Amid vocal union activism outside the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, March 16, the board learned there was still no progress on its final stage contract negotiation with the California School Employees Association (CSEA).
The board was supposed to hear results of State fact-finding and mediation on the contract on Wednesday but instead learned that the decision is still forthcoming and will be shared at the next board meeting on April 14.
Meanwhile, several CSEA members from dozens protesting outside—joining those from the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB), another union asking for higher salaries—spoke during the meeting about the importance of earning a “living wage” and a raise that matches inflation, especially with the recent surge in gas prices.
The average price of gas in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area has increased by $1 in the past month and $2 in the past year, from $3.91 to $5.89, according to AAA.
“Gas is extremely high, groceries are extremely high, and if you want to live in Long Beach, it’s near impossible now to find a studio for under $1,800,” said Enrique Chavez, a CSEA unit vice president.
CSEA represents about 2,100 of the district’s classified employees, including instructional aides, nutrition-services workers, bus drivers, custodians and gardeners.
LBUSD has been negotiating a new contract with CSEA since last spring, unable to reach an agreement regarding salary increases.
Salary negotiations stalled since last year
The District is proposing a 3% raise to CSEA members, retroactive to the last two school years of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, plus one-time additional retroactive raises totaling 2%.
CSEA is demanding a raise of 3% retroactive to the 2019-2020 school year plus 4% retroactive to the 2020-2021 year, for a total raise of about 7%.
Still at an impasse when the CSEA contract expired last October, the two parties agreed to mediation by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to gather facts and decide on new salary terms.
A three-member PERB panel—with one representative from each party and a mutually approved chairperson—was supposed to convene in January, which was postponed to February, but it still has not yet reached a decision.
“The District and CSEA are both waiting for the fact-finding chair to issue his report,” said David Zaid, assistant superintendent of human resources. “We were notified that the report isn’t ready just yet, but we anticipate it within the next week or so.”
Zaid asked the board to consider moving forward with the results of the report at its next meeting on April 14.
Chavez told the board that the 7% raise CSEA is asking for is “nothing compared to what the teachers make,” noting that many CSEA members make minimum wage.
“We’re asking for that 7% because our members don’t make that much money,” Chavez said.
Sergio Bonilla, a CSEA vice president, told the board that anything less than a 6% cost of living adjustment (COLA) is “not going to be something we’re going to agree upon.”
“We really do need that raise,” Bonilla said. “It’s time to step up as a school district and pay us what we’re worth.”
Additional CSEA demands include hazard pay, summer savings and more staffing
Chavez informed the Signal Tribune separately that in February, CSEA also asked for a retention payment of at least $1,250 for its members as essential workers and hazard pay of $1,000 for working in-person during the pandemic.
The union is also asking the district to participate in a California School Employee Summer Assistance program for which the district must first register to help CSEA members bridge their income during the summer months between school years. Under the program, the State matches monthly employee savings of $300 by up to $3,000 to be paid over the summer.
“You get your $3,000 that you saved in a check and then $3,000 that the State matches for your second check in the summer so classified employees can survive,” Chavez told the Signal Tribune.
However, Steven Rockenbach, LBUSD director of employee relations and ethics, informed CSEA in a statement that it would need to approach the district about it in April or May to consider the program for the 2023-2024 school year. Rockenback cited accounting costs and the district having to pay for social security, medicare and unemployment insurance on the matching State funds.
CSEA members also asked the board during Wednesday’s meeting to address other issues like health insurance and heavy workload due to staffing shortages.
Kimberly Wong, an instructional aide, asked the board to reconsider the district’s health insurance policy, noting that as a part-time employee, she has to pay for her PPO insurance out of pocket.
Viola Mae Bledsoe, a special-education instructional aide at Cabrillo High School, told the board that staffing shortages have increased her workload at a disservice to her special-needs students.
“This is wearing us out,” she said. “It is hard to handle this amount of children with this amount of work.”
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