Present Progressive March 15th No.5 (& Management's Update)

                   

Two days of contract talks with Kaplan: From progress to insult

03/15/2013

After making lots of progress on Tuesday, contract talks once again stalled on Wednesday after KIC management negotiators introduced their economic proposals. They were insulting.

BARGAINING UPDATE

At Tuesday’s meeting of Guild and Kaplan International Centers negotiators, we reached tentative agreements on several points. Most importantly, management finally agreed to accept a “just cause” standard for discipline, discharges and suspensions. This means management would have to provide sufficient reason before taking action against a teacher. We also reached agreement on the clearly defined progressive steps – verbal warning, written warning and suspension – a teacher must get before being subject to discharge.

Additionally, management agreed to give teachers at least 30 days’ notice for significant schedule changes, such as a switch to a six-day schedule. Lastly, management met us on our proposal of a six-month probationary period for new hires. Guild bargaining committee members were relieved and happy to see movement and issues being satisfactorily resolved to our benefit. We finished Tuesday’s session in anticipation of hearing management’s economic proposals on Wednesday.

We went in with low expectations, but they weren’t low enough. We were shocked when the management team offered less than Kaplan currently pays teachers in New York City and throughout the country. Under its proposal, KIC could hire teachers in New York for as little as $17 an hour, $1 less than the current $18 starting rate. In addition, management applied its vacation, sick time and holiday proposals only to the handful of full-time teachers who already enjoy those benefits.

KEEPING PREP RATE AT MINIMUM WAGE

After previously expressing concern about quality, Kaplan now says classroom preparation is 'optional' and its teachers are there to get 'a few years experience.'

What about pay rates for prep time, admin, training or activities? Management proposed no increases whatsoever, even though, as we are well aware, those rates have been increased at KIC facilities across the country. Guild Committee members reminded the management team that those pay rate increases in the rest of the country were announced after New York teachers voted for Guild representation last June. We don’t view that as a coincidence. It’s insulting that management’s offer to Kaplan’s New York teachers is less than the company already pays all of its other teachers for identical work.

We specifically discussed the New York prep time rate of $7.25, the federal hourly minimum wage, and how it is inadequate based on the work we need to do to prepare for class. Prepping requires the same skills as teaching. Therefore we believe should be paid commensurate with those skills.

Management lead negotiator Jay Kennedy claimed that prep work is “not assigned” and is “optional.” We highlighted the absurdity of a teacher walking into a class without any preparation – lesson plan, copies, corrected and critiqued weekly essays and tests,  individual student reports – and still teaching a class effectively. Since the start of these negotiations, management has claimed that it wants to maintain the high-quality of its classes. Guild committee members pointed out that the time teachers take to prepare is the reason Kaplan is able to offer students high-quality ESL classes and why it is  considered the front-runner in the industry. Yet, the management team insists on paying Kaplan teachers no more than high school burger flippers for prep time.

Management claimed that the rates Kaplan pays in the rest of the country are not relevant to New York schools since the other locations do not have union contracts that “tie their hands.” Guild Representative Anthony Napoli responded that there is nothing in our agreement so far that would hinder management in running day-to-day operations, including the newly agreed 30-day advanced notice of schedule changes. All that would do is give employees the common decency of knowing that a significant change is about to be implemented that could disrupt their lives.

CUTTING OUT THOSE WHO FALL SHORT OF FULL TIME

Committee members made their displeasure clear, telling management its proposal  was “insulting” and a “slap in the face.” It was especially so because it provided no benefits to part-timers, who make up 95 percent of the teaching staff and often work 30 to 35 hours per week, just shy of KIC’s 37.5-hour definition of a full-time teacher.

We pointed out Kaplan's high turnover rate and how teachers often go to competitor schools that offer higher pay, vacation time, sick days and medical benefits.

Management's reply? “We give people a few years experience and we’re happy when they move on,” said Kennedy.

Napoli pointed out that most Kaplan teachers are not fresh out of college. They are experienced, often having worked overseas and with Master's degrees. They would like a job with a living wage and benefits.

The Guild ended the meeting by requesting information about wages at other KIC schools and schools that Kaplan considers its competitors. It is information to which we believe we are entitled, since management claims its pay proposal is competitive with the industry. We did not set any further dates, pending the receipt of the information so we can prepare for further bargaining. We will let you know when additional dates are set.

The Guild BargainingCommittee
Emily Lessem (Midtown)
Benjamin Bush (ESB,alternate)
Jon Blanchette (ESB)
Shana Dagenhart (ESB)
Tasha Uria (East Village)

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Management's Update:

KIC and the Guild met for part of two days this week in an effort to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement.  The parties had a productive day on March 12, when we exchanged non-economic proposals and reached tentative agreements on several provisions, including the definition of the bargaining unit, adding unpaid suspensions to the discipline procedure, and a non-discrimination provision.  Even though we had hoped for more progress on key operational flexibility issues, KIC nonetheless made its first economic proposals to the Guild in an effort to continue to work towards an agreement.

In its opening economic proposals, KIC proposed to maintain all current employees’ existing teaching rates, and proposed a “minimum” rate for all new hires.  Such “minimum” rates are common in Guild contracts, and it is just that – a minimum rate for new employees with the flexibility to hire employees above that rate based on their education and experience.  In addition, KIC proposed to maintain the current non-teaching rates for teachers and the current benefit structure.  For increases going forward, KIC proposed to continue paying merit pay based on a teacher’s overall performance.

We have told the Guild from the start that dealing with KIC’s operational proposals is important, since those issues affect the economics of our business.   A labor contract binds the parties for several years, and the Guild has insisted on things like limiting KIC’s rights to assign work flexibly, to set new company policies, and to decide how many students we can have in our classes.  As we have repeatedly told the Guild, those types of restrictions undercut KIC’s ability to be nimble and flexible in meeting its business needs, and have economic costs.

We understand that our teachers perhaps wanted more from KIC’s opening wage and benefit proposals.  But we have tried to encourage the Guild to be realistic in this bargaining process, and not to create unrealistic expectations.  We will continue to work hard at the table to find common ground – and will continue to work toward our goal of reaching a contract that balances the interests of our teachers and the needs of our business.

The Guild cut short negotiations on March 13 shortly after 1 pm, and no new bargaining dates have been set.

KIC’s Bargaining Committee

Present Progressive March 1st, No. 4 (and management's update)

Kaplan management negotiators yesterday brushed aside a comprehensive Guild counter-proposal that addressed their “operational flexibility” concerns, declining to discuss dollars-and-cents issues until they get agreement on the non-economic terms that they would like to have as the cornerstone of a largely unenforceable contract.

BARGAINING UPDATE

In the fourth bargaining session for a contract between Kaplan International Centers (KIC) and its Guild-represented teachers, Guild negotiators presented a package that incorporated some management proposals and put all other issues on the table. We told management that its non-economic operational proposals need to be discussed in the context of issues important to teachers, like salary, benefits and overtime pay. One set of issues cannot be discussed in a vacuum.  

But the management team, which includes three lawyers and a flown-in human resources executive, would not address any form of compensation for teachers, even though there has been virtually no discussion of it so far and we came into the meeting offering a significant compromise on non-economic issues. Despite management’s rigidity at the table, some progress was made, with three tentative agreements reached – all on non-economic, management-proposed issues.

Under our counter-proposal, company managers would maintain all of their hiring rights, as well as the right to create new positions, evaluate teacher ability and discipline teachers – rights that they have been pressing for under the guise of “operational flexibility” and the misleading term, “academic rights.” But we also insisted on using arbitration as a built-in mechanism to resolve disputes about the contract. 

Management, however, said it opposes the arbitration solution for any dispute, except those involving loss of pay to teachers who have been disciplined. This would give management a wide open field of free reign and final say. For example, if teachers were disciplined unjustly (without loss of pay), or if job descriptions were manipulated to get them out of Guild coverage, nothing could be done. Management would have full control over much of the meaning of our contract. Without arbitration, which empowers an impartial third party to settle disputes and is standard in nearly every labor agreement, a contract is meaningless. We would have no effective recourse if management violates it.

This is particularly important in light of recent history. Kaplan has settled two widespread class-action lawsuits in which it was accused of breaking the law to save money at the expense of teachers’ pay and benefits.

What value is there in a contract that doesn’t allow for recourse when management wrongs teachers? A contract is a commitment between Kaplan and its teachers that spells out the terms of their relationship – pay, benefits and the rights of both sides – and is enforceable. But Kaplan management has been stingy in making commitments to its teachers and refuses to be held accountable for the few that it does make. It’s like saying, “I know we’re getting married, but I still want to see other people.”

In the next meeting, set for March 12, we told management negotiators we expect them to address economic issues. We also hope to understand how Kaplan management plans to protect teachers from managers who falsely or wrongly aggrieve them. Up to this point, Kaplan has shown little or no interest in protecting teachers’ rights.

THE GUILD BARGAINING COMMITTEE

Emily Lessem (Midtown)
Joshua MacDonald (Midtown, alternate)
Benjamin Bush (ESB, alternate)
Jon Blanchette (ESB)
Tasha Uria (East Village)
Shana Dagenhart (ESB)
David Sedgwick (Midtown)

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Management's update about the same session:

KIC and the Guild met again on Tuesday to discuss terms for a collective bargaining agreement.  We had a promising start:  unlike our last session, where the Guild came to the table with just  a few oral proposals, the Guild presented a set of new written counterproposals that addressed a number of KIC’s proposals from December 10, 2012.  Among other things, the Guild agreed to large parts of KIC’s proposal to maintain and secure its management rights and academic decision-making, including rights to determine how it sets and schedules classes.

Hoping to build on the momentum, KIC took a caucus and, in less than two hours, returned to the table to accept some of the Guild’s proposed language, to confirm some tentative agreements within several contract sections, and to make responsive proposals on Bargaining Unit, Grievance Procedure, Discipline, Discharges and Reductions in Force, and Overtime.  Our goal was to close the gaps in these areas – in fact, we thought we were very close to agreement on several proposals, including the definition of the Bargaining Unit.

That’s how bargaining works – narrowing differences through discussing and exchanging proposals and confirming tentative agreements.

Regrettably, instead of continuing to work hard to narrow our differences , the Guild wasted the remainder of the day with pointless rhetoric, purporting to take offense that KIC had not just accepted the Guild’s exact wording on various topics and had not made a counterproposal on wages and benefits.  The Guild would not even confirm a tentative agreement on the Bargaining Unit, a section that the Guild, at our last session, had insisted on resolving as a condition of moving forward in our contract negotiations.   Theatrics don’t settle labor contracts.  We have told the Guild repeatedly that we will make wage and benefit proposals later as bargaining progresses, since KIC’s willingness in those economic areas is tied to its ability to operate the business flexibly and nimbly, without unnecessary restrictions or challenges.   And even the Guild’s chief negotiator and lawyer both acknowledged that an employer’s wage and benefit proposals typically come much later in the process after the parties work out some of these non-economic issues.

So a promising start devolved into Guild theatrics that are neither effective nor constructive.  For our part, we will continue to work hard to address important issues at the bargaining table and look for ways to find common ground, consistent with our goal of reaching an agreement that meets the needs of both KIC and its teachers.   We meet again on March 12 and 13.

                                                                        KIC’s Bargaining Committee