Collective bargaining has been on the minds of members of the Waynesboro Education Association for a few years and now is on the minds of Waynesboro School Board.
The WEA responded last week to the school board starting discussion at its regular meeting on June 10 to consider collective bargaining.
“While the Waynesboro Education Association appreciates that our city’s school board is working conscientiously to put collective bargaining in place for school employees, we believe our members need and deserve to be part of future discussions about the resolution that is the first step in that process,” WEA President Kathryn Brown said in a statement.
According to the WEA, 11 Virginia school divisions have collective bargaining agreements in place with school employees. Collective bargaining provides union representation for K-12 school teachers and staff. The WEA would like to represent Waynesboro‘s teachers and staff at school board meetings and give them a voice when decisions are considered.
Collective bargaining does not replace decisions made by local school boards, which still have the final say on policies.
“Collective bargaining will allow employees to be involved in decisions that affect us and the students we work with every day. It will be a new, more democratic model for doing business as a school system. As such, WEA members would like to be part of the development of this new policy,” Brown, a 2nd-grade teacher at Wenonah Elementary School, said.
Brown said the 11 Virginia school divisions who have adopted collective bargaining approved resolutions that work and the WEA does not “see a need for Waynesboro Public Schools to blaze a new path with our city’s resolution. We stand ready to work with board members and school division leaders to adapt an existing resolution that’s already been found to be effective.”
She added that the first draft of a Waynesboro School Board resolution could put employees in the vulnerable position of losing their
confidential status as union members. Waynesboro employees’ right to privacy is taken “very seriously” by WEA, which hopes to work with the school board on a plan to verify employee support for WEA similar to the more confidential verification processes used in other school divisions.
“WEA members are excited to have a school board that listens to and works with employees, and we look forward to continuing that relationship as we embark upon collective bargaining,” Brown said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
