In my opinion, administrative assistants are uniquely skilled professionals and should not be a part of a union, unless it is a union that is specifically for clerical workers. As there is currently no union for general administrative assistants or clerical workers, school district clerical workers have joined forces with cafeteria workers and para-professionals.
For an administrative level employee to be a part of a union with cafeteria workers and para-professionals is a disservice to all groups. Exactly what do these groups have in common that would benefit them joining together and being part of a wage tier pay system?
The $9 hour pay raise the District 150 clerical workers received does sound exorbitant, especially in light of the fact that the District is laying off teachers and cutting programs. However, in the real world of an administrative assistant, to make $22 per hour is hardly unheard of.
The pay that these administrative level clerical workers get should be in keeping with the level of work they do for their supervisor. Perhaps Debra Dimke and Pam Shau’s Assistants deserved a raise – consider that.
Administrative level assistants in human resources and payroll should be making a salary commiserate with the work of their supervisors - they should not be union employees.
Think about the work that human resources and payroll is doing theses days. You don’t have to make much of a stretch to imagine the pressure that comes with the complexity of work these administrative assistants or clerical workers are dealing with. These employees need insulation right along with their bosses and pay is just one way of giving it to them.
There is a reason why the administrative level assistants at Caterpillar or any other corporation are not in the union - it is because their pay is commiserate with the level of work their management level supervisor is entrusted with, as it should be and with that pay comes loyalty. (Loyalty - the thing that is sorely lacking in the District from it's employees both past and present.)
Because of the confidential nature of the work this group of employees is doing, the District and the Board cannot afford to loose their loyalty.
Sure, there are some issues that need to be ironed out with the level of transparency between the Board and Administration. But don't be a reactive Board and just rescind the pay, take a look at the level of work these people are performing now in this climate and pay them accordingly and when the jobs are reclassified, if at all possible, you all should make sure they are not union jobs.
Related article: District 150 clerical rasies rescinded
6 comments:
So the Local 6099's way of representing these clerical workers is to stand behind these raises being rescinded immediately?
I wonder, can the clerical workers now file a grievance against the District for their salaries being rescinded? Seems to me they have should have that right, after all the Local 6099 is supposed to be looking out for their best interests too.
Maybe I don't know the definition of an administrative assistant. How many administrative assistants should be in one office? I think it was stated that the clerks were given additional duties because there was no administrative assistant--that does make any one of them an administrative assistant. My own thought is that that Dimke and Shau themselves, not the clerks, should have been asked to pick up most of the slack if they weren't given an assistant. Also, I am not sure, but I thought I heard that an administrative assistant has since been hired--not sure about that. First of all, for the union to approve this move, the union would have to be consulted--that didn't happen. Also, a contract is a contract; if these 10 clerks want to remove themselves from the union and negotiate their own raises, etc., I suppose they could do that--but they can't have their cake and eat it, too.
Emerge - I agree in part. I imagine the salary increases were provided because of increased job responsibility. The Aast. HR Dir. job has never been filled, to my knowledge. Dist. 150 is a large organization with, what 8 bargaining units?? One HR dir and a few clerks is probably not sufficient manpower and clerks were asked to pick up more comlex duties.
That said, Dist. 150 should never have done this without consulting the union. Note, I said "consult" not negotiate. If a clerk's salary is based on low-level work but now they are performing complex tasks, I would not call adjusting that person's pay a "raise," I would identify it as a "re-classification" of that individual's job and it is right the Dist. should be paying for the worth of the job.
I really believe that, in the meantime, an administrative assistant was hired. Also, the problem wasn't so much the raise. As I understand it, the jobs should have been or were classified to higher level jobs (Level J). Once they were reclassified, they had to be posted for rehiring--hiring people with the qualifications for the job--because they were essentially "new" positions. Of course, the current clerks (at a lower classification) could probably have applied for these higher level jobs if they were qualified. Also, it's hard to believe that all the clerks were suddenly doing work at a higher level--I could understand one or two but not all.
Ms. Emerge, I think this is what you call the crab in the barrel syndrome and it is in full effect in the Administration building.
How ridiculous for the clerical workers to be biting at each other just because somebody is driving a nicer car, or took a vacation. Pathetic.
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