Question

[jw11704]

Just looking for some advice and possible direction. My wife and 6 of her IT team mates work for a school district and are within a 'teachers' union. Not sure which one (maybe AFT). Since there are only 7 of them in total they really are not represented at any of the contract negotations. All the negotiations are about and directed to 'teachers'. The last contract is a prime example. Teachers were given new 'steps' according to the contract. The It staff were never negotiated for in terms of steps. Steps for the IT staff were denied. IT staff were granted stipends of $650 dollars at a 5 years service mark and at a 5 year service mark. If teachers stayed in the contract as written they would gain 15-20K in 'step' increases over the same time period. Seems very unfair to me. Many of the technicians have degrees as do the teachers. Some have MS degrees in Computer Science. It's not about educational equivalency. How would a small group of IT staff protect them self in a 'union' environment, when it is in fact the wrong union to represent them?

[OrganizingAdvocate]

Hi jw11704,

It seems apparent there is a need for a greater level of attention to be provided to the IT staff than is currently the case in example you provided. In this case, I would encourage a 'good faith effort' be made from those in the IT staff who have this concern towards contacting their elected officials in the union and explaining their concerns. If the IT staff do not receive the reasonable results they require in a reasonable amount of time, as a last resort, they may be interested in contacting other labor organizations in an effort to attain more suitable representation. The Communications Workers of America and the Office and Professional Employees International Union are two (of many labor unions) which they may choose to become familiar with as both represent some workers employed in IT or IT related fields.

Fraternally,

Dustin
OrganizingAdvocate
Unions.org