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Union, schools disagree over distribution of raises
By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer INVERNESS -- Deadlocked over how to distribute $125,000 in raise money, school district clerical workers and aides suspended their contract talks with the district on Wednesday. Settling for any of the options presented by the administration would mean violating their own contract, said Sandra LaGarde, the union's executive director. Instead, the team left the table before lunch and did not return. No further talks are scheduled. The Citrus County Education Association, which negotiates the contract for about 460 teacher aides, clerks and secretaries, opened the bargaining by agreeing to the $125,000 pool of money that the district said was all it could afford for raises. Last month, the union asked for a total of $300,000 for raises and to iron out a wrinkle from last year involving 19 workers who are considered professional/technical employees. Those workers got raises 25 cents an hour higher than what was negotiated. After the union complained, the parties agreed that a mistake had been made and that the salaries of those workers would be frozen until all others in the union caught up. That agreement was Wednesday's sticking point. Although the union agreed to accept $125,000 for raises, negotiators had two suggestions for how to distribute the money. The first was to give all workers, except for the professional/technical workers, raises of 25 cents an hour retroactive to Nov. 1. The second idea was to give the professional/technical staff 10-cent raises and everyone else 35-cent raises retroactive to January. The first scenario would cost about $125,000 and the second was about $6,000 more expensive. "We're trying to be creative and we're willing to work within the $125,000," LaGarde noted. "But at the same time we want to uphold the contract." Administrators countered with several options: An offer of the same raises that were proposed last month, 15 cents for all employees and a pledge to work on the problem with the 19 workers next year. Spend the $125,000 as bonuses this year, 15 cent per hour pay raises next year and an unspecified solution to the professional/technical pay glitch next year. Divide the $125,000 in bonuses among all employees this year and then return to the table later to discuss next year. "The fourth scenario is to take all offers off the table and start over again at zero," said chief administration negotiator Ed Murphy. "That's the fourth scenario, but we don't want to do it. And I don't think you do, either." LaGarde told Murphy that she did not believe the teams could reach a settlement Wednesday. Her team members were too strongly set on making sure that the contract was upheld. She noted that although she felt her team had compromised by agreeing to believe that the district could only afford $125,000 for pay raises, "I have seen no movement on the part of the district to meet us halfway." Murphy took issue with her statement saying that they had given some thought to the union's proposals and were willing to solve the pay problem with the professional/technical workers next year. "I will leave you with that," Murphy said, "and if that's the end of it today, then that's fine." "All we've asked is that you honor the commitment that you signed last year," LaGarde said. "I don't understand what the problem is." "What I'm saying is that we're ready to honor that in 2002-03," Murphy replied.
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