Schools

Schools union files complaint

At issue is whether the district can call employees to work at emergency shelters.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
Published August 11, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - For a while, it seemed as if the storm had subsided.

After its initial round of criticism, the Pasco school employees union stopped blasting the school district for a May memo telling workers they might be called to work at emergency shelters if necessary.

The issue was supposed to get hashed out in negotiations.

Then the school district got served this week with notice that the union had filed a unfair labor relations charge with the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission over the memo.

Union leaders said in their filing that superintendent Heather Fiorentino had, in telling employees they could be forced into service, unilaterally changed the terms of their employment. They contended that several attempts to get Fiorentino and her administration to take it back until after negotiations had failed.

Steve Meck, PERC general counsel, said he received the complaint Wednesday. He confirmed Friday that he had issued a notice saying the filing was sufficient to warrant a hearing, which will be held in 30 to 45 days.

Fiorentino said she didn't expect this turn of events.

"We have offered to negotiate it several times, so we were surprised ... that we received" the complaint, she said.

She reiterated her position that her leadership team was simply following Florida law in informing employees that the district legally must open and staff shelters if an emergency arises.

Never did the district intend to press workers into service, added assistant superintendent Renalia DuBose, who noted that volunteers always have filled any demand for running the shelters.

After Hurricane Katrina saw New Orleans school buses sit empty because all the drivers disappeared, the district wanted to remind employees that they are public servants, DuBose said.

"We felt like we needed to let people know," she said.

Fiorentino said the district will follow the state grievance procedure and abide by the eventual ruling. She expected to prevail.

"We believe we've done everything correctly," Fiorentino said.

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or 813 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.

[Last modified August 10, 2007, 21:43:34]