Waiting...
No news is... no news.
The stage has been set for SEIU Local 790 to walk out. Yet there is no solid information to indicate when that might happen, how it will be decided, or what might be happening to avert the strike. We are all waiting with increasing apprehension for any new developments.
Various trustworthy reports have filtered in that a strike is likely this week. Local 790 has indicated they will give 24 hours notice of the strike. So we wait, and wonder, and hope for the best—even as hope fades.
On Friday the teachers' union, UESF, met at Lincoln High. They discussed their leadership's support for SEIU and reiterated their desire for the UESF membership to honor any SEIU picket. However, there was no vote by UESF membership to support Local 790. It remains a voluntary, individual choice.
The UESF meeting was convened to conduct a vote on the following resolution related to the UESF negotiations with the district:
Over the weekend the Local 790 held a sparsely attended public meeting to explain their side of the story. I have given the union credit for avoiding negotiating via the media. The district has been relatively indiscreet about going public, in my opinion. But with the strike date bearing down, it was time for them to reach out to the public to explain their position. We had two reports from attendees posted to the list. One of them, written by Kim Knox, was also published as the Left in SF blog: Local 790 Parent and Community Meeting. I encourage anyone who's interested to join our sfschools list and read the other report from the meeting. Between the two reports I feel I have a much better sense of why the union would risk a strike. I'm not taking sides, but at least we have a better sense of their motivations.
As I speculated back in September, protecting jobs and upgrading job classifications appears to be the real sticking point. There are some serious questions around health benefits too. But, from what limited information available, problems related to abuse of "as needed" and part-time worker status may be why we are faced with a strike. Yet there are so many questions unanswered about the true nature of the disagreement. Most of the public statements from both sides have been centered on pay raises and health benefits. Is that the main problem? Or has the union simply done a poor job of explaining their grievances?
As one parent and union veteran (with no connection to either Local 790 or the UESF) cautions, "we don't know what we don't know." We can all hope that all parties are working as hard as they can to resolve this impasse without a strike.
The stage has been set for SEIU Local 790 to walk out. Yet there is no solid information to indicate when that might happen, how it will be decided, or what might be happening to avert the strike. We are all waiting with increasing apprehension for any new developments.
Various trustworthy reports have filtered in that a strike is likely this week. Local 790 has indicated they will give 24 hours notice of the strike. So we wait, and wonder, and hope for the best—even as hope fades.
On Friday the teachers' union, UESF, met at Lincoln High. They discussed their leadership's support for SEIU and reiterated their desire for the UESF membership to honor any SEIU picket. However, there was no vote by UESF membership to support Local 790. It remains a voluntary, individual choice.
The UESF meeting was convened to conduct a vote on the following resolution related to the UESF negotiations with the district:
Shall the leadership of the United Educators of San Francisco be authorized to call a general membership meeting for the purpose of conducting a strike vote?The resolution passed handily. This vote does not relate to the SEIU negotiations. Rather, it is just another step in the UESF's negotiations with the district. The UESF pot is just simmering. It is the SEIU pot is reaching a full boil.
Over the weekend the Local 790 held a sparsely attended public meeting to explain their side of the story. I have given the union credit for avoiding negotiating via the media. The district has been relatively indiscreet about going public, in my opinion. But with the strike date bearing down, it was time for them to reach out to the public to explain their position. We had two reports from attendees posted to the list. One of them, written by Kim Knox, was also published as the Left in SF blog: Local 790 Parent and Community Meeting. I encourage anyone who's interested to join our sfschools list and read the other report from the meeting. Between the two reports I feel I have a much better sense of why the union would risk a strike. I'm not taking sides, but at least we have a better sense of their motivations.
As I speculated back in September, protecting jobs and upgrading job classifications appears to be the real sticking point. There are some serious questions around health benefits too. But, from what limited information available, problems related to abuse of "as needed" and part-time worker status may be why we are faced with a strike. Yet there are so many questions unanswered about the true nature of the disagreement. Most of the public statements from both sides have been centered on pay raises and health benefits. Is that the main problem? Or has the union simply done a poor job of explaining their grievances?
As one parent and union veteran (with no connection to either Local 790 or the UESF) cautions, "we don't know what we don't know." We can all hope that all parties are working as hard as they can to resolve this impasse without a strike.
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