The fruit of collective bargaining with teachers

A good faith negotiation provides the foundation for collective bargaining. The “good” meaning both parties should do the right thing that is best for the entire system. The “faith” being the things hoped for and evidences of things to come. Very powerful but basic and simple concepts that we all try to adhere too. BOE and teachers are hoping for the same thing, a better education system. So why is BOE so against doing the right thing and hoping for improvements in the system through collective bargaining with teachers? I’ll tell you why–a failure to prepare for bargaining with teachers, being up to “no good” when it comes to dealings with teachers and the BOE teacher rep., absolutely no faith and a touch of arrogance. Our education system will never reap the fruits of collective bargaining through the approach or stance BOE has taken.

Collective bargaining is just a vehicle for teachers and management to improve working relationships, improve working conditions and to improve the overall quality of an organization. The bargaining is governed by “good faith negotiations” with any disagreement being addressed in mediation and arbitration if necessary. The mediator simply tried to get both parties to agree and if that fails the arbitrator will make the final and binding determination. Thanks to our chief justice, he is willing to recommend a member of his staff to handle these two vital components of collective bargaining. Neither teachers nor BOE should have a problem with putting the fate of any negotiation in an arbitrator from our own CNMI court system–the only other option is a federal mediator, which we see with unions. There is also a “no strike” law in the CNMI so there is really nothing for BOE to fear but fear itself. But the arrogance of not wanting to share power with the arbitrator is why some BOE members are doing everything but the right thing to avoid doing the right thing.

The fruits: Teachers want permanent contracts that will have the affect of stabilizing the teaching profession. With a stabilized workforce we can then begin the process of really improving the entire teaching profession in the CNMI. With our turnover rate running anywhere between 15 percent and 25 percent our efforts to improve the quality of teachers is nothing more than guesswork that creates the scatterbrain approach we have seen with recruiting. Teachers want to make sure all students have the opportunity for academic achievement at the highest level. The fruits of having a stabilized workforce are lost.

Teachers want to have more input in programs, CIP projects at schools and the ability to write more grants that directly affect the classroom. Teachers are the frontline workers who must execute the programs passed down by administration–so whom do you think will know first if the program is working and what needs to be done to improve the program? The fruits of bargaining for better programs are never harvested. The average veteran teacher knows not to build any school without the potential for expanding upward and teachers certainly know where the best places for rest rooms so they can be monitored–these are problems at our newest high schools. But teachers are not involved in the CIP process–thus the fruits of bargaining just die on the tree. Teachers should play a bigger role in the grant process to assure the grants will have more of a “direct impact” on the classroom. Teachers are creative and innovative people but without collective bargaining the fruits of their input will not be harvested.

More recently in the news the Language Commission released data proving the native languages are dying–and we know what that implies about the cultures. The CNMI was putting down the kids in Guam and bragging about our kids still speaking the local languages just 10 years ago—now look. Teachers and myself included want to help preserve the culture but the recommendation we made to the PSS, the 13th and 14th Legislature has yielded nothing. Any teacher can tell you, “the language will never survive alone”–students must study the entire culture with the application of the language to be affective in language and cultural preservation.

I worked with a couple of teachers and we suggested the creation of a “vocational course” on the indigenous cultures for Chamorro and Carolinian students. We believe it has been counterproductive in the classrooms to force other students into a language or cultural class that they do not relate too. We must also asked what good is it to speak the language and don’t know any of the customs or traditions? We also mention in our recommendation to the Language Commission to bring the language up to date because the lack of new words is causing the language to be dysfunctional for the lack of an appropriate word, which contributes to a decline in the use of the local languages. Collective bargaining can even help save the local cultures but the fruits of bargaining on this issue haven’t even been planted because of the “outsider syndrome”–meaning we were not local so our suggestions were tossed.

The BOE has publicly bragged about 44 states using the Praxis test–well all the states have granted their teachers the right to bargain yet BOE stalls and plays ignorant with its own teachers. BOE has a golden opportunity to create the best teacher relations model in American, thanks to our Constitution that puts a teacher representative on the Board unlike any other state–but that touch of arrogance is the way. It would be far better for BOE to bargaining about the quality of our teacher relations model than putting us in the same position our neighbors in Guam and other states have gotten themselves into with a union. There is also the fact that teachers know the education system and government don’t have any money at the present time—so money cant have an impact on collective bargaining. It is to BOE’s advantage to establish an agreement at this point in time when money is not the epic center of the bargaining and for a lot of good reasons. I hope this letter has helped to educate and derail the misgivings that might exist about collective bargaining—it’s all good when you truly apply “good faith” to the negotiations! One people, one direction.

Ambrose M. Bennett
BOE teacher rep.