PUSD, teachers union returning to bargaining table on Tuesday

The Association of Pleasanton Teachers has agreed to return for another negotiation session this Tuesday after the Pleasanton Unified School District expressed interest in coming back to the table with a new offer, a union spokesperson said.

According to both parties, the goal of this latest session is to facilitate reaching an agreement and end the teacher union’s impasse in negotiations before the scheduled mediation session in December.

“We are committed to giving our Pleasanton students the best, and coming to a settlement is the goal. Therefore we have agreed to return to negotiations on Tuesday,” APT President Cheryl Atkins told the Weekly on Monday.

“PUSD extended an invitation to APT to continue negotiations, with the shared goal of reaching a mutually satisfactory agreement,” district officials said in a press release Monday morning. “APT accepted this invitation and PUSD is looking forward to constructive discussions aimed at settling the current negotiations.”

On Oct. 24, the APT declared impasse in negotiations with the district after the two sides remained well apart on proposed salary increases. The district originally proposed raising teacher salaries 6.3% but has since raised it to 6.5% while the APT initially asked for a 15% raise and has since lowered it to 14.25%.

While there are other compensation and contract requests from the APT, the salary component has been the main talking point from both sides as the district has held a strong stance against the large increase in salary mainly due to budget restrictions while the teachers have been very vocal about the need for higher pay and fully paid benefits.

Tensions between the two sides came to a head last month when roughly 400 teachers and community members marched through downtown to voice their concerns and show support for the teacher union at the Oct. 26 school board meeting.

When the APT declared the impasse, it initiated the state mediation process, which is facilitated by a state mediator assigned by the Mediation and Conciliation Service of the Public Employee Relations Board, according to PUSD officials.

While the mediation session is still currently scheduled for Dec. 15, the goal at Tuesday’s negotiations session is to reach an agreement, “which is the outcome sought by both parties,” according to district officials.