LANGHORNE, PA (September 27, 2012) — The School Board's negotiation committee met again this evening with the NFT negotiation team. For the third session in a row, the parties engaged in a productive discussion concerning the terms of the Board's "Council Rock" proposal and how it relates to the Neshaminy School District. Additional negotiation dates of October 2nd, 4th & 10th have been scheduled.
LANGHORNE, PA (September 20, 2012) — The parties carried last night’s momentum forward by meeting at the table for a significant period of time to discuss the District’s “Council Rock Proposal.” A number of the unanswered questions posed last night by the NFT negotiation team were answered and new questions were posed. In lieu of the bargaining session scheduled for next Wednesday, Sept. 26 and at the request of the mediator, representatives from each side will meet to review relevant financial data. The parties will meet again on Thursday Sept. 27.
LANGHORNE, PA (September 19, 2012) — The parties met across the table this evening for what both sides agree was a productive negotiation session. The NFT negotiation team provided a number of additional question to the Board regarding it's "Council Rock Proposal". The Board answered a number of questions and requires additional time to provide appropriate responses for the remainder. Negotiations resume tomorrow night.
NFT Analyzing Programmatic and Financial Impacts of Council Rock-Based Proposal
LANGHORNE, PA (September 12, 2012) — Negotiating teams for Neshaminy teachers and the school district met again tonight for talks aimed at resolving the contract dispute that stretched into its fifth academic year when students returned to classes last week.
This was the first session since the Neshaminy School Board formally proposed to use the new contract recently approved in the Council Rock School District as the model for an agreement here.
NFT Is Cautiously Optimistic That Third Party Involvement Will Be Helpful
LANGHORNE, PA (September 6, 2012) — William Gross, Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation, attended this evening’s negotiating session between the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers and the Neshaminy School District – the 50th negotiation session between the two parties since January 10, 2008.
Mr.Gross participated in the session at the request of Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Robert O. Baldi.
Concerning Protracted NFT—NSD Contract Dispute
LANGHORNE, PA (AUGUST 30, 2012) — Bargaining teams for teachers and the Neshaminy School District met again tonight for talks aimed at reaching a new contract.
School Board Does Not Move Closer Despite NFT’s Latest Concessions
LANGHORNE, PA (AUGUST 29, 2012) — Fully aware of the tremendous outpouring of support voiced by the general membership in support of its leaders at a meeting earlier in the evening, the Neshaminy School Board nonetheless continued to waste precious time accomplishing virtually nothing at this evening’s negotiating session. Both sides spent nearly an hour reviewing a two page document in which the parties simply again agreed to a handful of minor issues. Those issues had been contained in the arbitrator’s report that had otherwise been rejected out of hand by the Board so the effort was for all intents and purposes, a waste of the NFT’s time.
“We then waited an hour and a half for the Board to present what it promised to be a ‘new look’ at its health care proposals,” said NFT President Louise Boyd. “The Board provided no explanation whatsoever as to why the proposal could not have been prepared in the two weeks since our last session. It’s another clear example of how they are intentionally dragging this process out in an attempt to break our resolve. The district needs to understand that all they are doing is steeling our resolve and in the process, wasting tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in legal fees as their attorneys keep raking in the hard-earned tax dollars of the residents of the district. It’s a disgrace.”
Boyd explained that the district’s so-called promised “new look” in health insurance actually proved to be little more than an “old look.” While the Board did slightly – ever so slightly – decrease its demand for a tri-level drug benefit from 5/30/50 to 5/25/30, it did not budge from its demand that NFT members pay 15% of the health care premium. The long-awaited health care proposal was little more than a rehash of the same uncompromising demand that the Board’s high paid lawyer ($47,000 in taxpayer dollars for just June and July) has been demanding for five years. In the spirit of true negotiations, the NFT countered the meager progress offered by the Board with further significant health care concessions.
“We offered to increase our contribution from 8% to 8.5% in the second year and then to 9% in the third year,” Boyd said. “The Board responded that it requires an entire day to think about our offer and ended the negotiation session for the evening.”
The next negotiation session is tomorrow evening at 6:00 PM.
District Refuses To Compromise On Any Level With District Teachers
LANGHORNE, PA (August 16, 2012) — Much as the NFT Negotiation team predicted, the this evening’s bargaining session with the Neshaminy School Board was a complete waste of the Federation’s time. Despite the presence of the NFT’s senior attorney, that Board President Ritchie
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Endorsements for November 6, 2012, Local and State Elections
ORLEANS PARISH
Judge 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Div B PAUL BONIN
Judge 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Div H CHARLES R. JONES
Judge Criminal District Court, Sect B TRACY FLEMINGS-DAVILLIER
