There's a joke between Carol Rodrigues and her colleagues after a long day’s work: “We do this for the money and the fame.” It’s a joke because Rodrigues and her colleagues are teachers and it’s in many ways a thankless job with long work hours that aren’t compensated by overtime. For almost a year now, Salinas City Elementary School District teachers say it’s feeling especially thankless and underpaid.
District administrators have been going back and forth with the Salinas Elementary Teachers Council on a raise. The negotiations began in the summer of 2017, with the union originally asking for an 8-percent raise. Union reps say that was intended to cover rising health insurance costs, plus some extra – a thing Rodrigues says would benefit all teachers in a high-cost area.
“The money we make isn’t providing a lot of us security,” she says, noting the challenge for some of making rent during summer break. “It’s not uncommon for a teacher to try to find a job for over the summer.”
Almost a year of negotiations later, the administration has agreed to a boost of about 2 percent. One recent offer was a 1-percent salary raise and 2-percent one-time cash bonus, plus a week’s worth of pay for professional development days at the end of the school year.
Rodrigues contends that offer would be barely enough to cover rising insurance costs, and the added year-end training is “more work for more pay,” not a raise.
While negotiations have drawn out for nearly a year, teachers note that four new intern-psychologist positions became salaried jobs. Administration officials did not comment by theWeekly’s deadline.
In negotiations held on May 22, both sides met for another round of talks. They finally reached a tentative agreement that would apply to both the current school year, and the 2018-19 school year. Before the agreement is final, the teachers have to vote to approve it.