Current contract: Collective Bargaining Agreement (effective July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025)
Our previous Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Summit:
Bridge MOU to protect teachers and students from May 10, 2022 to July 1, 2022 (the start of our collective bargaining agreement).
A few highlights:
- At least 25% of unvaccinated staff and students will be tested for COVID each week.
- All classrooms will have an air purifier and all HVAC systems will be updated
- Right now, according to Summit’s COVID technical manual and in line with county health guidelines, everyone is required to wear a mask indoors (with specific medical exemptions). You may request masks, including N95s, from Summit.
- Visitors to campus will be limited, and remote alternatives to meetings will be pursued whenever possible.
- Summit will improve ventilation in areas where people eat and drink. We know every campus is different, but whenever possible, encourage your site leadership to have meals outside.
- If the public health guidelines in Contra Costa, San Mateo, or Santa Clara county are different, Summit will adhere to the guidelines that are most robust. This seemed especially important for Expeditions teachers, most of whom work in multiple counties.
- Unite Summit and Summit admin will meet regularly to communicate over COVID safety concerns
Physical Reopening of Schools (effective until June 30, 2021)
Campuses will reopen for students to use as workspaces for the 2020-21 school year on a limited basis with volunteer teachers. Read more about the agreement here.
Virtual School (effective until June 30, 2021)
Many of the items in this MOU address issues we have raised since the beginning of the school year. Frankly, we believe that Summit management could have taken these concerns seriously months ago. We could have come to this agreement much sooner and have provided timely relief for our students and teachers. However, even though this took longer than we would have liked, we are pleased that Summit has agreed to many of our top priorities — your advocacy and support was crucial!
A few highlights:
- GLT reduced to 60 minutes, held between 10 and 12 AM Wednesday. We are pleased with Summit agreeing to move GLT on Wednesday to an earlier time during the day. We believe this will greatly increase the quality of life for teachers by reducing their work day length and empower site leaders to organize the schedule in the best way for their faculty.
- Reduction in projects and power focus areas. English, history, Science and Spanish teachers are expected to teach a reduced number of projects, with one PFA per project. Red Team will develop the details of implementing this.
- HCD becomes Student Support Block. This should be used for project/concept unit support for students who need support completing this work.
- Student cameras are not required. In order to strive to be a more equitable school system for all students, we have agreed on new camera norms. Students will no longer be required to turn on their cameras during any part of their day, although we hope they choose to turn on their cameras when it is safe and comfortable to do so to increase engagement. By no longer requiring cameras to be on, we are acknowledging the different socioeconomic realities of students at our schools.
- Teachers will receive a premium PearDeck subscription. This interactive teaching tool will improve classroom communication.
Middle School Schedule Changes (effective until June 30, 2021)
Moves middle school to the expeditions model for the 2020-21 school year.
Pay Freeze and Job Security
Freezes our pay at 2019-20 levels (with the exception of experience stipends and lane changes) and provides a mechanism for pay to be unfrozen. Prohibits layoffs during the 2020-21 school year. Requires Summit to give advance notice and bargain with our union over any termination during the school year (unless the conduct is egregious, in which case we will not receive advance notice of termination and will bargain after the teacher has been terminated).
Note: Thanks to the activism of the Summit community during summer 2020 — from attending board meetings to signing petitions to reaching out to parents — the pay freeze was rescinded and teachers received back pay. This victory demonstrates that having a union increases transparency around budget and finances and ensures that teacher voice is included in important decisions.
Increase to work from home stipend (effective until June 30, 2021)
Provides an additional one-time $300 work from home stipend and increases the internet stipend from $30 to $50 a month.