The Ohio Professional Staff Union, representing OEA’s UniServ directors and other mid-level employees, agreed to a salary freeze for school year 2000-2001, followed by increases of 2%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% and 3.5%. The Ohio Associate Staff Union, representing secretaries and assistants, likewise accepted a freeze for this year, to be followed by hikes of 1%, 2%, 2%, 2% and 2%. The average OEA professional staffer makes about $90,000 annually, while the average support staffer pulls in about $44,000. Staff sources report no significant reduction in benefits, and several areas with significant increases.

The one-year salary freeze, plus better than expected revenue growth, may keep next year’s dues hike within tolerable levels. But OEA’s financial status rests on a tissue of assumptions that these six-year contracts may eventually shred into little pieces.

+ Florida Union Signs on with Another Charter School Company. Just off its announcement of a collaboration with Edison to open charter schools in Florida, the United Teachers of Dade unveiled another joint venture, this time with Chancellor Academies, a school management company currently running 10 charter schools in the state. "These schools will be United Teachers of Dade charter schools," the union’s announcement explains. "UTD will be the governing body, and will set policy parameters, including having the final say in curriculum, labor contracts and other important matters. UTD will partner with Chancellor Academies in a management capacity." The union also suggests it will convert schools outside the Miami area into charters, but that it will do so "with the full collaboration of the local teacher union in that respective county."

+ NEA Money Propping up Liberal Republicans. For many Republican politicians and activists, criticism of teachers’ unions begins and ends with their lopsided campaign contributions. NEA and AFT traditionally donate more than 90 percent of their PAC funds to Democrats (some years it has exceeded 98 percent). Even this figure is misleading, since some of that GOP money is donated during the primaries, when Republicans are running against other Republicans.

IRS filings required under a new law reveal that NEA pays $4,000 a month to the Republican Mainstream Committee, whose advisory board consists of the GOP’s most liberal Congressmen: Jim Leach of Iowa, Tom Campbell of California, Amo Houghton of New York and Connie Morella of Maryland. "They’re the ones that are closest on our issues," NEA Government Relations Director Mary Elizabeth Teasley told the Associated Press. "That’s why we’re in politics -- to find agreement on our issues."

Happy now, GOP?

+ Utah Affiliate Joins List of Unions Split over Campaign Endorsements. Who knew it was a developing trend when EIA reported on August 7 the rift within Vermont NEA over the union’s endorsement for governor? Yet in subsequent weeks similar rumblings occurred in North Dakota, Montana, Delaware and now Utah. In an overwhelmingly Republican state, the Utah Education Association endorsed GOP Governor Mike Leavitt for reelection. Some local presidents claim they are losing members, who prefer Democratic challenger Bill Orton, over the issue. Must be nice to live in a state where you can leave an organization with which you disagree and not have to keep paying into its coffers.

+ Merit Pay Proposals Squeaking by, but Barely. EIA applauded the performance pay contract in Denver and did so again when one was negotiated in Cincinnati. But the same problem plagues both efforts -- a serious lack of enthusiasm among the rank-and-file. It has taken Denver more than a year to find a single middle school to sign on to the program. The even more progressive Cincinnati program, concocted after 18 months of negotiation between the district and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers, garnered only 54 percent of the rank-and-file vote for ratification -- a slim margin indeed.

Much more hopeful of success are performance contracts in small districts, such as the one just negotiated in Pleasantdale School District 107 in Illinois. The 700-student, 90-employee district now has a new five-year contract with a traditional salary schedule with programmed increases plus merit bonuses to be doled out by the school board, after recommendations from teachers and administrators. "We agreed to try it," Illinois Education Association UniServ Director Maureen Betourney told the Chicago Tribune. "This staff is a close knit group... if it appears it is becoming divisive, I’m sure it won’t continue."

School board President Gary Bozick was very excited about the agreement. "If this would happen more in the educational system, it would combat a lot of the criticism," he said. "And as a small district, our chance of succeeding is pretty good."

+ EIEIO Enters School Management. Inspired by the examples set by NEA and the United Teachers of Dade, EIEIO decided to get into the school management business. President Mike Antonucci unveiled the union’s Chowder School Initiative. "We’ll be opening two schools, one in New England and one in Manhattan," he explained. Asked what he thought the biggest challenge would be, Antonucci replied, "Raising the 100,000 clams."

+ URL Corrections. I gave out two bad URLs last week. The Washington Education Association web address is http://www.wa.nea.org and the address for the Wilson Quarterly article is http://wwics.si.edu/OUTREACH/WQ/WQSELECT/NAPPI.HTM