MASTER AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE
AND
THE
LOCAL 1704, AFT
TECHNICAL ASSISTANT UNIT
September 1, 2005
To
August 31, 2008
Article I – Recognition
A. The
Cranston School Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) recognizes
the Cranston Teachers’
B. The
bargaining unit shall consist of all Technical Assistant employees of the
Cranston Public Schools as certified by the State of
Article II – Rights of the Committee
There is reserved exclusively to
the Committee all responsibilities, powers, rights and authority expressly or
inherently vested in it by the laws and constitutions of Rhode Island and of
the
In all matters under this Agreement calling for the exercise of judgment or discretion on the part of the Committee, the decision of the Committee shall be final and binding if made in good faith, except where otherwise provided in this Agreement.
Article III – Rights
of
A. The
Committee agrees, upon written request of the Alliance to release to said
Alliance information available to the Committee concerning the financial
resources of the district, tentative budgetary allocations, and such other
pertinent, non-privileged information as will assist the Alliance to develop
accurate and informed proposals concerning hours, salary, working conditions
and all other terms and conditions of professional employment for all Technical
Assistants in the negotiating unit. It
is further agreed that the Committee will have up to Thirty (30) school days to
respond to such
Article IV – Security
A. All
employees of the Cranston School Committee who are members of the
B. An employee is not required to become a member of the Alliance in order to retain employment, however each employee who it not a member of the Alliance will be required to pay through payroll deductions to the Alliance, the current dues as determined by the Alliance.
Article V – Selection and Appointment
A. The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for the selection, employment and assignment of all persons covered by this Agreement subject to school committee approval. When possible, the school principal and/or unit supervisor will aid in selection of applicants for positions within their school units.
B. There shall be a probationary period of 30 working days for new appointees.
C. The
Article VI – Payroll Deductions
A. The
employer agrees to deduct the wages of each employee dues as the
B. Technical
Assistants will be eligible to participate in a “Tax-Sheltered” Annuity Plan
established pursuant to United States Public Law 87-370 and in accordance with
reasonable rules established by the Committee.
The President of the
C. All eligible employees will participate in Municipal Employees Retirement System and be subject to all provisions as established by the Rhode Island State Retirement Board.
Article VII – Savings Clause
A. If any provisions of this Agreement is or shall be at any time contrary to law, then such provision shall not be applicable, or performed, or enforced, except to the extent permitted by law. In the event that any provision of this Agreement is or shall at any time be contrary to law, all other provisions of the Agreement shall continue in effect.
B. All rights, policies, privileges, responsibilities and working conditions that have been in effect system-wide, previously, and which are not contrary to any provisions in this Agreement, shall continue in effect.
Article VIII – Seniority
A. Seniority
shall be defined as the total length of continuous employment with the
Technical Assistant Bargaining Unit of the Cranston Teachers’
B. In case of reduction of personnel (lay-off), employees shall be laid off in reverse order of seniority within the specific classification for which they are hired.
C. The Human Resources Office will notify the employees two (2) calendar weeks in advance of lay off. This notice from the Human Resources Office shall be considered the official notice of lay off.
D. A seniority list of all employees covered under the provisions of this Agreement showing name, hours of work, and date of regular and effective appointment will be made available to the President of the Alliance during the month of January and will be open to challenge and correction for a period of thirty (30) days and, upon proof of error will be corrected.
E. Any Technical Assistant laid off by the process described above shall maintain recall rights for a period of not less than thirteen (13) months unless the employee has an unsatisfactory evaluation.
F. No Technical Assistant will be terminated without just cause.
Article IX – Vacancies
A. All vacancies shall be filled pursuant to the following procedures:
1) Applications must be made to the Executive Director of Human Resources within the time limits specified in the posting. Each posting shall provide a minimum of five (5) working days for applicants to respond. Technical Assistants will be required to meet state guidelines for qualifications as described under state law (RIGL 16-11.2) for his/her assignment.
B. Any vacancies shall be posted prior to the end of the quarter in which it occurs. The Committee reserves the right to fill or not fill a vacancy.
1) All vacancies shall be filled within thirty (30) days of the closing of the posting or be re-posted, subject to the Committee’s right to fill or not fill the vacancy.
C. Prior
to any additional position being created in an area already existing, a
mechanism for dealing with seniority must be negotiated with the
Article X – Work Schedules
A. The work day for Technical Assistants shall be seven (7) hours per day, except for the Technical Assistant in Panda’s Pantry who will work eight (8) hours per day.
B. Technical Assistants will work on regular and normal schools days when students are in attendance except for the ‘Assessment’ Technical assistant who may be required to work up to five (5) days before the opening of school and five (5) days after the close of school. Notice of the schedule would be given by June 1st and July 15th respectively.
C. The lunch period will be one of the four scheduled lunch periods. The lunch break will be uninterrupted and shall be considered a part of the regularly assigned work day.
D. The length of the work day of Technical Assistants shall be fixed as posted for all positions and shall coincide within ten minutes of the commencement and/or conclusion of the workday of the teacher to who they are assigned unless otherwise stipulated in this agreement.
E. In
the event that a specific work-site placement requires a technical assistant to
supervise students outside the course of the school day, the technical
assistant may be required to work beyond the normal school day. Such supervision shall not exceed
F. Technical Assistants shall not be assigned to cover for teachers absent from school.
Article XI – Vacations & Holidays
A. All persons covered by this Agreement shall observe school closings as indicated in the school calendar without compensation.
B. An employee hired within a school year and having worked ninety-one (91) days or more prior to April vacation but less than one (1) full year shall be entitled to one (1) week of paid vacation. Said vacation must be taken during the April recess in the school year in which they were hired.
C. The Technical Assistant shall be entitled to two (2) weeks vacation when one (1) year of continuous service has been completed. After five (5) years of continuous service all employees covered by this Agreement will be considered to have earned three (3) weeks of paid vacation. Such vacation will be taken in the sixth (6th) full school year and all succeeding years thereafter.
D. Vacation must be taken during school recesses.
E. All Technical Assistants are entitled to the following paid holidays:
Labor Day Christmas Day
Columbus Day New Year’s Day
Election Days (on which
all schools are closed) Martin Luther King Day
Thanksgiving Day Presidents’ Birthday
Day after Thanksgiving Good Friday
Jewish Holy Days
(only when listed as
on the School Calendar) Memorial Day
July 4th (for those who work)
Victory Day (for those who work)
F. At
the discretion of the Alliance, representative of the Technical Assistants unit
shall be granted a total of three (3) school days per year for the purpose of
engaging in local, state and national organization activities without loss of
pay, provided the Alliance pay the cost of substitutes used to cover for such
representatives. Additional days under
this Article may be taken with loss of compensation to
Article XII – Leaves of Absence
A. All employees covered by this Agreement shall accrue sick leave at the rate of fifteen (15) days per year. During the first year of employment, sick days will be earned at the rate of 1.5 per month worked.
1. The Human Resources Office shall provide each Technical Assistant the number of cumulative unused sick days by September of each year, for the previous year.
2. Upon leaving the
a) Union members who have worked for Cranston Public Schools for ten (10) years or more, upon retiring, shall receive compensation for sick days they have accumulated at a rate of $20.00 per day for the total number of sick days accumulated.
b) Union members who have worked fro Cranston Public Schools for twenty (20) years or more and have accumulated a minimum of 100 days, upon retiring shall receive compensation for sick days they have accumulated at a rate of $50.00 per day for the total number of days accumulated.
c) Payment for unused sick leave shall be made by separate check during the pay period next following the Technical Assistants final check.
B. Sick leave shall be granted for personal illness or physical incapacity to such an extent as to render a person thereby unable to perform the duties of his/her position.
C. Family Illness- Technical Assistants.
1) Three (3) days per year when an illness occurs in the employers immediate family (father, mother, son, daughter, spouse, or other persons in the immediate household who are blood relatives of either spouse or who are under legal guardianship of the employee), that requires the employee to care for the person who is ill. Requests for absence due to family illness under the provision of this section shall be supported by a statement that the employee can make no other arrangements.
1) Written request for unpaid leave may be made to the superintendent of Schools when all previously accrued sick leave has been exhausted.
2) Written request must indicate the nature of the illness and the approximate date of return.
3) Request must be accompanied by a physician’s statement substantiating the nature of the illness, the approximate date of return and the necessity for the unpaid leave.
4) Employees not able to return to full-time Technical Assistant duties within one (1) year from the effective date of the leave shall be considered to have terminated.
5) Prior to return to full-time duty, the employee must submit to the Personnel Office a physician’s statement that he/she is able to fulfill all the duties of the Technical Assistant position.
1) In case of death in the immediate family (spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grandchildren, sister, brother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, or other person in the immediate household) a Technical Assistant may be absent for a period of seven (7) calendar days including the day of the funeral.
2) In case of death of nieces, nephews, or grandparents, a regularly appointed Technical Assistant may be absent for a period not to exceed two (2) working days.
3) In case of death of blood relatives of either spouse, not otherwise identified in 1 or 2 or 3 above, a Technical Assistant may be absent without loss of compensation on the day of the funeral.
a) The total number of Technical Assistants on leave will not exceed one (1) on any given day.
b) Requests for any personal leave should be given as far in advance as possible and recorded on a form provided by the administration except in cases of emergency.
c) In the event that the cap has been met and the Technical Assistant has a request for a personal day the Superintendent will have the discretion to grant additional days off.
1) The following criteria is established to govern the professional leave policy:
a) The Technical Assistant must be established a full-time matriculating student as set by the standards of the institution in which he/she is enrolled.
b) The matriculating program must be in the field of education.
c) The Technical Assistant must provide documentation of items a and b above prior to having the request for leave considered.
d) The Technical Assistant must provide evidence of successful completion of the program for which the leave was granted prior to return to a position within the School Department.
e) The Technical Assistant must have been employed as a Technical Assistant for an uninterrupted period of three (3) years in order to be considered for leave under this article.
f) There will be no accrual of sick days or vacation while on leave for study nor will longevity credit for pay purposes be earned during the period of leave.
g) Duration of leave will not exceed one (1) year.
K. Employees on leave under Articles D, H, J will accrue no leave or vacation privilege while on leave.
Article XIII – Insurance
A. The Cranston School Committee will provide for
all eligible full-time Technical Assistants individual or family plan Group
Health Insurance for any Technical Assistant who is not otherwise provided with
a Health Insurance Plan equal to or better than the Health Insurance Plan
offered by the Committee. The Committee
will provide
B.. In lieu of receiving
Blue Cross/Blue Shield (RI) Classic
United Health Plan
The employee who exercises this option
agrees to pay one hundred percent (100%) of the difference between the cost of
D. The Cranston School Committee shall also provide to all members.
1. A $20,000 Term Life Insurance Policy.
2. Each Technical Assistant shall have the option to purchase up to an additional $125,000.00 of term insurance.
3. Longevity Increments as follows:
a) An increment of $450 after having completed ten (10) years of continuous service with the Cranston Public Schools as a Technical Assistant.
b) An increment of $550 after having completed fifteen (15) years of continuous service with the Cranston Public Schools as a Technical Assistant.
c) An increment of $650 after having completed twenty (20) years of continuous service with the Cranston Public Schools as a Technical Assistant.
d) The increment shall be included in the first paycheck in October of the salary year following the completion of ten (10), fifteen (15), or twenty (20) continuous years of service as defined above and annually thereafter.
E. The Cranston Public Schools will provide an independent Employee Assistance Program for all members of the bargaining unit. An Employee Assistance Program by definition is a formal structured service designed to assist in identifying and resolving productivity and moral problems associated with the employees impaired by personal concerns including but not limited to: alcohol and other drug abuse, health, marital, family, financial, legal, emotional, or other personal concerns which may adversely affect the employees’ job performance.
Article XIV – General
Article XV – Grievance Procedure
The purpose of this Article is to provide opportunity for discussion of any request or complaint and to establish procedures for the processing and settlement of grievances.
A grievance shall mean a complaint by a Member of the Bargaining Unit of the Alliance (1) that there has been to him/her a violation or inequitable application of any of the provisions of this contact or (2) that he/she or it has been treated inequitably by reason of any act or condition which is contrary to established School Committee policy or practice governing or affecting employees, except that the term “Grievance” shall not apply to any matter as to which the School Committee is without power to act.
Step 1- Any employee who believes that he/she has a justifiable request or complaint may discuss the request or complaint with his/her immediate supervisor, excluding the teacher, within a period of ten (10) working days or the knowledge of the event leading to the grievance with the Alliance Representative being present. It is understood that if the immediate supervisor has no power to correct or rule on the grievance, the employee may initiate the Grievance at
Step 2.
Step 2 – If no satisfactory resolution of the grievance has been reached within five (5) days, the grievance shall then be reduced to writing within ten (10) working days following the Step 1 meeting and forwarded to the Executive Director of Human Resources. A meeting for discussion of the grievance with the Executive Director of Human Resources shall be held no later than twenty (20) working days after the submission of the grievance. The Executive Director of Human Resources shall render a decision in writing regarding the grievance within ten (10) working days following the hearing at Step 2.
Step 3 – If no satisfactory result follows the hearing and decision at Step 2, or if no decision is rendered, the grievance may be appealed to the Superintendent of Schools within ten (10) calendar days following the decision at Step 2. The Superintendent or designee will conduct a hearing of the grievance within twenty (20) calendar days following the appeal to Step 3. The Superintendent, or designee, will render a written decision within fifteen (15) working days following the hearing at Step 3.
1. If no satisfactory resolution is reached, the employee may, within fifteen (15) calendar days after the decision at Step 3, give to the Committee written notice that the matter is to be submitted Arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association.
2. Only those matters involving the application or interpretation of this Agreement may be submitted to Arbitration.
3. The decision of the arbitrator upon an issue made arbitral under this Article shall be final and binding upon the parties.
4. The Arbitrator shall have no power to alter, amend, add to or detract from the terms of this Agreement.
Article XVI – Professional Development
A professional development program will be provided through
a Professional Development Institute developed between the Cranston Teachers’
Article XVII – Advance Degrees
Technical Assistants who provide the appropriate documentation (letter or transcript from an institute of higher education) will be eligible to receive the following stipend:
Bachelor’s Degree - $1,000
Full or half increments will be paid providing the request and documentation is received in the office of Human Resources prior to October 15 and March 1 respectively.
Article XVIII – Duration
The provision of this agreement will become effective on
_______________________ ________________________
M. Gordon Palumbo Francis J. Flynn
Chairperson President
_______________________ ________________________
Date Date
_______________________ ________________________
Catherine M. Ciarlo Paula F. Caiozzo
Superintendent Vice President
_______________________ ________________________
Date Date
Appendix A
Salary Schedule (Hourly)
2005 – 2006 2006 – 2007 2007
- 2008
$15.61 $16.08 $16.56