Teachers’ Union, District reach tentative contract negotiation agreement

By Danny Kelleher
and Alec Lautanen
Editors-in-Chief

The Manhattan Beach Unified School District has come to a tentative agreement with the Manhattan Beach Unified Teachers Association to end teacher contract negotiations.

Few details have been released about the agreement, which comes after a day of mediation between the two parties at the district office.

“Dear Colleagues,” MBUTA President Karl Kurz said in an email to union members. “Thanks to your willingness to sacrifice, your hard work and united strength, MBUTA has reached a tentative agreement with MBUSD on several key issues.”

MBUTA has recently been advocating for an additional $2 million to be allocated to the annual salary schedule of certificated staff employees, which would amount to roughly a 9% raise over the course of the next three years.

MBUSD’s initial proposal, which Union negotiators angrily rejected in June, included a one-time 2.5% bonus and a potential to renegotiate if California Governor Jerry Brown’s state tax initiative, which could provide the district with additional funds, passes in November.

“I think that the teachers understood all the pain the students were going through and just wanted to come to an agreement with the district as soon as possible,” Costa senior Abha Nath said.

After the MBUTA and MBUSD failed to reach an agreement this summer to end the negotiations process, which began in March, impasse was declared and a mediator was brought in.

Since the start of this school year on Aug. 29, Union leaders have urged teachers not to volunteer their time for services that are not distinctly mentioned in their contracts. Their refusal to write letters of recommendation for seniors has been an issue of particular contention.

“I’m just hoping that the teachers will be able to devote their full attention to the students again and be able to give them the proper amount of time that everyone is looking for, whether that be through letters of rec, hosting clubs or just talking to us outside of class,” Nath said.

As a result of the letters of recommendation controversy, a group of Costa seniors earlier this week organized a “white out,” in which roughly 75 seniors wore white clothing to protest the union’s use of students as leverage in negotiations.

“By coming out and choosing one group over another we run the risk of alienating people we want on our side,” Costa senior Sarah Locke-Henderson said on the group’s Facebook page. “I think the most important thing is to show that we’re united (and that means respecting each other’s views and opinions) as a group in favor of both sides compromising as soon as possible.”

At last night’s MBUSD Board of Trustees meeting, multiple teachers gave public comments criticizing MBUTA’s actions and lack of member communication outside of Mira Costa.

“I was held hostage by a threat to my child as a means to force me to come,” Manhattan Beach Middle School science teacher and Costa parent James Locke said. “Refusing to write letters of recommendations hurts me, my family, my child. As a Union member, I never had the chance to weigh in on whether I felt this action was appropriate.”

In his email, Kurz urges Union members to attend a 3 p.m. informational session tomorrow, September 7, in which more specifics will be made clear about the tentative agreement. Both sides will still need to gain approval from their members in order for the new terms to be finalized.

“This honestly feels too good to be true,” Nath said. “Their willingness to compromise is truly a miracle.”