This March, after two years of collective action from school employees, the Falls Church City School Board voted on and approved a resolution regarding collective bargaining. This resolution equips faculty members with the right to organize within collective bargaining organizations, such as a teachers’ union.
Moreover, staff will be immune to retribution for their participation in a union. Despite this, the resolution does not include administrative employees, temporary employees, or athletic coaches as employees and, as such, denies them the right to organize.
“We’re bargaining two contracts, a certified contract and a not certified contract, which are the two classifications of employees that are bargaining,” design teacher Mr. Kenneth George said. George is a member of the Collective Bargaining Team who is working on behalf of and negotiating a contract for certified employees.
Negotiations on a collectively bargained contract for both certified and non-certified employees must conclude by December 1 in order for their terms to be incorporated into next year’s budget. As such, union negotiators are putting their best foot forward in order to represent their members at the negotiating table.
“We’re supporting each other, we’re doing our research… we’re talking to our members to make sure that we’re representing them well,” George said. “The goal of this is a contract that we can feel proud of and that memorializes a lot of the really good things that Falls Church City Public Schools can do for their community, for the faculty and staff, and for the students.”
Mrs. Amanda Ronco, mathematics teacher for Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, is the treasurer for the newly formed union, the Falls Church City Education Association. She is excited for the future of collective bargaining in Falls Church.
“This is the first time that we have collectively bargained, both the bargaining team for FCCEA as well as the school board,” Ronco commented. “I think as a union, we’re very excited to represent all staff, certified staff and non-certified staff. This is historic to be able to be at the bargaining table for the first time in a very long time.”
However, the bargaining process is not yet complete. With only a little over two months left until the end of the year, union negotiators are working closely with school board officials to arrive at a contractual agreement. “We’re trying to strike that common ground,” George said. “We’re negotiating certain items that we haven’t quite got to the same page on.”
Despite the limited remaining time to finalize the agreement, Ronco has an optimistic outlook on the negotiations, not just for the teachers, but also for their students and the learning opportunities they receive.
“It is a good thing for everyone for the union to sit down with the school board and say, hey, let’s talk about what’s best for our community,” Ronco said. “We want staff to feel valued. We want staff to enjoy what they’re doing and ensure that they are getting what is necessary for them to be successful with their jobs. And when we’re successful in our jobs, our students can be successful at learning.”
