NFT Pushes To Accelerate Talks; NSB: Proof In Actions NFT Takes

Tensions between the Neshaminy School Board and the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers remains high in spite of teachers  following a . The next round of talks, scheduled for Jan. 26, is the main focus as both the NFT and NSB push to move in a direction to settle, each highlighting their points. 

The NFT, on Thursday, sent the following news release to Patch.  

Teachers are calling on the school board to commit to an accelerated negotiating schedule, according to an NFT news release. Teacher leaders said they ended their job action in accordance with a Pennsylvania statute (Act 88) that limits the length of teacher strikes.

"The law requires that we call an end to striking for now," NFT President Louise Boyd said. "After the events of the past few weeks, we think it’s very clear which side is refusing to compromise. We have a proposal on the table in which teachers are offering financial sacrifices in the millions. Even while we were walking the picket line, we reached out to the board and offered a number of ways we could still reach agreement. They rejected each one."

According to an NFT news release, the NSB canceled a Jan. 12 bargaining session -- a move that brought hundreds of Neshaminy teachers to a nighttime vigil at Maple Point Middle School, the site of the scheduled talks.

The board has not responded to a Jan. 13 conditional offer by teachers to bargain around the clock for seven days and then submit to binding arbitration on unresolved issues following this process if both parties fail to reach a settlement during the round-the-clock week-long session, according to the NFT release.

"Intensive, very accelerated negotiating and arbitration are two of the usual solutions for long-standing bargaining stalemates," Boyd said. "We’re disappointed that the board keeps refusing to consider these paths to a settlement. But we aren’t fussy about how we get to a fair agreement. Teachers remain willing to explore any and all ways to reach a fair contract."

Boyd said the school board has offered to attend a previously scheduled negotiating session on Jan. 26.

"But we need more than the same old approach of unproductive bargaining sessions that are scheduled weeks or months apart, in which the board does not offer any movement," Boyd said.

Boyd did not rule out a second teacher strike this spring.

"I hope it won’t be necessary. It’s the last thing teachers want. We remain hopeful this board will decide to roll up its sleeves and work with us to reach an agreement."

Boyd said teacher morale remains high in the wake of the strike, which drew sustained media coverage and a groundswell of community support.

"In the past few weeks, teachers have come together as never before, and we’ve had a lot of community support to hearten us," Boyd said. "Yes, we’ve seen some name-calling and verbal and even physical attacks on teachers, but the pro-teacher messages and actions have been far more numerous. Students brought us coffee on the picket line. Parents called the school board. Many families turned out to demonstrate with us. The overwhelming community support was truly appreciated."

Neshaminy School Board Responds

Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb issued the following response on Jan. 20 regarding the NFT's news release which he said, "accuses the district of refusing to work towards a contract settlement":

Dear Ms. Boyd:

I have reviewed a copy of the press release issued by the NFT yesterday. Let me start by noting that there is much that you state in that release with which we disagree concerning the facts. There will be time to address those discrepancies in the future if necessary. The main purpose of this letter is to focus on negotiations.  

The District is pleased to hear, finally, that the NFT is prepared to "explore any and all ways to reach a fair contract" and that you are not "fussy" about how we get to a fair agreement. While those public statements are nice to hear, they are easy to make. The proof will be in the actions the NFT takes. So, the District’s bargaining team is prepared to meet on January 26, 2012 starting at 6:30 p.m. for a bargaining session.

It is the District’s expectation that the NFT will start this session by presenting a complete written, comprehensive proposal that addresses all remaining open issues. Such a proposal could (depending on its content) show the NFT’s sincere desire to address the District’s concerns and provide a basis for the Board, in conjunction with the Mediator, to consider meeting in some form of accelerated negotiation schedule. The Board’s negotiation team, however, is not interested in meeting just for the sake of meeting.

As both parties prepare to commence mandatory, nonbinding arbitration as is called for by Act 88, I take this opportunity to emphasize that these bargaining sessions can only be productive if the NFT shows a true, sincere effort to address the District’s needs.

We look forward to your proposal on the 26th.

Sincerely,

Ritchie Webb
President
Neshaminy Board of School Directors

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