VA: Fairfax County Public School Workers Secure Collective Bargaining Rights

[appalachiablue]

March 13, 2023, ffxnow.com.

The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously on Thursday (Mar. 9) to give public school teachers and staff collective bargaining rights. The resolution gives employees the right to organize and elect a union that can negotiate labor contracts, including pay, benefits and work conditions. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2020 allowing local governments to give collective bargaining rights to public workers.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution for county employees the following year. After more than a year of work, administrators with Fairfax County Public Schools presented a 22-page draft resolution to the school board in December. Karl Frisch, the school board’s Providence District representative, introduced the motion during a school board meeting, saying collective bargaining will positively affect staff retention and student success.

“Everyone wins when teachers and staff have pay increases, better working conditions, reduced turnover, and workers have a seat at the decision-making table,” Frisch said.

The resolution states that the school board retains the right to determine budgets and can take necessary actions to carry out its mission during emergencies. It also guarantees workers the right “to engage in informal conversations and interactions about workplace and organizational issues while on duty” without facing coercion or intimidation. According to Virginia law, bargaining unit members are not allowed to go on strike. Any negotiations with budgetary or financial implications need to be initiated by Sept. 1 and agreed upon by Nov. 1 to be included in the following year’s budget.

FCPS will recognize separate bargaining units for: Licensed instructional staff, including full and part-time teachers, librarians and counselors; Operational support employees, such as assistants, custodians, food service workers and bus drivers; Administrators and supervisors, including principals and program administrators...https://www.ffxnow.com/2023/03/13/fairfax-county-public-school-workers-secure-collective-bargaining-rights/

[demigoddess]

1. we moved to Fairfax years ago. Went to register our children at school. They told us they were

the best school district in the country and the best school in the school district. I bear to differ with them. I saw so much cheating by the teachers, I could not believe it!! My student was taken into a room one time and told his test didn't have enough wrong answers on it so they would have to take it again. I asked "did you give more wrong answers?" the answer from my child was "yes".

[appalachiablue]

2. That's awful, I hope you told the admin. what for!

[demigoddess]

3. total waste of time. They arranged the classed so that local kids got the best teachers and kids of

military members got the barely adequate teachers. my kid was excellent at math and was put in an average math group, but when they were tested he was always moved up to the high math group, but just for the test. Then back to the average math group for the learning.

As for my child with retardation, she was ignored in class most of the time and placed in a class that had a teacher that was not considered qualified to teach special ed.