No strike for CEA at this time

MAT-SU -- Contrary to rumors circulating the community last week, the Mat-Su Borough School District's classified employees are not on strike today.

Hundreds of members of the Classified Employees Association showed up for a meeting Saturday at Wasilla Middle School, but despite talk last week that a strike vote would be on the agenda, that wasn't the case.

"We didn't take a vote yesterday," CEA president Sheila Dickman said Sunday morning. "They walked in united and they walked out united … We decided our resolve was to get a contract, a fair one."

Dickman said CEA will spend the next month working on reaching a settlement with the district. The union's next membership meeting is slated for Oct. 12.

Even if employees had pushed for a strike Saturday, Dickman said there are certain laws a union must follow when striking, including organizing a secret-ballot vote of the membership. Fulfilling all of these requirements would have made a Monday strike impossible.

District officials, however, were preparing for the worst. Public information specialist Kim Floyd said they had heard the same rumors that CEA was considering a strike for yesterday.

"Our first concern is that our schools are safe for our children," Floyd said Sunday, "so we were ready."

She said the district would be prepared to hire and train substitute classified employees in the event of a strike, especially for areas such as special education.

The school district's approximately 650 receptionists, custodians, teachers' aides and other classified employees have been working without a new contract so far this school year.

The district says its last best offer was a three-year contract that included a 21-percent salary increase during the life of the contract for the majority of employees. The remaining quarter of the employees would instead receive a 6-percent salary increase during the same time and a $3,000 longevity bonus. All CEA members would receive a 50-percent reduction in out-of-pocket insurance contributions during the first year.

Health insurance, however, has been the major hurdle in the negotiations, Dickman has said. According to the last best offer, the district would increase its first-year contribution of $7,900 by $300 each of the following two years. CEA contends this would not keep up with the rapidly increasing costs of heath care.

As CEA members continue to work without a contract, Dickman said she believes community support for the employees is strong. She said teachers showed up at Saturday's meeting with signs that read, "We support our classified employees," and she said she has received phone calls from local residents and businesses offering to assist.