School board says yes, teachers say no, to fact finder report

Posted by Press Release on February 10, 2011

On Monday Feb. 7, in a (vote) the
Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of School Directors approved an independent
Fact-Finders Report authored by appointed fact-finder Mariann Schick, of the
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Earlier that afternoon the
Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association rejected the same report. The association rejected the report it had sought in an effort to bring resolution
to the contract dispute.

The report, completed by Ms. Schick, an economist and labor lawyer from Philadelphia, was the product of a comprehensive arbitration hearing
on Jan. 19. At that hearing each party had the opportunity to present
witnesses and documentary evidence on it’s own behalf, to cross-examine the
witnesses of the other party, and to object to the introduction of material
submitted. Over six hours of testimony was presented to Ms. Schick.

In her report she provides each member of the bargaining
unit with a one-time, nonrecurring payment in lieu of a raise in year one and a
wage increase in the final two years of the contract. In order to help fund the
wage proposal she recommends all bargaining unit members move to a new core
healthcare plan, the Keystone Direct POS C2-F2-02 in year two of the contract.
As the Board pointed out in the hearing a number of school districts in the
Philadelphia five county area, have moved to the Keystone plan as its core offering.
Ms. Schick did not recommend changes to premium contributions to prescription
drug plans, vision, and dental insurance.

In recommending the teachers move to a new core healthcare
plan, Ms. Schick noted, “the current economic climate remains precarious with a
substantial rate of unemployment…in times such as these, the public purse, and
of the taxpayers who contribute to it, must be respected and wisely and
cautiously spent.” In addition to the economic down turn that has affected
every state and local government in the country, Ms. Schick considered a number
of increasing costs to the District including healthcare, special education and
rising PSERS contributions.

A number of changes to the contract sought by the Board were
not recommended by the Fact-Finder. While this came as a disappointment to the
Board and its negotiating team, in approving the report anyway, the Board
demonstrated its desire to come to a resolution to this dispute immediately and
seek those changes in three years.

In December, the UCFEA Negotiating Team and UniServ
representative Ruthann Waldie, initiated the fact-finding option. The Board has
long sought a fair and reasonable compromise. The Fact-Finding report simply
affirms the Board’s position since January 2010 and a desire to bring lasting
labor peace to the students, parents, and teachers of the District.

A link to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board’s web site
and the Fact-Finder’s report can be found on the District’s Web site at
www.ucfsd.