what is going to happen to teachers' salaries next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

Retirement is based on average salary of the top 3-5 consecutive years, depending on the plan, and the plan is determined by a teacher's hire date. So anything that increases salary helps with retirement. The problem with all of the step freezes that have occurred over the past 20 years is that we now have fourth year teachers making the same salary as first year teachers, 25 year veterans on step 20, etc. A mix of step increases (to recognize experience, which also typically comes with more unpaid work load such as mentoring new teachers, being a team lead, etc.) and COLAs (to help keep pace with inflation) would be more equitable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

Why are you being a mean girl with this advice? Are you an adult and can refer to reputations and PR or are you a middle schooler?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

Why are you being a mean girl with this advice? Are you an adult and can refer to reputations and PR or are you a middle schooler?

Wow. Touch a nerve? What is a "mean girl" about mentioning her as the face of unions? She lobbied to close schools and now claims she did not. Is this really who you want representing you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

1. Teachers in VA are not legally allowed to strike. The presidents of the FEA and FCFT locals are typically teachers who leave the classroom. I don’t know about FEA, but I believe the FCFT president is basically paid at what his or her teaching salary would have been, plus additional days in the contract based on that same rate. FCPS does not pay union leaders.

Of course members should stay informed.

2. I’ve never known building reps to carry that much weight in FCPS. Some buildings don’t even have them.

3. The next FCFT president is transitioning from an ES position. I’m not sure about the FEA president-elect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t they get a step increase every year or no?

No. Over 30% of years it’s been “frozen” (no step, no cola). Many years I made less than prior years with health insurance premiums increasing.

Wow that’s crazy. How do they account for inflation?

DP who is not a teacher - a lot of people didn't get raises this year.

Obviously there complaint is that it’s been multiple years in a row within the same decade.

There were definitely multiple years between 2005 and 2010 or so that salaries were frozen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

Why are you being a mean girl with this advice? Are you an adult and can refer to reputations and PR or are you a middle schooler?

Wow. Touch a nerve? What is a "mean girl" about mentioning her as the face of unions? She lobbied to close schools and now claims she did not. Is this really who you want representing you?

You aren’t able to see that “that is not a good look for you” is middle school language? That is really how you express yourself as an adult?

Rather than using words like” Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers’ unions. She has a bad image because of her covid policies and is doing little to help get support for teachers. You should look to replace her.”

You don’t see a difference in that?

I hope you are just like that online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

1. Teachers in VA are not legally allowed to strike. The presidents of the FEA and FCFT locals are typically teachers who leave the classroom. I don’t know about FEA, but I believe the FCFT president is basically paid at what his or her teaching salary would have been, plus additional days in the contract based on that same rate. FCPS does not pay union leaders.

Of course members should stay informed.

2. I’ve never known building reps to carry that much weight in FCPS. Some buildings don’t even have them.

3. The next FCFT president is transitioning from an ES position. I’m not sure about the FEA president-elect.

She also wanted schools closed forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

I've posted on these forums before, so I apologize for repeating.

1.As a young teacher, I worked in a system where there was a teacher's strike a year or so prior to my employment. The leaders of the strike were fired--but they all came back later in supervisory positions--definitely, this was a "deal" worked out with the administration. I can also see "deals" being worked out with our FCPS.

The top leader of the strike became president of the Teachers' "Association." I was a new teacher and he made over six times what I was making. I don't know about the union leadership here, but watch for salary increases for the top in the coming years.

Warning for teachers: watch the leadership and see what benefits they get. I gave a cursory look at the details and it seems they do get lots of paid time off for union work. A little paid time off is one thing, but it looked to me like there were an excessive amount of hours for them.

2. The "building representative" is usually someone who will lobby to have teachers do as little work as possible. I remember ours telling us to "work to the contract." Leave as soon as the contract says, etc. Don't work at home.

3. I was an elementary teacher. It seems to me that most of the union leaders in our profession are from high schools and negotiate better deals for high school teachers --while forgetting about the elementary school teachers.

Right now, Randi Weingarten is the face of teachers' unions. This is not a good look for you. She lobbied to keep schools closed as long as possible--though she now denies it.

1. Teachers in VA are not legally allowed to strike. The presidents of the FEA and FCFT locals are typically teachers who leave the classroom. I don’t know about FEA, but I believe the FCFT president is basically paid at what his or her teaching salary would have been, plus additional days in the contract based on that same rate. FCPS does not pay union leaders.

Of course members should stay informed.

2. I’ve never known building reps to carry that much weight in FCPS. Some buildings don’t even have them.

3. The next FCFT president is transitioning from an ES position. I’m not sure about the FEA president-elect.

She also wanted schools closed forever.

Yeah, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

Retirement is based on average salary of the top 3-5 consecutive years, depending on the plan, and the plan is determined by a teacher's hire date. So anything that increases salary helps with retirement. The problem with all of the step freezes that have occurred over the past 20 years is that we now have fourth year teachers making the same salary as first year teachers, 25 year veterans on step 20, etc. A mix of step increases (to recognize experience, which also typically comes with more unpaid work load such as mentoring new teachers, being a team lead, etc.) and COLAs (to help keep pace with inflation) would be more equitable.

I wasn't referring to what retirement was based on...

I am talking about what FCPS is contributing to your 403/401/457 plans now as you are building those plans....they go by what your step is, not what you are currently earning.

So when steps don't go up, neither do the contributions to our plans on FCPS's behalf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

Sure, positions are filled…They are pretending sped positions are filled by packing caseloads, team taught and self contained classes. There are special education teachers with 19 students on their caseloads. That’s a minimum of 19 meetings a year. Realistically 30-40% of those students will be in reeval. So add 12 more meetings. Now add another 5-10 meetings minimum for more complex IEPs. Add up the number of hours special education teachers spend in meetings and multiply that by 3 to get the number of hours they prepare for meetings. Now tell me when they are lesson planning and how much time they are pulled away from the students who need the most help. Some districts offer per student stipends for large caseloads. Not FCPS. They pile it on. The burn out rate is real.

[Anonymous]

Woah - FCPS has gone up a lot since the last time I checked. How many years of your experience will they give you if you switch over from another district?

[Anonymous]

Teachers in VA are not legally allowed to strike. The presidents of the FEA and FCFT locals are typically teachers who leave the classroom. I don’t know about FEA, but I believe the FCFT president is basically paid at what his or her teaching salary would have been, plus additional days in the contract based on that same rate. FCPS does not pay union leaders.

Who pays for the paid time off to go to meetings? Pretty sure that was in the contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

The unions did not collectively bargain for an across the board increase. They bargained for their members, instructional and operational employees, which are student facing work categories. Reid added in an across the board increase when she presented her budget.

And there are still plenty of school-based openings, despite the “low vacancy rate”:

https://careers.fcps.edu/vl/vacancy.htm

+1

Why are people thinking they bargained for people not represented by the bargaining unit? Where is that idea coming from?

I have seen zero push back from the union to Reid’s budget that extended the raises to all employees. Instead, the unions have fallen in line with Reid’s BS excellence at a crossroads PR campaign. I also don’t know why the union didn’t bargain for a step instead of a massive percentage raise?

My spouse has dealt with unions a lot. During the push for collective bargaining rights, I asked whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for teachers. Spouse's reply: a good thing if the union is competent and a bad thing if it's incompetent. I wasn't aware that retirement was based on steps (if what a PP said is true) but if so, it sounds like the union is incompetent.

Retirement is based on average salary of the top 3-5 consecutive years, depending on the plan, and the plan is determined by a teacher's hire date. So anything that increases salary helps with retirement. The problem with all of the step freezes that have occurred over the past 20 years is that we now have fourth year teachers making the same salary as first year teachers, 25 year veterans on step 20, etc. A mix of step increases (to recognize experience, which also typically comes with more unpaid work load such as mentoring new teachers, being a team lead, etc.) and COLAs (to help keep pace with inflation) would be more equitable.

I wasn't referring to what retirement was based on...

I am talking about what FCPS is contributing to your 403/401/457 plans now as you are building those plans....they go by what your step is, not what you are currently earning.

So when steps don't go up, neither do the contributions to our plans on FCPS's behalf.

Which FCPS contributions are based on an employee's step number vs. the employee's salary amount?

FCPS isn't matching 403b contributions. For hybrid members with 457 plans, FCPS contributes 1% of salary (regardless of step number) plus a match that is based on the percentage that employees choose to contribute. There is a maximum 2.5% match when an employee contributes 4%.

Higher earnings = higher matches. The step number is irrelevant, outside of the hit to morale that has fourth year teachers being paid the same as first year teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't FCPS just say that now they have the lowest vacancy rate since during the school closures for Covid (no one was quitting that sweet gig).

Yes, Reid has said they have their lowest vacancy rate. They also didn’t do anything to cut costs or target raises to high vacancy spots (I am guessing special ed teachers are still in that category). Instead they proposed a huge across the board raise for all their employees. I have no idea what the union was thinking when they bargained for that. Such a lost opportunity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of residents would support good raises based on need as shown by vacancies, or at least for just teachers and other direct student-facing roles. Instead, central office employees who either make huge salaries or do purely administrative work would get the same raises as teachers! And the county told them the amount of money that was available and the school board still put forth a budget that blew that amount out of the water. Makes no sense.

Sure, positions are filled…They are pretending sped positions are filled by packing caseloads, team taught and self contained classes. There are special education teachers with 19 students on their caseloads. That’s a minimum of 19 meetings a year. Realistically 30-40% of those students will be in reeval. So add 12 more meetings. Now add another 5-10 meetings minimum for more complex IEPs. Add up the number of hours special education teachers spend in meetings and multiply that by 3 to get the number of hours they prepare for meetings. Now tell me when they are lesson planning and how much time they are pulled away from the students who need the most help. Some districts offer per student stipends for large caseloads. Not FCPS. They pile it on. The burn out rate is real.

+1