2014 - 2015 Announcements
YCTA Blue Thursday and Ratification Results (4/30)
Thank you to all who showed their support on Tuesday at Gray Ave. Our members showed the Board that when we begin bargaining for 15/16 on May 14, our Bargaining Team represents our members. Let's keep it going. We presented our yellow sunshine proposal to the Board as well as the green salary comparison that shows the gap in salaries after Marysville settled for a 9% increase - all of which will be in effect for 15/16. We distributed these to our members on Tuesday at Gray Ave. We will also be sending them out to sites on Monday. If you could not join us, we still have your new blue shirt. I am wearing the new design today. Our first bargaining session for 15/16 is Thursday, May 14. Let's all have our blue shirts ready for a show of support for the team that morning. You could pick it up at the YCTA office on Monday between 3:30PM and 7:00PM. If you did not order a shirt, you can still get one. You will need to let us know your size. Lee Gundy will send the survey monkey again. Plus we will be taking order for polo shirts before the end of the year. Tuesday, we ratified the work-year TA. Thank you to Julie Barkley and Sam Young who counted those ballots yesterday. We still have a vacancy on the election committee. You could volunteer to help them with the next election. We hope to reach an agreement for 15/16 that will address collaboration time and minimum days. We may have another ratification before we leave in June. In addition, Julie and Sam counted the Exec Bd election ballots from our sites. Thank you to all our site reps who helped with the election. You have elected the YCTA Exec Bd. for the term June 1, 2015 until May 31, 2017. That announcement will follow in a separate email. Have you seen this week's Blue Flier? Ursula Towne, YCTA Organizing Chair, did a great job. Would you like to add your creativity to these organizing tools or bring other ideas to help us unite our members? Join Ursula on the Organizing Team. Someone asked me yesterday - how likely is that we can match the Marysville pay increase? The answer lies in our unity and organizing. |
YCTA: Have you heard? Will you be there?
Have you heard about the recent
settlements? Both Chico and Stockton
were on the verge of strikes and have reached
settlements that provide improvements in contractual language as well as salary
increases. Marysville did not even
need to get to the brink of strike to reach a
settlement. You can get more details about the Marysville and Chico
settlements in the latest issue of the YCTA Unifier - soon to be delivered to
your site. You can also ask your Site Rep to share the newest salary
comparison between YC and Marysville after their latest raise. Or you can
come to YCTA meeting at Gray Ave on Tuesday 4/28.
We are YCTA and together we can make a difference. Let's do it. Join me next Tuesday, Dina
You can't put students first, if you put teachers last. |
YCTA Rep Council and a signed CBA (4/20)
Good Morning YCTA,
We had a lively Rep Council meeting. Reps shared issues of importance to members at their sites. We discussed recent negotiated settlements in neighboring districts. I urge you to attend a ten minute meeting with your Site Rep. It is important for us to engage in two-way communication to build our union. Let's keep talking and listening to each other.
We discussed the reauthorization of the ESEA (Federal legislation originally intended as part of the War on Poverty by President Lyndon Johnson). Have you contributed to the dialogue to help Congress get it right by focusing on quality education instead of high stakes costly testing? Here is the link. I urge you to use it to share your story.
We discussed the importance of our membership participation in YCTA. Does your administrator respect the YCTA time after the staff meeting to allow our members to meet and discuss issues important to us? We have the right to participate the protected activities of union involvement. Supportive administrators include YCTA at the bottom of the agenda and leave promptly to allow this time. If you administrator does not allow this time, please let us know so that we can address this matter.
Will you participate and stand up with other YCTA members next Tuesday? Come pick up your new blue tee shirt, vote on the TA and stay until 5:30 PM to show the Board that we are standing together with our YCTA Bargaining Team.
Finally, we have a signed Contract (CBA - Collectively Bargained Agreement). Our YCTA Bargaining Team Chair Steve Jennings signed it during spring break. It took a lot of time to be sure it was an accurate reflection of all our agreements. You can find a scanned copy of the signed CBA on YCTA.net. You will be able to request a printed copy from YCUSD. Site reps will be provided copies at our next Rep Council meeting. Here is the link for the CBA.
Stand together with pride. We are YCTA. Dina |
Here is the link for the online health survey along with an attachment that explains how to do it
We are pleased to inform you that Anthem has resolved the WBA issues and it is now completely functional. All members can now log intowww.cvtrust.org/HealthConnect to take their WBA and qualify for their incentive award. We are also happy to share that currently, 75% of all registered members have successfully completed the assessment! So encourage others to take the first step to improving their health and complete the health assessment today. This assessment IS NOT shared with CVT or any other entity, but is intended for members to use as a tool to help make healthier choices. Members are encouraged to email HealthConnect@cvtrust.org if they experience any difficulty in accessing the assessment. CVT will then escalate the issue to Anthem for resolution. In addition, Anthem Blue Cross would like to extend their deepest apologies to CVT members and districts for their failure to provide timely access to this tool for CVT members and for the inconvenience this has caused. They also stated that they value their partnership with CVT, its participating districts and members and appreciate your patience as they worked through resolving the system issues. Download - Completing your Well-Being Assessment |
Retirement- There is something here --- young and old
Hello YCTA Retirement? There is something for
Considering retirement this year.... In order to qualify for early retirement options, you must notify the District by March 1. March 1 is Sunday so you may still notify the District of your intent on Monday no later than 5PM. Please refer to Article 27 regarding early retirement options. Both the printed and on-line versions of the Contract refer to a March 1 deadline to be eligible for medical benefits until age 65. The one-time 25% buy-out option still refers to a date in May. However there was an earlier agreement several years ago moving that date to March 1. This change was unintentionally omitted in the previous version of the contract. If you were considering the one-time 25% option and are not yet prepared to make a decision, please notify me so that we can work to protect your right to that option with an extension that is consistent with the only version of the contract available to you. Are you counting on Social Security to supplement retirement income - CAUTION. You need to get more information about the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Your social security income will be reduced because of your government pension. NEA, our national CTA equivalent, has been lobbying and fighting to eliminate this unfair and for some disastrous Federal law. If you know or think you will be impacted by this law, please tell your story. CTA and NEA continue to gather those stories to bring the very real harmful impact to life for our elected legislators and their staff. Tell your story and change this law. Click here to go to NEA for more info. Reminder: CTA Retirement Workshop Feb. 11 from 4:30 - 7:00 PM at Boyd Hall. RSVP by calling CTA at 755-2082 or emailing kcheney@cta.org For those of you considering retirement, your years of service to our students are one of your greatest gifts to the future. We thank you for that service. And for those of you not, I hope that you may continue loving the work we have chosen as professional educators as you continue onward. Let me know if there is anything else we can do to support you. Stay in touch, Dina |
You contribute to the success of kids - Check out the celebrations from the Board meeting last night(1/28/2015)
Hello YCTA,
Yuba City High School accepted its first AFS student in 1955-1956, and sent its first student abroad for the summer of 1956. Since then, YCHS has hosted AFS exchange students and sent students abroad on AFS programs almost every year. Administrators and teachers value the different dynamic and perspectives exchange students bring to classroom discussions. The students are invited to give presentations in 10th grade World History classes which helps YCHS students meet the challenges of the increasing globalization of the world today. A firsthand account of life in a foreign country is much more meaningful for students--especially when given by their peers, the AFS students. Have a great day and
remember you make a difference. |
YCTA Rep Council - Are you informed? Do you play an active union role?
Hello YCTA, This Monday (1/26) is Rep Council. How is your school represented? Do you play an active role in our union? Are you informed? Get the conversation started - check out the link at the end of this email to Sac Bee. And you may decide to start talking. At the last meeting we asked our reps to engage in small groups to share ideas and strategies to engage our membership. An engaged and active YCTA membership gives us the power to influence decisions that impact our work. Blue shirts and our solidarity gave us strength. We will continue that discussion from the last meeting and build our plan for the spring. For starters - does your site have a monthly ten minute YCTA meeting? Remember how connected we all felt out on the street in the mornings. We were talking to each other across grade levels and disciplines. We were engaged. We need to do it again. In addition to site sharing, we will discuss the Governor's proposed budget and the latest information regarding salary comparability. Short version - the budget for 15/16 looks very good for education. We need to play in role in directing the priorities for increased spending. In addition to significant increases in the general fund in per pupil spending , the Governor has proposed $1.1 Billion dollars for implementation of the Common Core. This money can and should be spent in professional development and collaboration time for teachers and educators to implement the Common Core without disrupting student instruction. Click here for more info about the state budget. Or click here for the press release from CTA President Dean Vogel. Finally check our this link to the Sac Bee article that prompted Chris Gilbert's story on KUBA - local radio. Chris called to ask me to comment on the fact that our salaries continue to lag behind the state average and that our superintendent's is above the state average. Citing the importance of competitive salaries in the area to attract and retain the best personnel, I admitted being disappointed that our salaries still lagged significantly behind those of our colleagues in Marysville. When asked to comment about our superintendent's increasing salary over the last five years, I indicated the importance of competitive salaries to attract and retain good superintendents and expressed hope that our Board would decide to do the same for teachers in the future. I encourage you to check the data for YC vs Marysville in the Sac Bee using this link. Check our district and click on the details. You may decide we need to act together. I hope this starts a conversation. Stay in touch, Dina |
YCTA: Two Important Notices to save for your employment files
You have received two emails from Hallie Hunt. Be sure you open them and save them. They contain important information.
Assignment and Salary Placement for 2014/15 School Year Confirmation on Oct. 2
Sick Leave Accrual and Balances on Oct. 30
Previously you would have received a hard copy of these annual notices, but you are now receiving them by email. You should save these notices. Locate them in your district email in-box and save them either electronically by hitting reply, copying the contents, and pasting it into a word document or by printing the email and saving the hard copy.
The salary schedule placement used to come to you as a purple sheet at the end of August. It was late this year, but I anticipate that we can expect it next year at the end of August. Review these items carefully:
Your sick leave accrual previously came on a white sheet at the end of October. The balance shown is as of the date indicated on the notice, so it includes absences taken this year as well as your annual allotment added to the prior year's total. Your sick leave balance is also shown on each paycheck, although that balance may not reflect recent absences due to processing time delays. Your sick leave balance will count towards years of service when you retire. Attached to this email you will find a helpful graphic for understanding sick leave. Unused sick leave will apply to years of service at retirement.
It is your responsibility to review the accuracy of these records and ask questions if you are unsure of their accuracy.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
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YCTA: Our voices matter. Will you join in?
Hello YCTA, |
California's Educators Congratulate Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Re-election Victory
California Teachers Association President Dean E. Vogel issued the following statement congratulating Tom Torlakson for his victory in his re-election for State Superintendent of Public Instruction:
“It was a good election night for California’s students. Voters re-elected Tom Torlakson as the Superintendent of Public Instruction and showed once again that public education works best when decisions about local schools are made by parents and educators in their local communities.
“Voters clearly saw through the smoke, mirrors and millions of dollars poured into this race for Marshall Tuck by a group of billionaires and millionaires, many of whom don’t live in California, who were hoping to buy the Superintendent’s office and push their agenda on our local schools. Despite spending $12 million dollars in the final weeks of the race, voters rejected their corporate agenda of privatizing our schools, more standardized testing and eliminating professional rights for educators. In the end, it wasn’t the money that mattered; it was the voice of teachers, support staff and parents that prevailed. We can now stay on track, and continue to work together to give all students the quality education they deserve.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Tom to ensure learning over testing and the proper training and professional development for all educators as the state continues to implement the Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula, and gets ready for the new assessment system.” |