself both personally and professionally.
- DO: Know the privacy settings of every channel you use and keep abreast of any changes to them (see Additional Resources). You have to decide for yourself what level of privacy is right for you, however OEA recommends sharing only with people you know personally. For instance, on Twitter we recommend blocking your tweets so only individuals you approve can see them. Taking just a few minutes to establish strict online settings will go a long way toward keeping what you post restricted. Additionally, try to be “anonymous” whenever possible. Don’t include information that could put your identity at risk.
- DO: Understand that there’s no such thing as a truly “private” post. Once you publish something through social media, you lose a degree of control over your message. Even if you set your privacy settings appropriately, to be shared only with people you know, your posts can still be captured via screenshot, printed, or copied and pasted into an email and shared beyond your intended audience.
- DO: Understand the limits of your First Amendment rights. Free speech rights are fairly limited for educators: their speech is protected only if they speak out as citizens on “matters of public concern” and their speech doesn’t disrupt the school. So matters of personal concern, e.g. social activities, partying, personal gripes, etc., are not protected. Tenured teachers have far greater job security than probationary teachers — they can’t be fired except for “just cause” — but it’s not the First Amendment that protects them.
- DO: Learn The Licensure Code of Professional Conduct for Ohio Educators.
- DO: Find out if your school or district has an Acceptable Use Policy for the Internet and/or social media. Make sure everything you do online is in keeping with these and other pertinent policies, as well as state and federal laws and regulations. You will be held responsible for what you post both by your school and legal entities. If your school doesn’t have an official policy, take this opportunity to help develop one.
- DO: Keep work and play separate. Regardless of your school or district’s policy, never use school property for personal communications. Do not log onto your email on the school’s computer. Do not bring your laptop to school and access the school’s network. Never access your personal email or send texts on your mobile device using the school’s Wi-Fi. Also keep a clear distinction between your personal and professional identities online. Don’t friend students, parents, and people you only know professionally, or otherwise connect with them through your personal account. If you want to use social media professionally, create a separate account for this and maintain appropriate boundaries and language at all times. Alternatively, you could use a social network specifically designed for connecting professionally.
- DO: Monitor your own internet presence, so you’re aware of content posted by others about you or content posted by an imposter posing as you. Create a Google alert to notify you when anything about you has been posted. Monitor comments that are posted to your page and your friends’ photographs. Delete inappropriate language or content. If someone “tags” you in an inappropriate photograph, remove the tag and ask the friend to take the photo down.
- DO: Contact OEA if you have any questions. If you’re about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, feel free to discuss it with your Labor Relations Consultant.
- DON’T post profanity, obscenity or anything that depicts you in an unfavorable light, including, but certainly not limited to, any images with you drinking, using drugs, in questionable settings, with disreputable companions, in inappropriate attire, or engaging in illegal activities.
- DON’T vent online. Under no circumstances should you ever tell stories about work that include personally identifiable details, such as full names, job titles, addresses, phone numbers, pay, or other information protected by state and federal privacy laws. Even eliminating any specific information about your situation and/or presenting it as a hypothetical puts you at risk.
- DON’T post anything related to a student, no matter how harmless you think it is. Never counsel a student online.
- DON’T accept an online relationship with anyone who you do not know offline. This is true for everyone, not just educators. Don’t assume Facebook friends of your friends are safe.
- DON’T join groups that may be considered unprofessional or inappropriate, and leave any such group of which you are already a member.
Additional Resources
Facebook Privacy Settings and Tools: https://www.facebook.com/about/basics
Twitter Support: https://support.twitter.com
YouTube Help Center: https://support.google.com/youtube
Pinterest Help Center: https://help.pinterest.com
Help for Flickr: https://help.flickr.com
How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School: http://bit.ly/Lx3bJV
Online Database of Social Media Policies: http://bit.ly/KPYOJA
Download these guidelines.
Employee Use of the Internet
In the past several years, OEA has had a rash of contractual and legal issues regarding alleged misuse of the Internet – school and personal. Therefore, we wanted to remind you of the following common sense applications of Internet usage.
- You have Internet access at your school, you probably have signed a copy of the District’s “Acceptable Use Policy.” PLEASE READ IT!
- Do NOT visit Internet sites from your school computer that would be objectionable if a student saw the information posted there.
- Be VERY CAREFUL in your e-mail correspondence to students. Do not send even marginally questionable jokes, notes, etc. to students EITHER from your school computer or from your home computer. Your e-mail correspondence to students should ONLY be classroom-related. In fact, it would be better to e-mail to the PARENT, rather than the student.
- Do your best to monitor what students are viewing over the Internet sites in your workplace. Be sure that you have a classroom policy on use of the computers and Internet sites.
- Always remember that SOMEONE can read any e-mail you send or receive from the school’s computer.
- Illegal use of the Internet and e-mail ARE grounds for termination.
- When in doubt, DON’T! YOUR career is at stake!