Irvine : Teacher Contract Talks to Be Reopened Today
Negotiators for the Irvine Unified School District and teachers’ union plan to meet today to try to settle their 10-month-old dispute over salary increases.
Delaine Richards, assistant superintendent, said Irvine Teachers Assn. negotiators “called and said they would like to meet.”
Bargaining teams met last week, but talks were broken off then. Richards said there was “no resolution” of the disagreements on salary and the other issues.
Last Tuesday, teachers staged a one-day strike. They are asking for a 2% cost-of-living increase, retroactive to July 1, and another 2% raise this spring. The district is offering a 3% increase, retroactive to July 1.
District officials contend that Irvine teachers’ salaries, on a scale of $19,084 to $36,100, are among the highest in the county.
In addition to a raise, the union is seeking a stronger role in grievance procedures, mandatory union membership and a lid on payments for health insurance.
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