Meet & Confer Recap: Nov. 19 Public Negotiation #2
- Durham Association of Educators
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Over 250 DPS workers, parents, and community supporters came out to our second Meet & Confer negotiation - so many that the district turned people away, saying that the Staff Development Center was at capacity. Next Meet & Confer negotiation, on Thursday Dec. 18, we are planning to have an overflow room.
Due to ongoing organizing, and many of you packing the room with us, we won the following commitments from DPS leadership:
Providing red 'Know Your Rights' cards in the front office of all school buildings and on every bus.
Providing in-person anti-bullying training with an emphasis on bullying around immigration status and national origin to all staff this year, and ongoing. No timeline was committed to.
Researching next steps for implementing paid bereavement leave, and bringing a counterproposal to December's Meet & Confer #3.
Providing contracts for all employees, specific to their roles, with clearly defined duties and pay. No timeline was committed to.
DPS administration made no commitment to brief and train all DPS staff on protocol if ICE comes to campus or the bus stop.
This is unacceptable.
It is not enough for DPS leadership to simply inform or remind principals and front office staff of the protocol. All staff, from bus drivers to IAs to classroom teachers, need to be trained and on the same page about the protocol, in the same way we are all trained on what to do in the event of a tornado or a lockdown.
DPS workers, parents, and community members are aligned on what our schools need. Only through the combined pressure of hundreds of us continuing to show up, in person, to our Meet & Confer negotiations this year will we be able to win the changes that students, staff, and families so deeply need.
This article was first published by Durham Association of Educators.
Comments