Provided by the Pennsbury School District:
A private fact-finding hearing is scheduled to take place on April 19th before the fact-finder, Lawrence S. Coburn, Esquire, in connection with the current negotiations between the Pennsbury Education Association (PEA) and the Pennsbury Board of School Directors. Mr. Coburn was appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board on March 19th after the PEA requested fact-finding in its ongoing contract dispute with the School Board. Mr. Coburn’s resume is attached to this press release.
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On March 15, 2013, the PEA prepared the first modification to its 2010 salary demands, which originally called for a five-year contract with 4.8% per year increases retroactive to July 1, 2010. Upon receipt of the modification, School Board Chief Negotiator, Jeffrey Sultanik, said, “Recognizing that their initial salary demand was excessive, the PEA prepared a new set of salary demands that will be considered eventually by the fact-finder. These demands have never been submitted to the School Board at the bargaining table.” The collective bargaining unit of approximately 800 certified professionals has been operating in “status quo” since the last contract expired as of June 30, 2010.
The PEA’s submission in advance of fact-finding includes an annual breakdown of salary proposals beginning retroactively with the 2010-2011 school year and continues through the 2014-2015 school year. For the first two years (2010-2011 and 2011-2012), the union is asking the fact-finder to provide back pay to each of its members as an “off-schedule bonus” of $750 per person for each of the two years. This amounts to $1,204,726 over the course of the two years in question, or the equivalent of a .95% increase each of the two years, which would have to be paid out of school year 2012-2013 budgeted funds. Beginning with the current school year, “column movement” is requested for the first 20 pay periods, and “step movement” is requested to commence with the last six pay periods of the school year. Column movement refers to extra compensation for educational attainment and step movement applies to an increase in salary for each year of service. In addition, a $500 across-the-board increase to the salary matrix is proposed to begin during the last six pay periods of the 2012-2013 school year. The combined impact of all of these changes, including accrued payments for column movement, is estimated to be equivalent to a 1.77% increase, not including PSERS and other related costs. This translates to a $1,116,908 un-budgeted increase that would have to be paid from 2012-2013 funds.
Starting with the 2013-2014 year, the union is proposing additional column movement and a 1.5% increase to the salary scale during the first 13 pays, with step movement added beginning with the 14th pay of the year. This translates to an additional $2,117,787, or a 3.24% increase.
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Finally, for the 2014-2015 school year, the union is asking for both step and column movement, along with 2.0% added to the salary scale. This translates to an additional $3,011,706, or a 4.43% increase.
In summary, the five-year contract translates to an 11.81% increase, or $7,451,127 additional dollars that the District will have to find to fund the contract. There are no dollars budgeted for increases in the proposed 2013-2014 budget.
“It is a shame that the PEA was unable to make this salary proposal at the District’s last bargaining session before State Mediator John Cairns on March 4th,” said Jeffrey Sultanik, the Board’s Chief Negotiator. “It could have engendered some discussion at the bargaining table and the fact-finding process could potentially have been avoided. The PEA has absolutely no understanding of the District’s financial condition. In retroactive pay alone, the District would need to come up with $2,321,634 to fund the cost of the collective bargaining agreement through the end of the 2012-2013 school year. The District’s current economic situation, in combination with Act I and the dramatically increasing PSERS rates, have placed the District in the unenviable position of not being able to give Pennsbury faculty a wage increase without cutting back programs and services.”
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Mr. Sultanik concluded: “Though the PEA’s demands are certainly more reasonable than they were, they only represent the second time that the PEA has changed its salary demands in almost three years of bargaining. Any form of retroactive pay is a deal breaker, and any increase for the 2013-2014 school year will assure a cutback in programming and services and make it virtually impossible to make needed capital renovations to District facilities. Hopefully, the PEA will recognize this in the fact-finding process and beyond. They certainly have not recognized it to date.”
Questions and Answers Regarding the Fact-Finding Process
Q. What is fact-finding?
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A. Under Act 88, fact-finding is an option for both sides to pursue when negotiations are at an impasse. In the process, a neutral, third-party person called a fact-finder is assigned by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) to examine both of the proposals on the table and make recommendations based upon those proposals.
Q. How long does fact-finding usually take?
A. The state-appointed fact-finder has 40 days to issue a report containing recommendations for a contract. Once both sides have received the fact-finder’s report, they then have 10 days to notify the PLRB as to whether or not they accept the report in its entirety. If one or both of the parties reject the report, the report is made public. No less than five days and no more than 10 days after the report is made public, each side must again inform the PLRB as to whether or not it accepts the report.
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Q. How will the District prepare for the fact-finding process?
A. The District administration and its Chief Negotiator will gather and prepare extensive data and documentation for the fact-finder that will highlight the extent and implications of the District’s budgetary shortfall that prevents the District from offering anything other than a tax-neutral agreement.
Q. Is the fact-finder’s report binding?
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A. If accepted, the fact-finder’s report is binding and becomes the contract to which both parties must adhere. If the fact-finder’s report is rejected, it still could be used by both parties as a framework for a contract which they could continue to negotiate.
Q. Could teachers go on strike during fact-finding?
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A. During the fact-finding process, a teachers union is NOT allowed to strike.
Q. So what is the timeline for Pennsbury?
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A. The Pennsbury Education Association filed for fact-finding when the PLRB met on March 19th and arbitrator Lawrence S. Coburn was assigned to serve as the fact-finder in this case. The hearing will take place on April 19th with a report expected to be issued in early May. Both the PEA and the School Board will then vote to accept or reject the fact-finder’s report.
