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Tunkhannock couple back home after volunteering in Texas

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WB mayor wants union to pay for any ‘review’ of police department

<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; The Dallas Education Association&#8217;s contract proposal that was rejected this week included a 1.5 percent raise based on the 2014-15 salary scale.</p><p>The offer was built on a salary matrix that both sides agreed was broken, explained Dallas School Board and negotiation team member James Gattuso.</p><p>The failure to come to an agreement makes a teachers strike Friday a real possibility. The union set Sept. 22 as a potential strike date earlier this month, when it pushed back an earlier walkout date.</p><p>Michael Cherinka, the Dallas Education Association president, explained in an email the latest proposal &#8220;would avert any strike and allow us to continue to bargain to find more potential savings then we already offered.&#8221;</p><p>Under the 2014-15 expired pay matrix, Dallas teachers received raises for each year (columns) up to 16 years for every six college credits above a bachelor&#8217;s degree (steps) &#8212; up to 36 credits beyond a master&#8217;s degree.</p><p>The 2014-15 matrix started with minimum annual earnings of $34,501 and would take an educator 15 years to reach a maximum salary of $80,866.</p><p>The union&#8217;s offer included a retroactive three-year deal covering 2015, 2016 and expired at the end of the year, Cherinka said.</p><p>&#8220;The majority high percentages (for raises) are on lower salaries, not the top salary,&#8221; he noted. &#8220;We&#8217;d be lucky if the top saw even close to 1 percent.&#8221;</p><p>The contract offer allowed the district to spread the salary changes out over time, he added.</p><p>But Gattuso said the union&#8217;s proposal could cost the district up to $600,000, which is an unsustainable cost.</p><p>&#8220;We will continue down the path to find a solution fair for the taxpayers and teachers,&#8221; Gattuso said.</p><p>Health care is another hurdle for both parties, with teachers maintaining they shouldn&#8217;t have to shoulder any premium cost.</p><p>The Dallas School Board suggests cost-sharing plans to cut down the expense, while the union recommends cost savings found in higher deductibles and prescription co-pay programs.</p><p>The union&#8217;s health care proposal could save the district $174,000, Cherinka said.</p><p>&#8220;That was the number from the district&#8217;s (health care) broker,&#8221; said Cherinka. &#8220;Their proposed cost-shift would save $71,400. We were seeking even further savings through an independent broker.&#8221;</p><p>In a phone interview, Cherinka said the union was working with Millennium Healthcare Group as its broker. Millennium worked with North Pocono School District to develop its plan, he said.</p><p>&#8220;She (Millennium&#8217;s broker) presented them (Dallas School District) with the potential to save more than $500,000 on top of our original proposed $174,000,&#8221; according to Cherinka&#8217;s emailed statement. &#8220;They (district) were skeptical of her numbers and wanted more specific information.&#8221;</p><p>The union&#8217;s broker requested information from the district regarding its Highmark Inc. plan, Cherinka said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been 21 days and we still don&#8217;t have that information,&#8221; he added.</p><p>Gattuso said the information was requested from Highmark and the district was waiting for the company&#8217;s response, which arrived Wednesday morning.</p><p>The district&#8217;s finance committee was meeting Wednesday to develop a counter-offer, Gattuso said.</p><p>The district&#8217;s negotiation committee and teachers union also have a meeting scheduled for Thursday.</p><p>&#8220;There are a lot of emails and texts following back and forth,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I really believe both sides want to resolve this.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas School District teachers stood along Hildebrandt Road in Dallas Township on Tuesday to raise awareness of the ongoing labor strife ahead of Friday&#8217;s potential strike. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL092017DallasTeach1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas School District teachers stood along Hildebrandt Road in Dallas Township on Tuesday to raise awareness of the ongoing labor strife ahead of Friday&#8217;s potential strike. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas union leader, board member explain latest contract rejection as strike looms