Collective Bargaining & Your Contract

Your union negotiates your salary increases for the duration of the contract. Most contracts include a salary schedule, which spells out your current salary, and describes how and when you will earn more. Increases are typically based on an overall increase to the entire salary schedule (typically called a “cost of living adjustment” or “COLA”) or “moving up” a step or “across a lane” based on experience or earning continuing education credits or certifications, respectively. Sometimes, you receive additional stipends for working in high poverty schools or for taking on additional responsibilities.

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits: You’ll find details on plan offerings, your costs, employer contributions, eligibility, and more. 
• Retirement security: Retirement may not seem like an immediate concern as you start your career but our union believes you should retire with dignity. For most career educators, your retirement benefit is the largest financial asset you will ever own. This provision describes the characteristics of pension plans—what your contributions and benefits are or can be, and other details—and supplemental retirement accounts, such as 403(b) plans.
• Leave benefits: You are entitled to different types of leave such as medical, personal, bereavement, and family leave. Learn how you accrue these benefits (Do you have a pool of days at the beginning of the school year or do you accrue time as the year goes on?) and how you apply for the different types. 
• Student loan repayment: Many associations have negotiated policies to help you offset your student loans. You should review your school district’s existing policies to ensure you are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Your contract contains many provisions that improve your working and students’ learning conditions, such as healthy and safe buildings, class size, supplies and tools you must be provided, among others. The contract also specifies your daily hours of work including any breaks, and the number of days in your work year.

Your school district will have some type of evaluation system in place. Learn more about the criteria and timing of evaluations, as well as your rights. 

Negotiations usually take several rounds of bargaining. The union and management sides express the rationale behind their proposals.  

Some contract provisions remain predominantly the same from contract to contract while others, such as salary, are bargained with each contract. The parties may modify some sections, and either side may propose a new bargaining topic.  

State law and court cases determine the mandatory, permissive, and prohibited subjects of bargaining.

When the union and employer teams reach a tentative contract agreement, they review the proposed contract with their respective constituency groups.  

The union holds a ratification meeting where employees ask questions and offer opinions on the tentative contract agreement. Individuals are then asked to vote on the tentative agreement, usually by secret ballot. A majority of votes determines if the contract is ratified (accepted) or rejected.  

The management team generally seeks approval from the school board or other governing body. If both sides ratify the tentative agreement, then the parties have a new (or successor) collective bargaining agreement. If the tentative contract agreement is rejected—by either party—the teams usually return to the bargaining table and continue to negotiate until they reach a new tentative agreement for a vote.

When the union and employer teams reach a tentative contract agreement, they review the proposed contract with their respective constituency groups.  

The union holds a ratification meeting where employees ask questions and offer opinions on the tentative contract agreement. Individuals are then asked to vote on the tentative agreement, usually by secret ballot. A majority of votes determines if the contract is ratified (accepted) or rejected.  

The management team generally seeks approval from the school board or other governing body. If both sides ratify the tentative agreement, then the parties have a new (or successor) collective bargaining agreement. If the tentative contract agreement is rejected—by either party—the teams usually return to the bargaining table and continue to negotiate until they reach a new tentative agreement for a vote.

With the agreement of both parties, any section of a ratified contract can be revised during the term of the contract. In many districts, labor and management representatives meet regularly during the term of the contract to talk about and resolve issues of mutual concern, often through an established joint labor-management committee.  

In addition, either at the bargaining table or during the life of a contract, the parties can bargain a memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to a specific issue. The benefit of an MOU is that it allows the parties to reach an agreement on a new or unforeseen issue that is important to both the union and the employer.