Lakewood Board of Education Approves New Labor Contract
According to treasurer Rick Berdine, the new contract will not result in cost increases, due mostly to attrition through retirements. Board president Charles Geiger added that the school board and administration have worked diligently to ensure fiscal responsibility through the development of the new budget, staying within the limits of a five-year financial projection.
The new contractual agreement was reached through a collaborative bargaining process known as Interest Based Bargaining(IBB). Through this process. representatives of the administration and LTA came to a tentative contractual agreement which was then presented during this special meeting for final approval.
According to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an “independent agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation” on behalf of public and private organizations, Interest Based Bargaining “ may offer parties more flexibility than traditional bargaining, not locking them into predetermined issues and bargaining positions. Instead, the process begins with understanding the problem and identifying the interests that underlie each side’s issues and positions.” By way of this process “agreements tend to address issues in more depth than those reached using traditional techniques because they are the result of a process aimed at satisfying mutual interests by consensus, not just one side’s interests at the expense of the other. And because negotiators are dealing with each other on a different level, the results usually go beyond immediate issues to address longer term interests and concerns.”
Both Geiger and superintendent David Estrop extended their appreciation for the work of both the LTA and representatives of the administration. The new, 250 page contract was approved by a unanimous vote.
