Where we are: We met with district negotiators at the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation today. We were prepared to make creative offers and stay right up until the turkey came out of the oven on Thanksgiving. The district made virtually no movement. It is clear they do not feel any real urgency to reach a settlement at this time.
We have set the next possible date to meet with the Bureau, which is December 15th.
It's Time: We need your help in motivating the district. They need to see the importance of coming to the table ready to do real work to reach a settlement. We have two activities already scheduled to do just that.
On Thursday, wear your red to Meet & Confer to support a discussion of diversity and workload issues in the district. We have a slate of speakers scheduled to communicate just how hard we are working for our students, you are welcome to add your voice, but we primarily need you to add your presence to support them. The event is at 6:30 pm at the Staff Development Center this coming Thursday, December 3rd.
If there are any postcards still left to complete in your building, take a moment to send a personal request to our school board to be actively involved in moving this process to a fair conclusion.
Continue your site based activities, and even ramp them up. Special thanks to the over 150 of you who could make it out to the school board meeting this past Monday. Your work is gaining visibility and becoming increasingly effective - keep up the good work!
Thank you for all your work so far, and all you will do in these next crucial weeks. Your support means a lot to us, and more importantly, to your colleagues.
We'll keep you posted,
Your Negotiators - Paul, Sandy, Vicki, LeMoyne, David, Gary, and Julie
