APRIL 2019 FEA STATESIDE NEWSLETTER

April 2019

JANE LOGGINS – FEA Director for DDESS
BEN HUNTER – FEA-SR General Counsel
ANGELIA STUBBS – FEA-SR General Counsel

Illegal Implementation — FEA-Stateside Region is proceeding to arbitration over management’s efforts to illegally and unilaterally impose a new contract on stateside schools, including its dictate forcing Stateside employees to work extended hours without added compensation in violation of the current valid contract.

Management is directing certified employees to work an additional 24 hours in the final quarter of school. This management directive is in conflict the intent of the tentative agreement the parties reached during the FSIP informal conference.

While FEA-SR conceded providing principals some flexibility to require educators stay at the duty site and additional hour when necessary to promote student learning. The parties never agreed to mandated across the board changes to the duty day.

Management is assigning busy work during this illegally imposed hour. Some of the plans for this time include forced collaboration, CSC, SST, staff meetings, and all of the other things we currently do in our regular day. Other items being mandated are self directed professional development (with minutes), wellness sessions, yoga, walking, meal prep.

Do we really need DoDEA directing our wellness and meal prep?

Tom Brady and Judy Minor are behind this illegal implementation. This again shows that DoDEA leadership at the highest levels have no respect for educators. They will do whatever they can to hurt teachers and attempt to destroy our union. Brady and Minor do not seem to realize or care about how disruptive this illegal addition of time is to our schools. This not only impacts teachers but also the DoDEA students we serve. Our students will miss out on extra curricular activities as teachers who lead these programs sit in worthless sessions of whatever the agency can come up with.

When you are directed to work any additional time please use the form at this link to record those hours. Information on the form details when and how to send this to FEA SR. We will fight to ensure educators are compensated for this illegal implementation. Click here to access the form for logging additional, uncompensated hours assigned to you under the illegally-implemented contract.

 

VERA VSIP for Stateside — As of today, Stateside bargaining unit members have heard nothing about any offers of VERA VSIP. Overseas educators have already been offered VERA and VSIP and placement of excess DoDDs educators should have been completed. Dr. Judy Minor Director for Student Excellence for DoDEA Americas told FEA SR that the offers of VERA VSIP should occur at the end of March or beginning of April. We are still waiting. DoDEA is reducing the number of full time employee positions by 300. This reduction in force constitutes a RIF. Per the MLA DoDEA must notify FEA SR of a RIF by April 25. This type of general notice should include locations and teaching categories possibly impacted by RIF. As soon as FEA SR gets any information on VERA VSIP or RIF we will share with Stateside members.

 

NEA ESP Leadership Training — Congratulations to Donelle Pistorino (Lejeune ESP President) and Chasity Reynolds, (Fort Campbell ESP President) who were recently presenters/trainers at the NEA ESP Leadership Conference in Las Vegas. Thank you both for your leadership and dedication to the education profession.

 

Red for Respect — Now more than ever educators need to continue wearing RED for RESPECT. We continue to show our solidarity by wearing RED. All educators deserve RESPECT. We are the heart of our schools. We make a difference in students’ lives every day. Please keep sending me pictures of our members showing their RED!

 

Stateside Pride — DoDEA has bombarded stateside schools with hurtful attacks in recent years. No matter what the agency does we carry on with the mission of educating our students. Recently a local president came up with an additional slogan for our hard working stateside members. “Stateside Pride” — The members of Stateside will always take pride in who we are and what we do for our students, schools and ourselves!

 

Guam Visit — FEA SR recently visited our schools and our bargaining unit members in Guam. We learned much during our visits with Guam educators. Two items of concern that are being addressed with DoDEA leadership include safety for educators during typhoons and temporary quarters allowances be offered and then rescinded. As soon as management responds to our questions, we will update Guam members. Thank you Denise Sheedy (Guam Certified President) and Kelsi Cooper, (Guam ESP President) for hosting our visit.

 

Know Your Rights
MLA ARTICLE 1. PREAMBLE
(I think DoDEA/DDESS may have forgotten this is the Preamble to the MLA?)

Section 1 Parties.
Pursuant to the provisions set forth in Title 5, United States Code, Chapter 71, hereinafter referred to as the Civil Service Reform Act, the following Agreement is entered into between the Department of Defense (DOD) Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS), hereinafter referred to as the “Employer, Agency, Management, or DDESS,” and the Federal Education Association, Stateside Region, hereinafter referred to as the “Association, Exclusive Representative, or FEA-SR,” and collectively hereinafter referred to as the “Parties.”

 

Section 2 Intent and Purpose.
a The intent and purpose of this Agreement is to comply with 5 U.S.C. 7101, et seq., and to encourage and increase effective and harmonious work relationships between these two Parties. The Parties jointly affirm and declare that it is their mutual goal to provide a quality education for the children of the Department of Defense Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools and to maintain high standards of personal performance. b The Parties hereto agree that this can best be accomplished through amicable discussion, mutual consideration of matters of interest to either party, the exchange of data and information pursuant to statutory requirements, the establishment of basic understandings relative to personnel policies and practices, and any other matters affecting other conditions of employment.

Section 3 Public Policy.
a Whereas the Congress finds that experience in both private and public employment indicates that the statutory protection of the right of employees to organize, bargain collectively, and participate through labor organizations of their choosing in decisions which affect them, safeguards the public business, contributes to the effective conduct of public business, and facilitates and encourages the amicable settlements of disputes between employees and their employers involving conditions of employment.
b Whereas the Congress finds that the public interest demands the highest standards of employee performance and the continued development and implementation of modern and progressive work practices to facilitate and improve employee performance and the efficient accomplishment of the operations of the Government.
c. Therefore, labor organizations and collective bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest.
d. The Agency and the Association recognize that a professional educator’s responsibility is to serve the educational needs of the student; and the employee’s energies should, to the extent possible, be utilized to this end.

 

MLA Certified -The MLA remains in full force and effect until a new agreement is legally implemented. An update about the status of contract bargaining can be found at feaonline.org.