HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- This Labor Day holiday, a group of educators in Chesterfield are pushing for a seat at the table when it comes to writing and negotiating their employee contracts.
On Sunday, educators with the Chesterfield Education Association (CEA) gathered at the Willow Lawn Starbucks, known for unionizing earlier this year, to sign authorization cards, pledging their support for collective bargaining.
Todd Starkweather, an English teacher in the district, is in favor of the move.
“We could have a say in what our contracts say, what our working conditions are. And not only does it benefit us, all the teachers, all the employees, but I think it creates a better environment for education," he said. “Lunches, being able to use the bathroom, just those kinds of material conditions of one’s working environment, along with the pay, I think is what teachers want to have addressed in collective bargaining.
In July, CBS 6 reported 232 teacher vacancies in the district. Elise Petersen-McMath, an ESL teacher, said collective bargaining could fix those lingering issues.
“Right now, our contracts are pretty short and vague, and so with the staffing vacancies, we’re kind of having to overcompensate for the lack of workers, and people are being pretty stretched thin right now," she said. “We know with better contracts people are going to want to come to Chesterfield and work and they’re going to want to stay there too.”
CEA would need about 70% of staff in Chesterfield to sign an authorization card in support of collective bargaining before coming to the Chesterfield School Board with a proposed resolution.
Collecting signatures could take months, and a resolution hinges on the Board's approval.
Critics of collective bargaining suggest it would limit taxpayer representation during negotiations and potentially divert money away from other educational needs.
CEA President Christine Melendez said while there are alternatives to collective bargaining, she hopes the Board will consider a resolution, should it come forward.
We were able to push for salary scale decompression two, three years ago, without collective bargaining and we were successful in it. So, this is not able salary, wages, and benefits right away, this is more about ensuring that employees have a well written contract that they can adhere to, that their supervisors can adhere to and hold them accountable to," Melendez said.
CBS 6 did reach out to the Chesterfield School Board, but did not get a response over the holiday weekend.
Educators said they are hopeful they'll work to find common ground.
“We can’t do this alone," Petersen-McMath said. "And it will just goes to show the power of the united workforce, like what we can truly accomplish when we all work together and fight for what Chesterfield County students deserve.”
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