USEP Update – Friday, Jan. 6, 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you are well-rested and in good health. It is USEP’s hope and desire that you finish the year strong and are able to provide meaningful instruction and opportunities for all our students.

THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO EACH DAY FOR OUR STUDENTS!

THANK YOU FOR BEING A USEP MEMBER AND SUPPORTING YOUR PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION.

• IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW – Click to Read More
  • It has been proclaimed that during this legislative session (upcoming in March-April), that action will be taken to DISALLOW PAYROLL DUES DEDUCTIONS FOR EDUCATION UNIONS ONLY! Click on the link for more information on what you need to know to prepare for this should it become law!

• NEGOTIATIONS – Click to Read More
  • USEP and District seek to wrap up negotiations for 2022-2023 and move on to ratification. Click on the link for more information

• REFERENDUM FUNDING – Click to Read More
  • USEP and the District have had preliminary conversation regarding the referendum funds. Click on the link for more information

IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

• The Governor has stated that a top priority for the upcoming Legislative Session in March-April will be the elimination of an employer to collect union dues by payroll deduction. (This means that the DSBPC would no longer be able to deduct union dues from paychecks to pay USEP directly, as is the current procedure.)
• This plan would be put in place by the passing of a bill during the session eliminating this process.
• THIS MAY VERY WELL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCERN FOR UNIONS DURING SESSION!
• Should that happen, USEP would be forced to have another process in place to continue union dues collection in order to maintain our membership and satisfy the legislative requirement for density.
• USEP is currently exploring secure options for our members to continue to maintain union membership and receive services.
• We will continue to monitor this situation moving forward and may very likely ASK OUR MEMBERS TO TAKE ACTION ON THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC!
• YOUR PRESIDENT PLANS TO GO TO TALLAHASSEE TO SPEAK TO LEGISLATORS REGARDING THIS CONCERN!
• Please pay attention to future USEP UPDATES for more on this situation!

NEGOTIATIONS

• USEP and District Instructional negotiating teams will return to the bargaining table on Monday with the intention of wrapping up this year’s negotiations. There are still a couple of items to take care of to reach final agreement.
• It is our intent to finish negotiations next week and begin the ratification process.

• One of the concerns holding up a settlement is the Mittye P. Locke school closing situation. It is the District’s intent to pay the employees of Locke a supplement if they remain at the school until the end of the year. The stipend for doing so would be paid out of ESSER/ARP funds (COVID related funds) and would only deal with this situation.
• USEP is attempting to put language in place moving forward to address ALL closings, not just MPLES. USEP has passed language in a counterproposal that would offer this and other considerations to employees not just for this situation, but for any school closing in the future as well (It must be noted that this District has closed 5 schools over the past few years).

REFERENDUM FUNDS

• Once ratification of the current year’s contract is completed, USEP and the District will have formal discussions regarding the spending of referendum funds.
• We have had some preliminary conversation and both the District and USEP wish to address the compression of salaries and longevity of service to the District.
• Once formal discussions are completed, USEP will communicate with members the plan moving forward.