After another hour-long debate, the St. Tammany Parish School Board voted Thursday night to approve a new pact with the employees’ union, putting to rest an issue that had roiled the school district for the past two months.
The board’s approval of the two-year contract with the St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees followed another round of speeches in which union members expressed their feelings of being attacked and board members explained their obligations to their constituents.
The debate touched on national politics—and St. Tammany’s support (or lack thereof) of unions—as well as labor law and even the vitriol that this saga has generated.
The board vote was 10-4, with board members Matthew Greene, Gia Baker, Deborah McCollum and Brandon Harrell opposing and board member Michelle Ruffino Gallaher abstaining.
The document, known as a collective bargaining agreement, addresses myriad employee issues, from pay and benefits to just cause and transfer procedures. St. Tammany is one of five school districts across the state that still operates under a collective bargaining agreement with its employees’ union.
Second try
In years past, approval of the agreement has not generated nearly as much fanfare as this summer. School Superintendent Frank Jabbia and association President Brant Osborn negotiated a deal for several months, but the board rejected it in early July, setting the stage for more public comment, a new round of negotiations between Jabbia and Osborn, and, ultimately, Thursday’s vote.
When the supervisory board rejected the first collective agreement, it agreed to the modest salary increases it contained. But the debate in recent weeks has been less about money and more about whether a collective agreement is even necessary.
Jabbia said the second round of negotiations had produced a streamlined collective agreement and called on the board to adopt it.
Many workers and other union supporters said they viewed the agreement as a safety net that would give their voice more weight.
“The collective agreement situation reinforces teachers’ sense of powerlessness and, quite frankly, their sense of being attacked,” one of the speakers, David Locker, told the panel.
However, some board members disagreed.
Baker said the district’s roughly 6,000 employees are already protected by state and federal laws.
“I will not hand over the voice of the people to a union,” she said.
policy
Some other members of the panel also pointed out the union’s affiliation with the American Federation of Teachers, which they believe represents liberal causes. St. Tammany Parish is predominantly Republican.
“I don’t agree with their policies,” Harrell said.
Board member Michelle Hirstius, who voted to adopt the CBA on Thursday night, said that as a “staunch MAGA conservative” she is fundamentally not pro-union.
“But we are not voting on whether there should be a union or not,” she said. “We are voting on a collective agreement.”
She added that workers find a sense of security in the CBA given their lack of trust in the school system.
And board member Tammy Lamy said that while she does not personally support the CBA, she has spoken to people at schools in her district and they support it.
Lamy, who voted for the CBA, also called for more civility in discussions, both at public meetings and on social media.
“If you want to be ugly, be ugly in private,” she said.
