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July 23, 2008
GOVERNMENT CHIEF LABOR NEGOTIATOR UPDATES STALLED NEGOTIATIONS WITH LEADERSHIP OF TEACHERS UNION Virgin Islands Government Chief Labor Negotiator Jessica Gallivan said Wednesday that as part of the continuing efforts by the Virgin Islands Government to reach agreement with the American Federation of Teachers union on a new contract for its members, representatives of the Office of Collective Bargaining and the Department of Education met with AFT President of Local 1826 Tyrone Molyneaux this past Sunday evening. The St. Thomas/St. John Chapter Local 1825 was represented by Alrid Lockhart. The meeting was scheduled to permit the AFT leadership to articulate concerns expressed by their membership at the time of the failed ratification vote of a $20.8 million, 4-year agreement proposed by the Government for the AFT professional staff -- which includes teachers, nurses, librarians, and school psychologists. At the meeting, Gallivan urged the AFT leadership to consider voluntarily entering into mediation, a process where the government and the union would mutually select a third-party neutral who, while without decision-making authority, would assist the parties in their efforts to reach a successor agreement in advance of the upcoming school year. Gallivan stressed that to do nothing was "simply not an option, there was a need for both sides to work together." Efforts to resolve the matter without outside assistance have, up until now, been unavailing. The AFT flatly rejected the mediation proposal insisting only that the parties return to the negotiating table where Molyneaux said he expects the Government to increase its contract offer. Attorney Gallivan expressed her thoughts that "returning to the table at this juncture would be an apparent exercise in futility since the AFT leadership has repeatedly altered its demands in a manner that would not suggest it is ready to enter into a workable agreement." Gallivan further said, "You cannot shift the bar each time concessions are made. This is not the way to achieve progress." Government House Communications Director Jean P. Greaux, Jr. noted that with the new school year rapidly approaching, it remains the Government's goal to assure an uninterrupted start of the new school year. "It is the Administration's view that the best way to begin the new school year would be to begin it with a new agreement with the teachers and professional staff in place," Greaux stated. "The community at large, and the parents and students enrolled in the public school system in particular, are reminded that the government remains committed to achieving an agreement that takes into consideration the mutually shared desire for fair wages and best employment practices as well as our economic realities and limits. To achieve this, however, requires a process which in turn requires the full and good faith participation of both sides," Greaux concluded. At the current time, there is no contract in effect between the Government of the Virgin Islands and the AFT. The law states that the AFT must provide the Government with 72 hours notice of a strike. However, the Government believes the AFT waived its right to strike when it signed Ground Rules at the inception of the present negotiations. Those rules provide that the parties would submit to the impasse process in the event they were unable to agree on any issue or issues. Notwithstanding the current situation, Gallivan restated her objective to reach an agreement satisfactory to all, and pledged her continuing efforts to reach this goal. |
