Post by title1parent on Jun 29, 2010 6:52:05 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2443012,4_1_JO29_CAMPUSMONITORS_S1-100629.article
School chief hears charge
June 29, 2010 Sun
By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO cvelasco@stmedianetwork.com
PLAINFIELD -- The fate of 19 female campus monitors who were laid off based on gender rather than seniority is now in the hands of John Harper, superintendent of Plainfield School District.
Harper led a hearing with the union leaders and four female campus monitors Thursday as part of the grievance process, listening to their side and asking questions. He told them he would make a decision by the end of this week.
Harper's meeting was the second step of the grievance process.
If the union doesn't like Harper's decision, they can appeal to the school board, which is the third step. The fourth step is arbitration.
"He has the power in the grievance process to end it before taking it to the next level," said school board President Stuart Bledsoe.
There are 19 women who have more experience and seniority than their male counterparts, but have been laid off as part of budget cuts. There are five females who have six years experience compared to the last male campus monitor on the seniority list. He has two years and the district kept him on the payroll when layoffs were made.
Gender balance
In the first step of the dispute, the district's human resources department denied the grievance, saying "female campus monitors are not qualified to hold positions vacated by male campus monitors because they cannot perform all of the duties performed by the male campus monitors."
"The job description also requires a proportional balance of male and female campus monitors. ... The district has always maintained a gender balance in this position because such a balance is required for employees to fulfill the duties of the position effectively and efficiently," wrote Darlene von Behren, assistant superintendent, in a denial letter to the Plainfield Association of Support Staff union.
However, campus monitors disputed that statement, saying the number of male and female campus monitors at each of the high schools is not equal, said campus monitor Miriam Shimko.
There were four females and two male campus monitors at Plainfield East; six females and four males at Plainfield South; five females and two males at Plainfield North; and six males and five females at Plainfield Central.
Lisa Allison, a campus monitor at Aux Sable Middle School, said there were two female campus monitors at Drauden Point, Aux Sable, John F. Kennedy and Timber Ridge middle schools.
New gender duties
The union is also concerned with a job description that seemed to pop up only after the district wanted to keep 13 male campus monitors instead of laying off workers based on seniority, Allison said.
"The campus monitor job description requires campus monitors to monitor student behavior in certain areas of the buildings that are designated as male or female areas, such as the restrooms or locker rooms," von Behren wrote in her grievance response letter. "Because male campus monitors are required to monitor student behavior in the men's restrooms and locker rooms and female campus monitors cannot perform that job duty, a more senior female campus monitor is not qualified to assume the position of a less senior, male campus monitor."
Ann Bachman-Thomas, IEA UniServ Director, said the union didn't receive the job description until the district brought it to the bargaining table April 19.
"We said, 'We never agreed to that. We've never seen this. How can you implement a job description such as that when we have had not input on that?'" she said.
"The district has attempted to change and impose a new campus monitor job description to support its decision, without any input or discussion from the union leadership," she said.
The district disagreed. The new job description was given to the union in October, district spokesman Tom Hernandez said.
The district refused to comment on the grievance, saying they have a mutual agreement with the union not to comment to the media. Bachman-Thomas said there is no such agreement.
Allison said the campus monitors were never told of the new duties that only male campus monitors could perform. She checked boys and girls bathrooms for graffiti at Aux Sable Middle School.
"How come none of us were ever shown that? We were never given a designated area ever," said campus monitor Patti Mills.
Shimko, a campus monitor at Plainfield North, even was commended for checking the restrooms for graffiti in her January evaluation. Nobody ever told her to stop checking the boys bathrooms, she said.
Allison still has a copy of the job duties she was given in August 2008, and there was nothing in there about gender. She gave Harper a copy.
Bachman-Thomas said the union was surprised the district wanted to ignore the contract and keep 13 males and 13 females because that was never brought up at the bargaining table. Instead, the district told the union that they wanted one male campus monitor at each of the four high schools.
"If they went with seniority, they would have had three males in the top 22," she said.
"They are affecting these women's lives. We have males who have one year of experience, but we have a female here who has worked for the district since 2001 and she's got six years experience as a campus monitor," she said. "If they say security is an issue, wouldn't you want a more senior qualified one that has the most experience being in charge of your security?"
"The district is wasting the taxpayer money by trying to promote a practice that is outside the contract and is discriminatory toward women," Bachman-Thomas said. "Because of its decision, the district opened itself up to lawsuits and other forms of litigation."
Comment on this story.
Heraldnewsonline.com
School chief hears charge
June 29, 2010 Sun
By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO cvelasco@stmedianetwork.com
PLAINFIELD -- The fate of 19 female campus monitors who were laid off based on gender rather than seniority is now in the hands of John Harper, superintendent of Plainfield School District.
Harper led a hearing with the union leaders and four female campus monitors Thursday as part of the grievance process, listening to their side and asking questions. He told them he would make a decision by the end of this week.
Harper's meeting was the second step of the grievance process.
If the union doesn't like Harper's decision, they can appeal to the school board, which is the third step. The fourth step is arbitration.
"He has the power in the grievance process to end it before taking it to the next level," said school board President Stuart Bledsoe.
There are 19 women who have more experience and seniority than their male counterparts, but have been laid off as part of budget cuts. There are five females who have six years experience compared to the last male campus monitor on the seniority list. He has two years and the district kept him on the payroll when layoffs were made.
Gender balance
In the first step of the dispute, the district's human resources department denied the grievance, saying "female campus monitors are not qualified to hold positions vacated by male campus monitors because they cannot perform all of the duties performed by the male campus monitors."
"The job description also requires a proportional balance of male and female campus monitors. ... The district has always maintained a gender balance in this position because such a balance is required for employees to fulfill the duties of the position effectively and efficiently," wrote Darlene von Behren, assistant superintendent, in a denial letter to the Plainfield Association of Support Staff union.
However, campus monitors disputed that statement, saying the number of male and female campus monitors at each of the high schools is not equal, said campus monitor Miriam Shimko.
There were four females and two male campus monitors at Plainfield East; six females and four males at Plainfield South; five females and two males at Plainfield North; and six males and five females at Plainfield Central.
Lisa Allison, a campus monitor at Aux Sable Middle School, said there were two female campus monitors at Drauden Point, Aux Sable, John F. Kennedy and Timber Ridge middle schools.
New gender duties
The union is also concerned with a job description that seemed to pop up only after the district wanted to keep 13 male campus monitors instead of laying off workers based on seniority, Allison said.
"The campus monitor job description requires campus monitors to monitor student behavior in certain areas of the buildings that are designated as male or female areas, such as the restrooms or locker rooms," von Behren wrote in her grievance response letter. "Because male campus monitors are required to monitor student behavior in the men's restrooms and locker rooms and female campus monitors cannot perform that job duty, a more senior female campus monitor is not qualified to assume the position of a less senior, male campus monitor."
Ann Bachman-Thomas, IEA UniServ Director, said the union didn't receive the job description until the district brought it to the bargaining table April 19.
"We said, 'We never agreed to that. We've never seen this. How can you implement a job description such as that when we have had not input on that?'" she said.
"The district has attempted to change and impose a new campus monitor job description to support its decision, without any input or discussion from the union leadership," she said.
The district disagreed. The new job description was given to the union in October, district spokesman Tom Hernandez said.
The district refused to comment on the grievance, saying they have a mutual agreement with the union not to comment to the media. Bachman-Thomas said there is no such agreement.
Allison said the campus monitors were never told of the new duties that only male campus monitors could perform. She checked boys and girls bathrooms for graffiti at Aux Sable Middle School.
"How come none of us were ever shown that? We were never given a designated area ever," said campus monitor Patti Mills.
Shimko, a campus monitor at Plainfield North, even was commended for checking the restrooms for graffiti in her January evaluation. Nobody ever told her to stop checking the boys bathrooms, she said.
Allison still has a copy of the job duties she was given in August 2008, and there was nothing in there about gender. She gave Harper a copy.
Bachman-Thomas said the union was surprised the district wanted to ignore the contract and keep 13 males and 13 females because that was never brought up at the bargaining table. Instead, the district told the union that they wanted one male campus monitor at each of the four high schools.
"If they went with seniority, they would have had three males in the top 22," she said.
"They are affecting these women's lives. We have males who have one year of experience, but we have a female here who has worked for the district since 2001 and she's got six years experience as a campus monitor," she said. "If they say security is an issue, wouldn't you want a more senior qualified one that has the most experience being in charge of your security?"
"The district is wasting the taxpayer money by trying to promote a practice that is outside the contract and is discriminatory toward women," Bachman-Thomas said. "Because of its decision, the district opened itself up to lawsuits and other forms of litigation."
Comment on this story.
Heraldnewsonline.com
