Present Progressive Vol. 9 July 17th 2013

After students weigh in, Kaplan contract talks get more civil

07/17/2013

Students from around the world studying English at Kaplan International Centers in New York City signed petitions on July 3 in support of their Guild-represented ESL teachers, who are bargaining for basic benefits like paid sick leave, health care and paid vacations. The following day, the school closed for Independence Day, a day for which the students paid, but teachers were not paid.

Slight improvement on pay, sick leaves

With Kaplan students calling on company management to treat their teachers fairly, first-contract negotiations for Guild-represented ESL teachers took on a more civil tone on Monday and led to something that had been largely missing since the talks began almost eight months ago: actual bargaining.

BARGAINING UPDATE

While there were no breakthroughs, and the two sides are still apart on several issues, management representatives for Kaplan International Centers (KIC) engaged in give-and-take discussions with the Guild negotiators and even revised some of their proposals, albeit only to bring them into compliance with the law and/or current conditions.

It was a marked departure from most previous sessions in which the management reps asked almost no questions about Guild proposals, preferring instead to confer among themselves and then silently issue written responses. From the Guild’s perspective, the development is significant since only a robust exchange can enable the two sides to fully understand one another’s needs, a prerequisite to any fair settlement.

Five Kaplan students from abroad who are studying English as a second language came to Monday's session to express support for their teachers and to deliver a petition – signed by more than 425 ESL students at KIC's three New York facilities – that urged management to improve pay and basic benefits.

“Negotiating a contract with Kaplan teachers that includes sick days, health care and fair pay for prep time will benefit teachers and students alike and make Kaplan the great learning center it claims to be,” said the petition, which was addressed to Kaplan CEO David Jones. The petition was presented to Jay Kennedy, management’s chief negotiator. A copy will be sent to Jones.

KIC teachers in New York currently make the $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage to prepare for classes and about 90 percent of them get no paid sick leave or health care coverage because they are considered part-time employees.

‘NO TEACHERS … NO KAPLAN’Before the start of bargaining, the students briefly addressed the four management reps at the table, calling on them to improve their teachers’ pay and benefits. They also complained about the high fees they were charged and at least one said he would urge the agent in Brazil who connected him with Kaplan to stop referring students to the school until the teachers’ employment conditions improve.

“Kaplan exists only because of the teachers,” the Brazilian student said. “If there are no teachers, there is no Kaplan.”

“This company could be better,” a Ukrainian student told the managers. “You really have to change the treatment, the attitude toward the teachers.”

Most of the student petition signatures were collected at lively and conspicuous events outside two of the three KIC facilities in New York on July 3. Teachers, some dressed in Independence Day celebratory garb, discussed their struggle to improve their pay and benefits with students in a festive atmosphere a day before school closed for a holiday for which students paid, but teachers received no pay, as one student noted (pictured at right).

At the table on Monday, management improved its pay and sick leave proposals, at least to bring them in line with what recently enacted legislation will soon require.

-- Pay. Management negotiators raised their proposed hourly prep time rate to $9, which is where the New York State minimum wage will be at the end of 2015, from $8, which would have run afoul of the state’s minimum wage law at the end of next year. They also upped their starting rate for teaching to $18 an hour, the rate the company already pays, from the $17 they had previously proposed. The Guild accepted management’s $18 starting rate, but stuck to its prep time pay proposal of the greater of $13 or half of a teacher’s teaching rate.

-- Sick Leave. Management improved its paid sick leave offer to comply with a New York City law that takes effect next April. Beginning April 1,  full-time and part-time teachers would accumulate one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours they work, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year, which could be carried over into the following year if they are not used. Part-timers currently get no paid sick leave. Given the law’s 40-hour annual carryover allowance, the Guild proposed an 80-hour maximum of paid sick leave that could be used in a given year and also proposed allowing teachers to apply their sick leave in increments of as little as three hours, the duration of a typical class. The management negotiators said they would respond later.  Under management’s proposal, full-time teachers would continue to receive six sick days a year until April 1, when they would be transitioned to the new sick leave plan.

-- Leaves of Absence. Management improved its offer to worsen the current KIC leave of absence policy. The current KIC policy allows all teachers to take unpaid leaves of up to 90 days. Management wants the ability to reduce maximum leave terms to 30 days during the contract, which it says is consistent with a company-wide policy change that is in the works. Before Monday, management had wanted to exclude part-timers from eligibility for leaves. Under its revised proposal, however, part-time teachers could take up to 30 days, the same as full-timers, when the new company-wide policy takes effect.  The Guild proposed making the maximum leave period 45 days when the new policy kicks in. In the meantime, however, management proposed that all teachers remain eligible to request leaves of up to 90 days.  

-- Surveillance and Drug Testing. Progress wasmade on both fronts. Management originally wanted the right to subject all teachers to random drug testing, but has since agreed to limit testing to instanceswhere triggering events give rise to reasonable suspicion of substance abuse. Similarly, surveillance equipment could be installed in work areas only as part of an investigation following an event that triggers reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. The Guild will have a counter proposals aimed at safeguarding employee rights on both of these issues for the next session.

-- Bulletin Board. Management agreed to install bulletin boards for Guild business at its facilities.

No further bargaining sessions were scheduled at Monday’s session.

The Guild Bargaining Committee of KIC Teachers

Emily Lessem, Unit Chair
Michael Bennett
Jon Blanchette
Ben Bush
Shana Dagenhart
Jon Ellis

Present Progresive No. 8 June 28th (& Management's update)

Barnyard epithet prompts Kaplan's dramatic exit at talks

         

06/27/2013

Kaplan membership meetings set for July 9

After stonewalling on key issues and dodging a discussion on pay, Kaplan management representatives injected a note of drama into contract talks on Wednesday by abruptly leaving the room when the Guild's lead negotiator tried to pin them down on their proposed duties for teachers by using, um, well, let's call it a barnyard epithet*.

Okay, the word he used was (hide the children) bullshit.

BARGAINING UPDATE

While it may not be ready for prime time, bullshit has clearly worked its way into quasi-acceptable usage over the years and is no stranger to contract negotiations.  Does anyone still find any shock value in it?

Apparently management lead negotiator Jay Kennedy does. “We’re gonna come back when you can control yourselves,” he said as he and his team got up to walk out.

WHAT TEACHERS CAN BE MADE TO DO
It was a dramatic way of diverting attention from the Guild's very serious effort to get company representatives off of their insistence that managers have the right to assign teachers to do anything under the sun with impunity (just use your imagination).

The Guild had counter-proposed that Kaplan International Centers (KIC) managers could assign their English teachers only to duties that teachers normally do. As we had already explained, that would include incidental functions, like cleaning blackboards, emptying trash cans and even assembling some furniture.

So, Guild Rep. Anthony Napoli asked the management side, exactly what other legitimate duties would our proposal stop you from assigning to KIC teachers? Kennedy, a Washington Post lawyer, turned the question over to Oliva Gautschi, the only real KIC manager on the team, which is otherwise made up of a Kaplan lawyer, a Jones Day lawyer and a flown-in human resources executive from California.

Gautschi said she had already provided examples of marginal duties for teachers, namely the duties the Guild had already accepted, and she appeared unwilling to cite any others. At that point, Napoli asked her to “stop the bullshit” and provide some examples. Cue dramatic exit.

Before the management sideshow, Guild bargaining committee member Shana Dagenhart asked management to clarify two points regarding its proposals on assigning work to teachers and on subcontracting. Kennedy ignored her. How professional was that?

So, we're still left with a management proposal that gives them the power to order teachers to walk up and down Fifth Avenue with sandwich board signs saying “Learn to speak English.” Wonder what the pay rate would be for that? And that's not all.

SCORTCHED EARTH SUBCONTRACTING RIGHTS
Another issue that arose before management’s sideshow was subcontracting. In a significant compromise, the Guild had proposed being able to challenge subcontracting only if it results in job loss. Management’s response, however, removed the Guild’s right to arbitrate, nullifying our ability to challenge layoffs or any changes made in employee duties as a result of subcontracting. In other words, management could subcontract away any or all of KIC’s ESL teaching operations – something it has never done before – and leave the entire Guild-represented workforce jobless and unable to challenge the move.

“We would not agree to language that would limit our ability to lay off our employees due to subcontracting,” said Kennedy.

WHAT ABOUT PAY?
Wednesday’s session began with management negotiators coming to the table without a response to a comprehensive pay proposal the Guild had previously made.

At a June 17 meeting, the Guild had lowered its proposed minimum rate for newly hired teachers on their trial periods to $19 an hour and the post-trial period rate to $22. Previously, the Guild had proposed $23 for both rates. We lowered all other pay rates by at least $1, including the proposed rate for class prep, grading and all other non-teaching work, which we cut to $13 (or half of a teacher’s teaching rate, whichever is greater).  And we offered to accept management’s “blended rate” formula for calculating overtime pay if management accepted our $13 non-teaching rate.

“We don’t have anything for you at this time,” Kennedy said on Wednesday.

WHO QUALIFIES FOR HEALTH CARE?
Also on Wednesday, management negotiators gave the Guild information we had requested on June 17 on the number of teachers averaging 30 hours or more per week, since only those teachers would be eligible for company-provided health care under the Affordable Care Act and management’s previous proposals.

Unfortunately, management’s information wasn’t adequate. It covered only the most recent one- and three-month time periods, instead of the six- and 12-month time periods for determining benefit eligibility under management’s proposal. Based on the limited information management provided, the number of teachers who worked more than 30 hours a week was 29 in the one-month period and 17 in the three-month period. We could only wonder how many teachers will make the list for the six- or 12-month time frames.

Given management’s non-response on our most recent pay proposal, its inadequate response to our health care eligibility information request and its earlier refusal to modify its extreme positions on work assignments and subcontracting, Guild negotiators let management know that we saw no point in continuing to meet on Wednesday after the management team had walked out of our session.

The next meeting is scheduled for July 15. Guild members are welcome to observe.

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS SET
The Kaplan Guild unit has scheduled meetings for all Guild members on July 9 to discuss the situation at the bargaining table and possible responses. Members may attend either of two meetings at 2:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. at the Guild office, 1501Broadway, Suite 708, between 43^rd and 44^th Streets.

THE KAPLAN GUILD BARGAINING COMMITTEE

Emily Lessem (Unit Chair)
Michael Bennett
Jon Blanchette
Shana Dagenhart
Jon Ellis

*A word about bullshitThe word had a central role in a sideshow of American journalism history. While covering the farcical trial of the Chicago Seven, who were charged with conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic convention, New York Times reporter J. Anthony Lukas quoted one of the defendants using the word to characterize a police officer's testimony. Times editors didn't think the newspaper of record was ready for such a word and wanted the story to say the defendant “uttered an obscenity.” Lukas was equally adamant in insisting that it wasn't an obscenity. Intense negotiations ensued. Finally, they agreed that the story would have the defendant uttering “a barnyard epithet,” which also worked its way into the title of Lukas' book about the trial. In the intervening 44 years, however, the word has gained wider acceptance and has even found its way onto the pages of The Times.

________________________________________________________________________________

Management's corresponding update:

Guild Quits For the Day

  

 Today’s bargaining session started out positively, with both KIC and the Guild making proposals, but ended when the Guild’s chief negotiator acted disrespectfully and profanely toward KIC’s Oliva Gautschi – gesturing at her and telling her to stop with her “bullshit” – while KIC was in the middle of making counterproposals to the Guild.   We understand that emotions can sometimes run high in labor negotiations.  But the Guild’s behavior today crossed the line.  We took a caucus, telling the Guild we were available to continue meeting today whenever the Guild’s chief negotiator was prepared to act more professionally toward KIC’s managers.  Rather than do that, the Guild decided to end bargaining for the day. 

This is an unfortunate turn of events, and one that brings us no closer to reaching an agreement.  We’ve tried to be professional and candid at the table about what KIC is willing to do, and what it is not willing to do.  For example, the Guild chief negotiator’s outburst today came in response to Oliva’s effort to explain KIC’s proposal for work assignment flexibility – a proposal that KIC has said, from the start, is of critical importance to KIC.  

                KIC never got to finish making its proposals today before the Guild refused to return to the table.  No new meetings have been set.

                KIC Bargaining Committee

Present Progressive No. 7 June 18th (& Management's Update)

On health care, Kaplan rejects a money-saving Guild proposal

         

06/18/2013

At Monday's bargaining session between Kaplan’s Guild-represented English teachers and company managers, one of the biggest sticking points was health insurance – who would be eligible for it and exactly what it would consist of.

Guild negotiators proposed a health care plan for all teachers, full-timers and the 90 percent of the staff considered part time, that would be cheaper than management's plan, not only for teachers but for Kaplan. Management promptly rejected it.

BARGAINING UPDATE

The Guild-proposed plan, priced specifically for the workforce at Kaplan International Centers (KIC) in New York, would offer participants access to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network of doctors and hospitals, the largest such network in the country. One reason the plan is so inexpensive is that it would be underwritten by a non-profit entity, the United Furniture Workers, which is affiliated with the Guild's parent union, the Communications Workers of America. UFW plans are already widely used in CWA contracts, including some between the Guild and New York-based employers.

The Guild plan would be open to every employee who works at least 20 hours a week. It would carry a $500 deductible for individuals (as opposed the $2000 deductible for current full-time teachers). And even if KIC paid the entire premium, it would cost the company less than the 80 percent share of each full-time employee’s premium it currently pays. The plan is so much better than KIC’s current plan that Guild negotiators offered to make it available to managers and non-Guild employees too. No dice.

A COSTLIER MANAGEMENT MEDICAL PLAN Management negotiators had a proposal too. Theirs would simply do as the law requires. It would lower the minimum eligibility requirement from 37 hours a week to an average of 30 hours, determined retrospectively, for the current KIC plan – the exact minimum under the new Affordable Health Care Act. It was the least they could do, literally. As Guild Representative Anthony Napoli pointed out, “We don’t need to negotiate the law; the law is the law.”

Many teachers still would be excluded from coverage. Even part-timers lucky enough to have a core class and four days of specific skills or structured study classes would reach only 22 hours a week, meaning that experienced teachers with less than eight hours of prep time would not qualify.

Despite covering fewer teachers, offering less coverage and charging higher premiums, the plan that the managers proposed would cost KIC more – at a minimum, by more than $2000 per year per individual – than the Guild plan. That's right, Kaplan teachers and their union are offering to save the company money, but KIC managers won't hear of it. Are you getting this, Washington Post Co. shareholders?

'The fact that you guys want us to do more for part-timers doesn’t mean that we need to do that'

- KIC lead negotiator Jay Kennedy

Why did management reject the Guild's money-saving proposal? For one thing, management negotiators said they didn't know if the Guild plan would comply with the Affordable Health Care Act. Guild negotiators assured management it would. They even offered a provision in the new contract that would automatically switch employees over to the management plan if the Guild plan were found to be out of step with the new law. But that wasn't good enough.

Why else did management negotiators reject the Guild's plan? In a word, control. They said they're “not willing to give up control.” What that means is they want the legal right to increase premiums or cut back on coverage during the term of our contract. And they want that right even if the company they’re supposed to be representing has to pay more money.

STICKING IT TO PART-TIME TEACHERS
Besides health care, the Guild offered counter-proposals on salaries, vacation, sick leave and leaves of absence. In all areas, the Guild offered movement toward agreements. But management representatives had no comments or counterproposals on our salary or vacation proposals.

Most striking was their continued refusal to address important benefits for part-time teachers. In one case, they tried to make them worse. Management now wants to reduce leaves of absence to a maximum of 30 days from 90 days and deny them to part-timers entirely, even though many have used them. Management’s excuse: “There’s a benefit to having certainty in staffing.” What happened to “operational flexibility?” Further, lead negotiator Jay Kennedy said, “The fact that you guys want us to do more for part-timers doesn’t mean that we need to do that.”

With one of management’s lawyers texting for a good part of the bargaining session, Guild Bargaining Committee member Shana Dagenhart of Empire State Building mentioned how it’s difficult to see how “Kaplan Cares” is a true statement. KIC managers’ lack of care and concern for their workers might be best illustrated by their refusal to extend bereavement leave to part-time teachers.

The next bargaining session is scheduled for June 26 at the Guild's offices in Times Square at 1501 Broadway, Suite 708 at 10:30 a.m. All Guild members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

________________________________________________________
Corresponding Update from Management:

KIC Proposes Company-Sponsored Health Insurance Plan

 When KIC and the Guild last met for bargaining on May 7, they closed the day with commitments to address certain issues of importance to the other side:  KIC agreed to address health insurance benefits, and the Guild agreed to address KIC’s modified proposal on flexible work assignments.  In this week’s bargaining session, KIC met its commitment:  it opened with a proposal to provide full-time and part-time teachers averaging 30 paid hours a week with the same package of insurance benefits at the same cost – including medical, dental, prescription drug and other benefits – that all other full-time KIC employees at any KIC location receive. The Guild, however, didn’t live up to its commitment:  despite saying  it would come prepared this week to address work assignments, it made not one single proposal on that issue. That’s not the way to bargain in good faith to reach an agreement.

            KIC’s insurance proposal represented further movement on KIC’s part to address benefits for part-time teachers, following KIC’s offer at the last session to provide part-time teachers with up to 15 hours of paid sick leave a year.  KIC’s proposed insurance benefit program includes a wide array of benefits that are offered across all Washington Post Company divisions to provide stable, affordable and comprehensive insurance options to full-time and covered part-time employees. That includes medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, dental insurance, employee and dependent life insurance, accidental death and dismembership insurance, long term disability insurance, and wellness programs, among others.  In terms of benefits and premium cost-sharing, KIC offered to treat full-time and part-time teachers averaging 30 paid hours per week (meaning teaching time, prep time and all other paid time) in New York the same as all other full-time KIC managers, supervisors and employees under these programs.

In offering KIC teachers a large, sound, company-sponsored insurance program, KIC told the Guild it was not willing to put its employees in the insurance plan that the Guild proposed, the “United Furniture Workers Insurance Fund.” Fundamentally, at a time when employers’ obligations under the new insurance laws are undergoing dramatic change, KIC candidly told the Guild that it would not put its fate, and the fate of its employees, in the hands of a union-run insurance plan that gives employers no control over benefits, premiums or plan design, and that could expose KIC to increased costs and even penalties under the new insurance laws.

 While the Guild  thinks that the United Furniture Workers Insurance Fund is a good deal for KIC and its teachers, we could not disagree more strongly. Based on the Fund’s financial records, we are concerned about the Fund’s long-term stability and its significant liabilities – a red flag that the plan may have to increase premiums and/or change the plan’s benefits (which it could do unilaterally). In addition, the summary plan document that the Guild proposed provides for medical and drug coverage, but not dental, life, disability, and other coverages that KIC has offered. The Guild’s proposed insurance plan, moreover, includes a number of coverage limits that may not comply with the new federal law, like annual limits on the amounts of claims and exclusions of pre-existing conditions from coverage.  When we pointed out some of these issues to the Guild, the Guild’s negotiators suggested that the written plan description didn’t mean what it said – another red flag. There are just too many concerns about the Fund, particularly given the new insurance laws, for KIC to agree to rely on the Fund to provide insurance benefits to its employees and to depend on the Fund to satisfy KIC’s responsibilities under the insurance laws. 

            This week’s session ended unproductively, when the Guild said it had no more proposals to make – even though the Guild’s negotiators had promised a work assignment proposal “before the end of the day.”   Rather than do the hard and serious work of bargaining, the Guild, once again, wasted valuable table time with the same type of unconvincing rhetoric and tirades that have failed to advance the bargaining process. We hope for more a productive session next week, with serious discussion and serious proposals on the important issues that remain. 

            Bargaining committee

What's your hourly rate at Kaplan?

No, not your teaching rate. What you really make per hour.

A simple exercise: Take your earnings from a period and divide them by the number hours you worked during that period. Post below. Feel free to do so anonymously if you wish, of course.


*BONUS* Calculate your real raise last March:

1. Real Rate divided by Teach Rate. 
2. Multiply that by the % of your increase. 

All of Kaplan's Flyers

Our employer's previous attempts at "setting the record straight" All (17) of Kaplan International Center's anti-union flyers they distributed to us during their campaign. Take a trip down memory lane!

http://abetterkaplan.imgur.com/

Present Progressive No. 6 April 30th (& Management's Update)

Kaplan tells teachers:

‘Prepare to be insulted'

A seismic Guild move meets a management tremor

Guild negotiators last week took a substantial step toward Kaplan management’s economic position. Management’s response, however, could be measured with a micrometer.  

BARGAINING UPDATE

We lowered the rates for all three of our proposed teaching categories by $3, which cut our starting rate to $23 an hour. More importantly, we proposed for the first time a new lower rate for prep time and all other non-teaching duties of $14 an hour, or 50 percent of the applicable teaching rate, whichever is greater. This is major shift from our initial wage proposal, in which we wanted a single rate that would cover teaching and all other responsibilities.

At the April 22 bargaining session, we also proposed the Guild’s health insurance plan for both full-time and part-time teachers. This non-profit plan uses the Blue Cross and Blue Shield provider network, which makes more doctors and hospitals available to its users than any other insurance network in the country. And the plan’s rates are more affordable than Kaplan International Centers (KIC) currently offers full-time teachers.

After caucusing over our heavily revised economic package, management negotiators returned with their same wage proposal, but with one minor tweak: They upped their hourly prep rate to $8 from the $7.25 federal minimum wage we currently get. Their proposed starting rate for teaching is still $17 an hour, less than any New York KIC teacher makes.

After all the movement we made to our economic proposals, management came back with only a 75-cent increase in its prep rate. And that can hardly be viewed as movement since New York’s minimum wage will likely increase next year to $8.75. And let’s not forget that KIC raised its prep rate to $12 an hour in every city except New York not long after we voted for Guild representation last year.

We told management negotiators their $8 prep time rate was insulting, to which lead management negotiator Jay Kennedy replied, “Prepare to be insulted.”

Once again, management also neglected to offer sick time, holidays or vacations to the 90 percent of us who are part time. Nor did management address our proposals for experience-based pay increases. “We are not interested in paying someone for being here longer,” said Kennedy. Management only wants increases that would be at its discretion, which means no guaranteed raises.

The management negotiators repeated their mantra about how a contract would tie their hands, which has been their standard excuse for refusing to raise the current New York prep rates (which, as we pointed out, were raised significantly in other parts of the country due to our organizing). When pressed for examples of how the contract could end up tying management’s hands, Kennedy pointed to our unwillingness to accept language that would allow KIC to subcontract teaching work. Yet he could not produce any examples of any KIC school ever using sub-contractors. We also pointed out that the current rate of pay is not a livable wage and even full-time teachers need to work second jobs to make ends meet. Kennedy, however, insisted that Kaplan is paying a livable wage.

Since KIC refused to reasonably discuss wages and benefits, talks ended for the day. We hope that by our next session on May 7 management negotiators will have reviewed the Guild’s health care proposal and will be more open to actually negotiating a fair contract.

– The Guild Bargaining Committee

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Corresponding email update from management:

Setting the Record Straight After Another Day of Pointless Rhetoric and Little Progress

KIC and the Guild met for bargaining on April 22, 2013 for the first time in over a month.   Unfortunately, we made little progress in our negotiations.  This update will be lengthier than usual, because we think it’s important to give you the facts about the status of our bargaining with the Guild.

                “Contractual Minimum” and New Hire Rates

For much of last week’s session, the Guild persisted in mischaracterizing KIC’s opening wage proposal, arguing that KIC has proposed to “cut” teaching rates in New York.  Nothing could be further from the truth, and the Guild – which negotiates “contractual minimums” all the time – knows better.

KIC’s wage proposal includes a common and simple structure that provides for a “contractual minimum” teaching rate of $17/hour – the floor below which no new teacher can be hired or no teacher can be paid.  This “new hire” or “contract minimum” rate is based on market and occupational realities.  Here are the facts that we’ve repeatedly conveyed to the Guild about this rate:

·         KIC’s proposed new hire rate of $17/hour is simply a “minimum.”  That means, as KIC’s proposal explicitly states, that KIC can – and does – hire and pay teachers above this minimum rate based on their skills and experience.

·         KIC’s proposed new hire rate of $17/hour is in line with the rates that other ESL schools in New York pay their teachers.  In fact, we gave the Guild information showing that new hire rates for ESL teachers in New York range from $12 to $20 per hour, with $17/hour an often-quoted new hire rate. 

·         KIC’s proposed new hire rate is also consistent with what KIC pays new teachers elsewhere in the country.  Those rates vary from school to school, based on the markets where they operate, but KIC’s schools have new hire rates that range from $16 to $19.50/hour – averaging about $17.50/hour.

KIC has made clear to the Guild that this “contract minimum” has no impact on any current KIC teachers.  Most KIC teachers in New York are paid well above the $17 “minimum” rate – on average $21/hour – and KIC has proposed to continue paying current employees a teaching rate that is no less than the rate that they earn today.   KIC’s proposal also makes clear that KIC intends to continue paying merit increases to teachers based on their performance. 

                We understand that the Guild wants to guarantee unrealistically high rates for unit teachers, with lock-step guaranteed increases year after year that would fix teaching rates between $28.94/hour and $39.36/hour at the end of the contract.  But the Guild’s proposal is neither reasonable nor consistent with our ESL business.   Our business is not fixed or guaranteed, since student enrollment and classes fluctuate week to week.  Building unrealistically high pay rates into a multi-year labor contract is thus not a responsible business proposition.  Nor is it consistent with KIC’s commitment to rewarding teachers with merit pay based on their performance, rather than simply years in the job. 

  

                        Non-Teaching Rates

We thought we were poised for a little progress this week on non-teaching rates, after the Guild made a proposal acknowledging KIC’s long-standing pay arrangements for prep time and other non-teaching work.  KIC quickly responded with a proposal signaling its willingness to increase the prep time rate for New York teachers from the current minimum wage to $8.00 per hour.

Rather than respond constructively, the Guild profanely rejected KIC’s proposal – and then wasted the rest of the day complaining about what KIC has done for teachers outside New York.  We’ve repeatedly told the Guild why KIC did not unilaterally increase prep time rates for New York teachers when it increased those rates at other KIC locations outside of New York.   We want you to know what we have said to the Guild about that:

                First of all, KIC has a legal obligation to negotiate wages, including prep time and other non-teaching rates, for its New York teachers with the Guild as their bargaining representative.  KIC simply does not have the flexibility to roll out increases unilaterally for represented teachers in New York, unlike KIC teachers elsewhere.  Nor does it make sense for KIC to make that kind of an economic change unilaterally while the parties are at the table bargaining over the economic terms of a contract.

                Second, KIC has to consider any increases in teaching and non-teaching rates in the context of the costs and restrictions that the Guild wants to impose on KIC as part of an overall labor contract.   The Guild has insisted on things like limiting KIC’s rights to assign work flexibly, restricting KIC from subcontracting work where it makes sense, requiring KIC to conduct layoffs based on seniority rather than skills, and requiring KIC to provide significant paid time off and fully-paid benefits to all teachers.   Those types of proposals would add substantial costs to KIC’s operations in New York, and they thus have a direct impact on the wages that KIC will be willing to negotiate into a multi-year labor contract covering New York teachers.

Those are the realities of bargaining.  Bargaining a contract requires balancing the economic interests of both the employer and its employees – and wages, prep time rates, benefits and operational flexibility are all part of that economic balance.   It’s unproductive and misleading for the Guild to complain about KIC’s decision to increase prep rates at schools outside of New York, where KIC has the flexibility to act unilaterally, while KIC is currently at the table with the Guild to negotiate over precisely those issues for its teachers in New York.

                                                A Word About Pace

                At the last bargaining session, teachers on the committee expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations.  Since the parties began negotiations in November 2012, KIC and the Guild have met seven times for on-the-record bargaining.  We had certainly hoped for more progress toward a contract by now.  But bargaining is a bilateral process – requiring both parties to meet at reasonable times.  For our part, we’ve offered the Guild multiple dates for bargaining over the past six months, and we’ve been available whenever the Guild has asked to meet.  KIC has cancelled no sessions, and cut no sessions short.   And we’ve come to every meeting prepared to discuss and exchange contract proposals.  We can’t say the same thing about the Guild, which has, on more than one occasion, truncated valuable table time with wasteful theatrics and delay tactics.

The sooner the Guild abandons these diversions and focuses on the task at hand in New York, the sooner the parties will be able to find a path to an agreement that balances the interests of both KIC and its employees.   The parties are set to meet again on May 7, and we hope to see progress.

KIC’s Bargaining Committee

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)

_________________________________________________________________________________

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)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Present Progressive Jan. 30th, No. 3 + Management's update about the session

January 30, 2013

Talks focus on contract basics:

coverage, temps, teacher rights

At their third round of contract talks today, Guild and Kaplan management negotiators focused on issues of paramount importance to every union contract, such as who the contract will cover and the definition and use of temporary employees.

 ______________________________________________________

BARGAINING UPDATE

_________________________________________________________


A good amount of time was spent discussing what impact the planned relocation of the East Village school would have on the makeup of bargaining unit, the teachers covered by the contract.

Management initially insisted that Guild representation was restricted to the three specific Kaplan International Centers (KIC) locations in the Certification Notice issued by the National Labor Relations Board last summer. Guild negotiators argued that, in light of the impending relocation of the East Village school, teachers there should remain in Guild jurisdiction when they move to their new address. After a brief caucus, management added the new address – 623 Broadway – to its proposal. But even under Kaplan’s latest proposal, if KIC were to open a fourth school in New York City, teachers assigned to it would be excluded from contract coverage.

The Guild also expressed concern that Kaplan’s proposed contract could enable management to use temporary employees instead of filling vacancies for regular positions, creating an underclass of temporary teachers without the protection of the contract. In principle, both sides agreed that temps would work for a period of no longer than six months.

Another cause for concern is management’s insistence on language that would allow Kaplan to add management or supervisory functions to a teacher’s duties, without his or her consent. Teachers who manage or supervise could lose their right to union representation – and the protection of the contract.

Due to scheduling conflicts, the next bargaining session will likely be in late February or early March.  Please feel free to contact any members of the bargaining committee if you have any questions or suggestions.

If you still haven’t signed a Guild membership card and would like to, contact info@nyguild.org, or speak to a member of the bargaining committee. Membership allows you to attend meetings and vote on the final contract.

The Guild Bargaining Committee
Emily Lessem, Unit Chair
Shana Dagenhart, First Vice Chair
L. Toby Kahn, Second Vice Chair
David Sedgwick, Treasurer
Jon Blanchette, Assistant Treasurer
Tasha Uria, Secretary  

_________________________________________________________

(now, management's email update about the same session)





  KIC-Guild Negotiations -- Little Progress, More Delays

  KIC and the Guild met Wednesday for the third bargaining session since negotiations began last November.  While KIC expected the Guild to come to Wednesday’s session prepared to respond to the proposals KIC made at the last bargaining session on December 10, 2012 – almost two months ago --it came to the session largely empty-handed, and offered only a few oral proposals on a couple of items.  So we have little progress to report.

At Wednesday’s meeting, KIC came prepared to negotiate and make counter-proposals – and in fact made new, written proposals to the Guild dealing with the scope of the bargaining unit, the use of temporary employees and non-discrimination language.  In its Bargaining Unit proposal, KIC addressed the imminent relocation of the Cooper Square Center, but made clear to the Guild that KIC was not interested in expanding– and not legally obligated to expand -- the unit’s definition to include entirely new centers that KIC might establish in the future in New York.  KIC also made clear that it intended to reserve its basic rights to determine who will serve as its managers and supervisors, without Guild challenge.  At the end of the day, the parties reached only one tentative agreement:  the Guild accepted KIC’s proposal to establish a Labor-Management Committee to consult periodically on matters of mutual interest.

                Despite making little progress at this session, the Guild also had to cancel the parties’ next bargaining session, which was set for February 13.  So the parties will now have to wait until the end of February to continue negotiations, with additional dates set for March 12 and 13.

                Bargaining for a first contract understandably takes time.  But we at KIC hope that future meetings will prove more productive than Wednesday’s meeting.  We hope the Guild will come to our next meeting prepared to make thoughtful and constructive proposals on the important issues on the table, so that the parties can work toward the mutual goal of reaching an agreement that meets the needs of both KIC and its teachers.

                KIC’s Bargaining Committee

Present Progressive Dec. 13th, 2012 No. 2

From Management,

A Modest Proposal

Kaplan management representatives on Monday presented Guild negotiators with a 24-page contract proposal that was centered on their “operational flexibility,” but offered little or nothing in the way of employee rights, not to mention salary, hours or benefits.

The counter-proposal, which followed the Guild’s Nov. 28 opening proposals, would largely preserve the "at-will" employment relationship Kaplan International Centers management had with teachers before they voted for Guild representation by a 2-to-1 margin on June 6.

Now that we’ve had a few days to review it carefully, it’s clear that the management package, with all of its legally crafted clauses, offers only the illusion of a contract, one that enshrines all of the power company managers have always had without making any serious commitments to teachers about how KIC will behave as an employer. Even our ability to make sure management lives up to what little it is offering to promise would be severely limited.

Here are some examples (we’ve attached management’s full proposal to this message as well):

-        The proposals actually seek to broaden management’s scope of authority above and beyond the company's current practices. Even though they have never used surveillance cameras and email monitoring equipment, or implemented random drug testing, they now want you to agree to give them that right.

-        Under the guise of “flexibility,” they want the right to reassign teachers to any duty (even custodial work), location or starting time that management deems fit.


-        The package allows management to use subcontracted teachers for up to six months, followed by a 12-month probationary period, resulting in an 18-month period during which an employee would have no employment security rights. In fact, they could even use subcontracted temps to replace teachers in the classrooms.


Equally important is what the management package doesn’t contain:  a just-cause provision, a cornerstone of any labor agreement that would protect teachers against being disciplined or fired without “just and sufficient cause.” Although the term may seem vague, it has deep meaning in labor relations. Without it, the Guild would be severely limited in its ability to defend teachers unjustly terminated. An arbitrator hearing the case would have no standard by which to judge the matter, and would therefore most likely defer to management. Instead of offering a policy of steadily escalating reprimands, known as “progressive discipline,” that is widely accepted even among nonunion employers, management wants the right to terminate teachers after two verbal warnings. What's more, those verbal warnings could not be challenged and, as we said, the arbitrator would have no standard for judging the case.

The ability to grieve and arbitrate disciplinary matters is a staple of any union contract, without which employees have very little protection. This is how we ensure that management lives up to its commitments and that a contract actually means something. But KIC management wants to exempt several areas, including verbal warnings, from the scrutiny of an independent arbitrator. This would prevent the Guild from protecting teachers in a profession where performance – the ability to stand and deliver – is of utmost importance.

The ability or inability to have an arbitrator review reprimands short of termination has a profound impact in a professional workplace, even if you never get a reprimand. For one thing it makes a manager think twice about issuing a warning. It also means disputes over the legitimacy of reprimands can be resolved while teachers are still employed. At Thomson Reuters, where the Guild represents journalists, we recently learned that management there went on an unprecedented disciplinary binge earlier this year that included two dozen reprimands and eight terminations. Last month, in a case involving a verbal warning, an arbitrator ruled that management's basis for the discipline was fatally flawed. As a result, Thomson Reuters has offered to reinstate the dismissed journalists and the Guild tells us that discussions are currently underway to make that happen.

KIC management understands the importance of these provisions, and we made it clear that we will not accept language that limits our ability to grieve and arbitrate on behalf of our members.

The KIC package, which deliberately excluded economic issues, is actually quite typical of opening proposals designed by management lawyers – the KIC team has three – and outside  consultants. Like digital pop-up agreements on the web from media giants like Apple or Google, it gives the company virtually all of the rights and us none of the rights. But do they expect us to click “I Accept?” There has to be a balance that shows respect for the rights of teachers. We have a lot of work to do.

Due to the holidays, the next bargaining session is scheduled for Jan. 23 at the Guild’s offices.

The Guild Bargaining Committee
Emily Lessem, Unit Chair
Shana Dagenhart, First Vice Chair
L. Toby Kahn, Second Vice Chair
David Sedgwick, Treasurer
Jon Blanchette, Assistant Treasurer

             

Present Progressive Nov. 28, 2012 No. 1

A

New Hope:

Negotiations Begin

Today, negotiators for the Kaplan bargaining unit of the Guild sat down with Kaplan’s management and lawyers for our first collective bargaining session to negotiate terms of a contract. The meeting, originally set for November 1, was postponed because of Superstorm Sandy.

Bargaining unit teachers were represented by Emily Lessem, David Sedgwick (Midtown), Shana Dagenhart, Jon Blanchette (Empire State Building), L. Toby Kahn (East Village), Anthony Napoli (Guild Representative) and Richard Corenthal (Outside Counsel). The company was represented by Jay Kennedy (Vice President of Labor for Washington Post), Mary Kennett (VP of Human Resources), Jessica Margolin (Employment Counsel), Oliva Gautschi (Regional Vice President East) and Trish Dunn (Outside Counsel).

We presented them with a 25-page contract proposal developed over several months that took into consideration responses to our teacher surveys and concerns raised at membership meetings. After introductory statements from both sides expressing their desires to reach a deal that works for both the employees and the employer, the proposal was presented to the management negotiators. Napoli then reviewed the proposal in detail. Kennedy expressed his appreciation for such a detailed written proposal. He told the committee that the company would have a counter-proposal at the next meeting, scheduled for December 10.

In their closing remarks, management team members emphasized a desire to retain “flexibility” in the company’s daily operations. The Guild committee was pleased to hear this, as flexibility is of great importance to teachers as well.

Kennedy also expressed management’s concern that Kaplan remain competitive in the ESL market, claiming that the present business model works well for both the company and the teachers. Napoli reminded him that the teachers’ problems with their current compensation and benefits were the reason we are at the table. He also reminded management that Kaplan had already improved its pay scale since we voted to organize with the Guild in June, but that the nationwide increase in prep time pay to $12 an hour (from the $7.25 federal minimum wage) wasn’t offered to teachers in New York schools.
Even though Kaplan is obligated to bargain with the Guild before changing any terms or conditions of employment for New York teachers, the Guild could have approved the increase with a simple phone call from Kaplan.  In fact, we still could.

The bargaining committee looks forward to the next session on December 10.  We will keep you informed of all new developments as they occur.

The Guild Bargaining Committee
Emily Lessem, Unit Chair
Shana Dagenhart, First Vice Chair
L. Toby Kahn, Second Vice Chair
David Sedgwick, Treasurer
Jon Blanchette, Assistant Treasurer