TUSTIN : Contract Talks for Non-Teachers

The president of the local chapter of the California School Employees Assn. said he expects to start negotiations soon for a new union contract with the Tustin Unified School District.

“We can start to negotiate at any time,” said Bill Martin, president of the 120-member union of non-teaching employees.

At the union’s request, however, members of the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education voted April 26 to extend the existing contract for another year. Under a three-year agreement, which expires in June, the two sides were supposed to start negotiations no later than 90 days before the contract expires.

“We simply did not have the time,” Martin said, explaining why talks were not already underway.

He said negotiations should have started early this year but the CSEA labor representative, Johnny Parker, was transferred to Northern California.

The CSEA has assigned a new labor representative.

Martin declined to discuss specific contract issues likely to come up.

“I don’t see any problems,” Martin said. “We always had good relations with the district.”

Assistant Supt. Hollis Griffin said the district has no plans to start negotiating immediately but the union may make a request.

“We have open communication” with the union, Griffin said.