Red buttons reading “Settle Now” were in abundance as Westfield School District secretaries and supporters gathered outside the Elm Street BOE office to protest standstill contract negotiations on Oct. 21.
Negotiations for a new three-year contract began this past spring. However, due to complications in reaching an agreement, secretaries throughout the Westfield School District have been working without a contract since June.
The conflict has currently reached an impasse, a situation in which a contract settlement cannot be reached. Secretaries and the Westfield BOE have therefore resorted to mediation.
According to Ms. Joan Penczak, president of the Westfield Association of Educational Secretaries and a secretary at McKinley Elementary School, a neutral state arbitrator was present at the Oct. 21 meeting to try to bring the parties to an agreement.
The main issues at hand are medical benefits and salary. “We have people who haven’t seen a raise in many years,” said Ms. Nicoletta Leitch, vice president of the WAES and secretary in the Human Resources Office at the BOE office. “One example I can cite is a secretary who has gotten a promotion and amended her calendar year from 10 and a half months to 12 months and is now bringing home less money than she was in 2011. We need to find some remedy for the hardship.”
When contacted, Board President Mr. Richard Mattessich said that the BOE generally does not comment on negotiations.
If mediation is not successful, it is a possibility that Westfield secretaries will go on strike. WHS Chemistry Teacher Mr. Michael Seiler, president of the Westfield Education Association teachers’ union, said that when an agreement cannot be made, a strike is the last resort. “It’s not good for anyone when that happens, but it happens,” Seiler said.
WHS Secretary Ms. Lori Scicolone said she hates to think about the possibility of a strike. “I feel that we are here to service the students and the teachers and the principal,” Scicolone said. “A strike would mean we wouldn’t be doing our jobs, which we enjoy.”
Many joined the secretaries at the Oct. 21 protest. Scicolone said: “The secretaries’ union is so deeply appreciative to the teachers, the custodians and the parents that came out in support of us. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to have their support.”
Among the approximately 40 people present at the protest was RIS Custodian Mr. Michael Rivera. “It’s important that everyone gets a fair contract,” Rivera said. “The secretaries work very hard in the system, just like everybody else and they deserve a decent wage.”
Leitch said the root of the conflict lies with the state legislation passed in 2011 that requires state employees to pay for more of their pension and health-care costs.
Seiler agreed: “It’s hard for the district and BOE and the secretaries to come to a settlement when you have outside factors like that from the state forcing things on us…The superintendent’s in a hard spot, the BOE’s in a hard spot and so are the secretaries. It’s a no-win situation when it gets like this.”
The next mediation meeting is tentatively set for Nov. 30. “We’re hoping to work that out with the BOE,” Leitch said. “We understand that they need to be mindful of their budget, [just as] all of our members need to be mindful of our families’ budgets.”