WATSONVILLE — The Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers has declared an impasse in the contract negotiations with Pajaro Valley Unified School District, district officials announced Tuesday.
The move means that a state-appointed mediator could be called to help resolve the issues.
“Both negotiation teams were unable to make any movement when it came to salary and benefits,” PVFT President Francisco Rodriguez said. “We can’t do it on our own.”
The union this week is holding several actions including rallies and grade-ins to publicize the ongoing negotiations.
This includes work to rule, in which workers do only the work required under their contract, a tactic meant to spotlight the amount of work teachers do outside school hours.
The teachers on Monday held rallies at Main Street and Green Valley Road, Soquel and State Park drives and Freedom Boulevard and Corralitos Road.
“The students are our number one priority, and we believe that parents will see that,” Rodriguez said.
The two sides are trying to finalize negotiations for the 2016-17 school year.
PVUSD has offered teachers a 2 percent raise for this school year, in addition to a $3,200 one-time payment.
But the raise comes with a condition: teachers must also agree to changes in their health benefits.
This would mean raising copays for doctor visits from $10 to $20, and by switching to generic prescription drugs, although the teachers would see no changes to premiums.
Most recently, the district offered a 6 percent increase for both Early Childhood Education teachers and Adult Education teachers. The offer also includes a roving teacher stipend, and places nurses on the same salary schedule as psychologists.
PVFT has rejected the offer, however, saying they also want a retroactive raise for the 2016-17 school year.
“As soon as they offer something on the salary schedule we will take it seriously,” he said.
According to PVUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Chona Killeen, the impasse process takes at least five months, and begins with a neutral mediator who helps the sides craft an agreement.
If that proves unsuccessful, the parties proceed to fact-finding, in which a three-person panel holds considers arguments from both sides and makes recommendations on how to resolve the impasse.
