Colleagues,
Now that the District finally issued a communication regarding payroll issues, I want to provide you a brief update.
For the past two months, we have been meeting with the District to address the Oracle debacle. During that entire time, the District’s representatives proved unable to either rectify most of the existing payroll problems or to give us any convincing evidence that they could meet general payroll by the time schools reopen in September.
In a united front, the presidents of all four unions within the Rochester City School District (ASAR, BENTE, RAP and RTA) met with Superintendent Rosser yesterday afternoon. At that meeting Dr. Rosser finally assured us, for the first time, that salaried RCSD employees (teachers and administrators) would indeed receive their regular general pay on September 5 and beyond. He also indicated that the teachers’ pay will include the recently negotiated salary increase.
So much for the good news – if that actually happens. Extra pay, summer pay, retro pay, PDI pay, deferred savings pay, are still among the issues yet to be resolved. So is also the whole issue of pay for hourly rate employees – affecting almost exclusively non-teaching employees and paraprofessionals. We have already filed Class Action Grievances and are also filing a formal appeal to the NYS Bureau of Labor to address current failure by the District to provide correct compensation to approximately 100 of our members.
While relieved that it appears that the September 5 “train wreck” will be averted and the District will be able to make general payroll, we remain determined to continue working collaboratively with our sister unions and press the District to resolve the remaining compensation issues still affecting about 100 RTA members and nearly 700 BENTE and RAP members. This has been, and remains, our top priority.
We will continue to keep you informed about the progress of our efforts on your behalf. If you are among those adversely affected, and have not yet notified the RTA, please let RTA’s Martha Keating know by phone (585 546 2681) or by email <maskerade6@aol.com>.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President