It’s finally over for Vancouver Public Schools and its support staff union as, after months of bargaining, the union agreed to a contract.
The Vancouver Association of Educational Support Professionals voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve a three-year contract, giving 700 paraeducators, clerks, secretaries, technical support and other classified staff double-digit percent raises for the 2018-2019 school year. Of the 428 members who voted at the ratification meeting, 94 percent supported the contract.
Support staff will see, on average, an 11.4 percent raise in 2018-2019, which includes retroactive pay. In year two, members will receive a 3 percent cost-of-living increase followed by a 3.1 percent cost-of-living increase in year three.
Under the previous contract, VAESP members were paid between $16.53 an hour to $25.32 an hour, depending on the individual’s position and years of experience. In 2018-2019, that range will increase to $18.41 an hour to $28.76 an hour, according to a copy of the salary schedule.
“It’s for the kids, too,” VAESP President Andrea Adams said. “We need to attract and keep really good people. With these changes, I believe it can happen.”
The union and district have been locked in bargaining for about nine months, which turned sour in recent weeks. A tentative agreement announced Dec. 21 was canceled, with both the district and union blaming the other for backing out. Then, the union voted to strike Friday if a deal was not reached.
Meanwhile, the district filed an unfair labor practice claim against the union, which it announced it has since withdrawn.
But at 12:08 a.m., the union and district finally came to a deal, narrowly avoiding school shutdowns due to striking staff for the second time this year.
“The VPS and VAESP bargaining teams worked very hard to finalize an agreement, and we are grateful for their collaboration,” VPS Superintendent Steve Webb said in a news release. “We also appreciate the efforts of the new state mediator who helped this week to clarify the misunderstanding that occurred with our tentative agreement reached last month.”
The meeting at Fort Vancouver High School was closed to the public but was punctuated by cheers and shouts that could be heard from the outside hallways. Leaving members described feelings of elation and gratitude that it was finally over.
Despite excitement over salary increases, some still expressed frustration with the school district. Evonne Ferderer, a special education paraeducator at Alki Middle School, was cautiously optimistic about the new contract. She expressed frustration with the back and forth that has marked bargaining in recent weeks.
“If it is what they say it is and everything works out, then yes, it’ll be good,” Ferderer said.
Christi Hosking, a Braille transcriber at Fruit Valley Elementary School, and Marika Wilkerson, an associated student body clerk at Fort Vancouver High School, said they wished the district gave more support to classified district staff.
“They could have handled this a lot sooner,” Hosking said. “I don’t know if the district really values what we do and how much work we put into our job.”
Wilkerson said the last couple weeks of bargaining have been “pretty taxing.”
“I can’t imagine how our bargainers feel,” Wilkerson said.
Still, Hosking said she was grateful for the work union bargainers put into negotiating this new contract.
“I’m happy we ended up with the money we did,” Hosking said. “I’m glad they finally came to terms and took us seriously.”
