Cleveland teachers approve three-year contract
July 28, 2010
Cleveland teachers have overwhelmingly approved a contract that
trades $17 million in concessions during the coming school year for the
recall of many laid-off union members.
The teachers voted 2,949 to 621 in favor of the three-year agreement,
according to a count released Wednesday, several hours after a week of
balloting concluded. The school board will consider the agreement
Thursday night.
About 70 percent of the Cleveland Teachers Union's 5,300
members voted. The total membership includes about 650 teachers and
other personnel who are laid off but were ruled eligible to vote by the
union.
Teachers gave up paid training days, postponed step increases until
the last quarter of the school year and agreed to higher payments for
medical insurance. The contract's second and third years include
reopeners for wages and medical benefits.
"I think people understand the economic times we're in," union President David Quolke said in an interview.
The union also granted administrators more flexibility in teacher
assignments and committed to jointly developing a performance evaluation
system based in part on student achievement. But union members avoided deeper pay cuts sought by Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders and retained basic seniority rights.
The district will recall a majority of the laid-off workers but does
not yet have a definite number, spokesman John Hairston said. The
layoffs included 546 teachers, a cut that Sanders said would increase
some classes to 45 students each.
The school board previously approved contracts with three unions
representing less than 50 carpenters, trades workers and other
employees. The district still has to settle with four unions
representing more than 1,400 employees, including secretaries, bus
drivers and custodians.
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