3-Year Agreement : Glendale Teachers OK Contract, 22.7% Raise

After months of negotiations and a two-week delay in voting, Glendale teachers Wednesday ratified a contract that provides for 22.7% in pay raises over three years, including a retroactive 8% raise for the current year.

Union members voted 429 to 116 for the contract, which stipulates that the district’s 930 teachers will receive their retroactive raises in a lump sum this summer. Only union members were eligible to vote.

The Board of Education is expected to ratify the contract June 6.

Despite the large majority in favor of the contract, Mark Desetti, president of the Glendale Teachers Assn., said the number of “no” votes was significant.

“We usually get only a negligible number of ‘no’ votes,” Desetti said. “This is a good indication that there is still a sizable group of teachers that is dissatisfied.”

He said many teachers were anxious to reach a settlement before the school year ends June 30 because district officials had warned that teachers would lose the retroactive raises if they failed to meet the deadline.

‘Need the Money’

“By the time the retroactive pay comes, there are going to be a number of people who have been out of work for two months who will need that money,” Desetti said. “That was a definite factor in the ‘yes’ vote.”

The union had demanded paid preparation time during the school day for elementary teachers and greater retiree benefits. Funding for those benefits is not guaranteed in the contract and will become available only if the state allocates unrestricted Proposition 98 money to the district.

Talks between the teachers union and district officials began in December. In March the union declared an impasse but agreed to let members vote on the district’s proposal. The vote was delayed for two weeks after teachers said they were confused by terms of the package.

Union officials had warned that teachers faced a possible strike in the fall if they did not ratify the contract. Teachers have worked without a contract since June.

The new contract would increase starting salaries from $22,536 to $27,411 a year and the average salary from $33,117 to $41,000 a year.