Burbank teachers vote to accept 2% raises
Voting members of the Burbank Teachers Assn., or BTA, elected to break a yearlong impasse between the organization and the Burbank Unified School District on Friday morning.
The BTA voted 424-76 to accept a 2017-18 contract, which provides teachers with their first pay raise in two years, along with back pay.
The BTA’s bargaining committee and Burbank Unified officials agreed to terms in early September, which was followed by voting that took place between Tuesday and Thursday of this week at various district sites.
Five hundred of the BTA’s 878 members voted, with about 85% accepting the terms. The result was announced via the union’s Twitter account.
“We are satisfied with the vote,” Diana Abasta, BTA president, said. “Having 500 people vote is always a good thing, regardless of the outcome.”
A 2% salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2017, was agreed upon, while health and welfare benefits remained unchanged.
The district will need to submit a revised budget with the increases to the Los Angeles County of Education.
The county is expected to approve the budget, which will then likely be available for consideration by the district board on Oct. 18.
“I was pleased that we were able to reach an agreement for last year, but it still stresses the urgency to get more funding for this year and future years,” Burbank Supt. Matt Hill said.
Both sides showed willingness to compromise.
BTA proposed an 8.1% raise in December and dropped that to 5% in April after the district presented a complex counterproposal earlier that month for a 4% pay raise that required the proposal of a bond measure.
In May, the district offered another pay plan that called for a 1% salary hike, retroactive to July 1, 2017, a 0.25% bump dating back to Jan. 1. 2018, and a 1% off-schedule bonus.
It was the increase in retroactive pay in the current proposal that Abasta felt was important for BTA members.
“We were going in there with a certain percentage, and we didn’t reach it. But the fact that the district focused on retroactive pay is an important step,” Abasta said.
There is potential for more money down the road for the BTA, should the district’s parcel tax, known as Measure QS, pass in the Nov. 6 election.
Measure QS is a 10-cents-per-square-foot annual tax on real property that is estimated to generate $9 million a year, with the average cost being $170 annually for Burbank homeowners.
The measure requires a two-thirds vote to pass and would provide for a 3% salary increase for teachers beginning on July 1, 2019.
“That is more of the critical, local funding that we need,” Hill said.
There is little rest from negotiations as Abasta confirmed that the BTA will begin new salary negotiations for the 2018-19 school year on Oct. 6.
