The AFT Renton Coaches’ Path To A Great Contract
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
One of our newest locals has hit big milestones in the last two months! AFT Renton Coaches ratified their first contract in August of this year after nearly two years of work building the supermajority that voted to unionize. This week, they passed their constitution and will be voting in their first set of officers in November.
The Renton Coaches are an interesting case of people you might not think of as organizing a union for a path to better working conditions. The majority of the members work part-time, often only one quarter a year, coaching a sport. They knew Renton School District wasn’t treating them with respect. The push to organize started when several coaches, including Buddy Ryan who led the organizing effort, realized they were being paid below minimum wage among other unfair working conditions like inequitable and inconsistent treatment at different sites in the district. Raises have not been forthcoming from the district for many years, and the Renton Coaches lagged behind all neighboring school districts. Coupled with the same cost-of-living challenges as the rest of the state, this treatment explains why the coaches were averaging 45% turnover per year.
That became a key organizing point, particularly when negotiations for their first contract stalled. "Retention of coaches will save the district money and give the kids a better experience overall. Students get more out of their programs when they build relationships, whether it’s with a teacher, a coach, or anyone else at their schools,” said Buddy.
The coaches applied enough pressure on the district that, in the end, the tentative agreement included some really significant wins. From the district’s initial offer of 0% raises in the first year, over three years the raises the coaches will receive will be over 26.5%. Other improvements include stronger transportation protections for coaches who drive students in their personal or district-supplied vehicles, language around cancellation of a sport’s season, and processes for settling disputes between the coaches and the district.
We are pleased to extend a warm welcome to the AFT Renton Coaches – welcome to your union family!
Whatcom Community College Professional Staff Win First Contract
By Bob Downing, Union Organizing Representative
Professional exempt staff at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham organized with AFT last year in response to a lack of job security and having no real say in their wages or working conditions. Over fifty employees, including coordinators, advisors, analysts, and others, chose to join AFT, which already represented faculty at the college, along with professional staff at colleges including Seattle College, Clover Park Technical College, Walla Walla Community College, and more.
Now after a year of negotiations, the AFT Professional Staff United bargaining team reached a landmark first-time contract that enhances job security with just cause provisions, recognition for seniority, and a new grievance process. Along with a wage scale, more paid time off, and a new Labor-Management Committee, the new contract is a big step forward for WCC employees as they try to make WCC a better place to work and study. Members of the new union voted over 97% to ratify the new deal.
State’s New Funding Allocation Model Puts Parenting Education Programs At Risk
By Cortney Marabetta, Communications Specialist
A new funding allocation model that the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges is implementing next year has put parenting education programs at CTCs at extreme risk. The allocation model only provides funds to programs that issue certificates, which few parenting education programs do. Due to this change, 13 colleges are set to lose their programs unless they can find alternative funding or rapidly change their model to provide certificates.
SBCTC indicated that the changes would not take effect before July 1st of next year, which would give schools a chance to plan for their programs’ future, but at least one college is reporting that they will be closing their programs inside a month from now. The president of each college is empowered to decide whether to retain or close their parenting education programs, which may incentivize them to close programs and absorb the funding for other areas facing shortfalls. There has been a lack of communication and guidance generally from SBCTC on this issue.
The planned change affects over 4500 families, and dozens of educators. It’s devastating for communities; parenting education programs are often the most accessible places to get support in learning to parent, and the state considers these programs a high-quality and effective contributor to Washington’s healthy families and communities.
AFT Washington is working with members, college administrations, and other partners to request that the State Board reset the funding model.