By Crystal Hayduk
The Chelsea School District (CSD) and the Chelsea Education Association (CEA) met on Oct. 11 for a mediated joint bargaining session to resolve the current contract dispute.
The previous contract expired on June 30. (Related stories here: https://chelseaupdate.com/details-of-contract-dispute-between-chelsea-school-district-and-cea/ and here: https://chelseaupdate.com/chelsea-residents-continue-to-support-teachers-reading-recovery-program-highlighted/.)
A press release from the CEA, the teacher’s bargaining unit, stated, “The union team offered various proposals, reflecting different ways to accomplish its goals, while the district’s team refused to respond with any options or proposals past the one Dr. (Julie) Helber announced publicly in September.”
Superintendent Julie Helber said in a released statement following the meeting on Oct. 11 that both parties “considered different variables and attempted to bridge differences.
“The district disagrees with the assertion that it refused to respond to CEA ideas or identify any new options. It did so through the mediator,” she said.
Helber said that the CEA’s last written counterproposal was in July, whereas the district’s last written proposal was Sept. 24.
The two parties agreed to schedule a meeting with the mediator after the next exchange of calculations and opportunity to answer questions about the numbers.
“We expect lines of communication to remain open,” said Helber. “We continue to be optimistic.”
The CEA said they are hopeful that the district’s team will return to the table. But, “if the district’s team is not willing to negotiate or be open to working with its employees’ bargaining team, there is little chance an agreement will be reached before the fact-finding stage of negotiations begin.”
Both sides have filed for fact-finding, in which information related to their positions is presented in a legal proceeding. A non-binding recommendation results from a fact-finding hearing.
A date for a hearing has not been scheduled.
