Glendale School Employees to Vote on Offer of 6.7% Pay Raise

The Glendale Unified School District’s custodial, cafeteria, clerical and other classified employees are scheduled to vote today on a two-year contract that would give them a 6.7% pay raise and other benefits.

The agreement was reached after classified employees last month rejected a proposal that would have provided a higher overall increase of 9.2% but would not have provided certain other benefits to some of the employees.

Under terms of the agreement, the classified employees, which include teachers’ aides, would receive a 3.5% raise for the 1985-86 school year and a 3.2% salary increase for the 1986-87 school year.

The proposal, negotiated by the district and the California School Employees Assn. Local 3, includes a one-time retroactive payment of 3.5% of the 960 classified employees’ base salary last year. The retroactive payment would be made by Oct. 15.

Salary Increases

It provides for 2.5% to 17% salary raises for about 600 classified employees. The raises would take effect before the new contract expires Aug. 31, 1987.

That allocation is based on a comparative study the district conducted of wages in other school districts and in private businesses. The district concluded that the clerical and food service workers were underpaid and that the custodial group was in line with salaries elsewhere.

The salary allocation and the retroactive pay were not included in the last tentative agreement.

“We feel it will fly this time,” Mary Meehan, spokeswoman and chief negotiator for the classified employees, said of the proposed contract. If ratified, the contract will be considered by the school board July 15.

Since Local 3 bargains collectively for two groups of workers, it held two separate ratification votes last month. The group, composed of maintenance, custodial and warehouse workers, approved the last agreement. But the larger group of clerical and food services workers, who would benefit from increased salaries to bring them up to comparative rates outside the district, voted to reject that settlement.

Mediation Agreement

Union and school officials hammered out the new agreement in a 15-hour mediation session last week. It was the third time since contract talks deadlocked Jan. 28 that a mediator had to step in.

The new contract would allow workers to take personal or family emergency leaves of absence. Previously, workers who required such leaves had to resign. Some California State Lottery funds would also be given to the employees, said Charles Duncan, district spokesman.

The ratification vote will be held in a combined 5 p.m. session today in the board room of the district administration building.