The Tacoma School Board voted 5-0 today to authorize the superintendent to negotiate a contract with the non-profit Washington Employers to provide labor relations services in upcoming collective bargaining talks with the Tacoma Education Association (TEA).
The district’s agreement with Washington Employers would cover labor relations services for negotiations with all three bargaining groups covered by the TEA contract – teachers, office professionals and professional/technical employees.
“Due to dramatic state cuts in funding for K-12 education and the national focus on teacher quality and evaluation, the district and TEA face some of the most challenging pressures and discussions in decades,” said School Board President Kurt Miller. “In the end, we have got to get through this period of challenges in public education, to find common ground, so we all can refocus as soon as possible on doing the best job for our students as a system and in the classroom.”
The cost to the district for assistance from Washington Employers, ultimately, has yet to be negotiated.
The vote Monday came after board members met with and interviewed Matthew Lynch, Director, Labor Relations Services and General Counsel for Washington Employers.
Tacoma Public Schools eliminated the position of labor negotiator in September 2008 – just after the conclusion of negotiations for the previous TEA three-year contract – as a budget reduction strategy. Since then the district has saved approximately $430,000.
With the elimination of other administrative positions in the Human Resource Department and four labor contracts up for simultaneous negotiation, the expertise of Washington Employers will allow the district to devote maximum time and attention to important teachers’ union issues.
Washington Employers
Washington Employers is a member-based organization, serving more than 1,200 member-employers. Washington Employers helps organizations deal with the complexities of human resource management. Since 1936, member companies have relied upon Washington Employers to be their single source for consultation on all matters affecting the employer-employee relationship. And, as a non-profit organization, Washington Employers provides all these services in a remarkably cost-effective manner compared to other options in the marketplace. Services include: information resource, training programs, personnel policies, employee benefits, governmental regulations, collective bargaining, consulting services. Washington Employers has represented a wide range of organizations, including Sumner, Fife and University Place school districts, Franciscan Health System, Tacoma Housing Authority, Safe Streets, Cascade Regional Blood Services, The Humane Society of Tacoma-Pierce County and many other Tacoma and Pierce County public and private sector employers.