After one day of mediation, Service Employees International
Union Local 521 Chairwoman Pam Torrisi is cautiously optimistic
that the union and the Morgan Hill Unified School District can come
to an agreement about a labor contract dispute.
Morgan Hill – After one day of mediation, Service Employees International Union Local 521 Chairwoman Pam Torrisi is cautiously optimistic that the union and the Morgan Hill Unified School District can come to an agreement about a labor contract dispute.
Torrisi told MHUSD Board of Education trustees during their meeting Tuesday night that she was hopeful the two groups could find common ground regarding pay for union members, who are the district’s classified workers.
The 300-plus food service workers, custodians, bus drivers and clerical workers say they want the same 5 percent salary increase that the district’s other two bargaining units received last fall.
District officials say the current 8 percent salary increase over two years offer is fair. The offer gives the employees the opportunity to negotiate another salary increase next year. Classified workers say the increase offered by the district includes benefit money, while the increase for the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers and the Morgan Hill Educational Leaders Association is separate from their benefits.
“I’m really hopeful,” Torrisi said. “We have two more sessions. If we both remember that we have to come up with something, both groups have to be able to give a little to get a little … I really hope that we can do something productive.”
MHUSD School Board President Peter Mandel echoed Torrisi’s sentiments.
“We had a constructive session with the mediator,” he said. “I remain optimistic that mediation can bring us to an agreement.”
The negotiating teams for both groups will come back to the table March 28 and then again April 27. Sitting at the table for the classified workers are Torrisi, four local SEIU members plus regional SEIU representatives. Three district officials plus a school attorney make up the district’s negotiating team.
Classified workers want an agreement reached during mediation. If mediation fails, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) would conduct a “fact-finding” to see if both sides are accurate. The school board could also step in and settle the dispute. Workers could strike at that point.
On Feb. 28, classified workers who attended a meeting at Paradise Valley Elementary School voted to strike if an agreement could not be reached in mediation. More than half of the SEIU’s local members have voted in favor of a strike, if necessary.
“We really, really don’t want to strike,” Torrisi said. “What we really want is for both parties to come together and agree on something we can both live with.”
