By Adam Pagnucco.
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) and MCPS have agreed on rules for their upcoming bargaining sessions. MCEA had wanted to open up those sessions to its members, and when MCPS did not agree, the union held a rally at the MCPS central office and threatened to file an unfair labor practice charge with the state. Those issues have apparently been put to rest as MCPS has agreed to allow MCEA members to view some negotiations. MCEA’s notice to the press is reprinted below.
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To the members of the press:
On November 4, the Montgomery County Education Association and the Montgomery County Public Schools reached an agreement on ground rules, the basic framework under which negotiations for a new contract will take place.
Now, any union member can observe negotiations for up to 12 sessions.
See the entire agreement here.
While the employer has sought to severely limit the number of educators who can attend contract negotiations, MCEA has pushed for openness and transparency by having more members to join the collective bargaining process.
MCEA members stood strong behind this demand and took collective actions, protesting outside of the MCPS central office, packing the MCEA-Board of Education meeting, and sending thousands of messages to the Board of Education.
For those meetings restricted to a smaller bargaining team, MCEA bargaining team will keep all members fully informed and engaged throughout the negotiation process through regular emails, bargaining updates and weekly communications.
“MCEA members showed their commitment to openness in negotiations. We’re ready to bargain in an honest and forthright manner– and we’re eager to bargain a contract to improve the working conditions of educators and the learning conditions of our students.”
Latechia Mitchell, MCEA Negotiation Team Chair and elementary school educator
The first bargaining session, which will be open to all members, is scheduled for Thursday, November 10th, at 5:30 PM via Zoom.
MCEA will share bargaining updates with members and the media will regular updates on our website at https://www.mceanea.org/bargaining-updates/.