Some of you wanted to know what we said at the board meeting on Dec 10th. Posting it now. Let us always remember why we are doing this--to best serve the students we care for so deeply. Last names were removed to respect the privacy of those who spoke (unsure if they want their full names on here). Sadly, even after we spoke to the Board they continue to stall and delay. Meghan: Good afternoon. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we appreciate the opportunity to speak with the Board today. We know that you all are aware that we have formed our union here at PSD. In our initial communication with you, we requested that you respect our decision and voluntarily recognize our union. Since filing our petition with the National Labor Relations Board, we have encountered nothing but resistance from the School and its representatives. The School has employed expensive labor attorneys to fight us every step of the way, costing the school money that should be going to our students. In the past week, the School has contested our petition to the NLRB TWICE. The School has made it incredibly clear to us that they do NOT want a union on campus, and we know that by disputing the validity of our petition they are attempting to prolong the process and discourage us. We are here today to tell you that your attempts to delay us have only made us stronger. We will not be swayed. We are united in our goals and we have made our decision. Christina: My name is Christina and I have been at PSD for 13 years and I teach 3rd grade. We’ve made numerous attempts to communicate with the Head of School as well as the School Board about our concerns regarding our students’ educational needs. A representative from the Climate Committee presented to the School Committee of the board twice last winter/spring. Staff members met with Andy Mozenter to voice our concerns regarding our school’s leadership - we spoke up about what our students need to succeed. We were rebuffed and silenced. We have used the channels which PSD has set up, to voice our concerns about students and THEIR needs and it has been met with unwillingness to listen and collaborate and nothing has changed. One of Administration’s goals is to improve communication with staff. That goal has resulted in scolding us for speaking up, for deriding us for advocating for our students and punishes us for disagreeing. Roberto: Hello, my name is Roberto, I have been a teacher at PSD for 10 years and I am an ASL Specialist. Last spring, the Speech and ASL team voiced some concerns to our supervisor who then shared them with the Head of School. As a result, our supervisor was demoted and our team was divided and displaced. We need to speak up because many of our administrators do not understand what our students need. PSD has hired new people who do not have any experience in Deaf Ed and those people are not fluent in ASL. We as a staff are working to accomplish PSD’s mission statement, and are being silenced by Administration and the Head of School. Our students remain our number one priority and all the money being spent on lawyers by PSD to fight our union means less money for our students. Gina: Hello, my name is Gina, I have been a teacher at PSD for 14 years, and I teach 2nd grade. I’m speaking as an alumnus, teacher, AND parent. When I was a student here, I could see the collaboration between the staff here. When I returned as a teacher, that sense of collaboration was still very much in evidence. In recent years, the past 2-3 years, the collaboration has disintegrated and that has had an impact on our students. It has been shared with us that Head of School decided not to replace M________, a speech language therapist. Part of the reason that was stated explained that we cannot afford to replace her because money is being spent on lawyer fees. Our ASL Specialist was also not replaced. As a parent of two students here at PSD, that upsets me because it shows me that my children’s education is being affected by the Head of School and School Board’s refusal to recognize us as a union. Meghan: As you can see, we are determined to stick with our decision and use the strength of our numbers to fight for our students and the good of our school. You, as the Board of Trustees, have the opportunity to form a meaningful partnership with your staff – one that calls for accountability on both sides. We expect that the School will immediately end the costly delay tactics and stalling. Your staff have spoken - we ready to work together for our school and for our students.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:57:51 +0000
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