PAL:
Partnership with
Administration and Labor
A Model for Effective
Union-Management Relations
Presented by
Dr. Carol Hansen, Assistant Superintendent - Human Resources
Mr. Ray Gaer, President – ABC Federation of Teachers
ABC Unified School District
Cerritos, California
Overview of ABC Unified School District
 Serves the Communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens,
Portions of Lakewood and Norwalk in Southeast Corner of Los
Angeles County
 Ethnic Breakdown – 92% Ethnic Minority; 42% Hispanic/Latino;
40% Asian Pacific Islander; 10% African-American; 8% White
 Student Population: 21,029 (TK-12)
 30 Schools – 19 Elementary Schools; 5 Middle Schools; 5 High
Schools; 1 Adult School; (10 Preschools; 16 Magnet Schools)
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51% - Low Income Families
20% - English Learners
District’s Drop Out Rate - 3.5%
Total Number Of ABC Employees - 3,350; Teachers: 1,035
Human Resources
 85% of your budget is personnel – classified,
certificated, and management
 Recruitment, Screening, Hiring, Placement, Transfer,
Leaves, Resignation, Retirement, Discipline and
Dismissal
 Supervision and Evaluation
 School Site Staffing and Assignment
 Collective Bargaining, Negotiations, and Contract
Management
First Things First
COMMUNICATION
RELATIONSHIPS
COMMON VISION
History of PAL
 Strife to Stability (1993-1999)
 A new partnership between administration and labor (PAL) with a
new superintendent and new board committed to collaborate with
the teacher’s union towards the goal of student achievement
 Guiding Principles and Behaviors
 Partnership Charter Statement signed by board and union leaders
 PAL Conference/West Coast Labor Management Workshops
 Continue to create new structures and systems for collaboration
(Southside Schools Initiative to Common Core)
Why Partnerships?
 Quality of Decisions
 Quality of Implementation
 Motivation through Voice
 Full participation
 Partial participation
 Pseudo participation
The Partnership’s Guiding Principles
All students can succeed and we will not accept any
excuse that prevents that from happening in ABC.
We will work together to promote student success.
All needed support will be made available to
schools to ensure every student succeeds. We will
work together to ensure that happens.
The Partnership’s Guiding Principles
The top 5% of teachers in our profession should teach
our students. We will work together to hire, train, and
retain these professionals.
All employees contribute to student success.
All negotiations support conditions that sustain
successful teaching and student learning. This is the
MAIN THING!
We won’t let each other fail.
The Partnership’s Behaviors
•We work hard to understand the core of each other’s jobs
•We respect each other
•We are honest with each other
•We do not “sugar coat” difficult issues
•We disagree without being disagreeable
•We reflect on each other’s comments, suggestions, and
concerns
The Partnership’s Behaviors
•We reflect on each other’s comments, suggestions, and
concerns.
•We seek clarification until we understand.
•We maintain confidentiality.
•We both “own the contract.”
•We solve problems rather than win arguments.
•We laugh at ourselves and with each other.
Mission Statement
 The ABC Partnership is a collaborative effort to
improve student achievement and to enhance the
teaching and working environment for faculty, staff, and
administration through the institutional partnering of
colleagues in the ABC Unified School District and the
ABC Federation of Teachers. Faculty and
administration should have a voice in those decisions
that reflect the collaborative efforts and goals of the
partnership emphasizing a common understanding of
the issues, joint research, sharing of information,
mutual respect, and working together to ensure each
others’ success.
Where does PAL work?
A progression of PAL work
Budget and
Negotiations
Contract
Management
and Employee
Issues
Academic
Services and
Programs
Budget Transparency
 Attend budget workshops together
 Chief Business Officer and Chief Negotiator meet and
compare numbers
 Budget overview meetings with all unions and
management led by the superintendent
 Greater understanding of expenditures and revenues
Bargaining in ABCUSD
 Hybrid: Traditional with interest based feeling tone
 Guiding principles are considered
 Pre-negotiations’ conversations frequently occur
 Rational for proposals are clear and reasonable
 We understand each others’ political realities
 Trust has been built over time
 We won’t let each other fail
The Contract and Employees
 Clear definitions and interpretation of the contract
 Issues resolved at site level
 Joint communication on hot topics
 Address performance/conduct issues as mediators
 Thorough investigations are conduct before we act
 What can we do to resolve issues and help employeesTOGETHER?
Academic Services and PAL
Special Education:
Curriculum and
Professional Development
• CCSS Professional Development
and Implementation Timeline
• Committee Member Selection
• Secondary Math Coaches
• Textbook Adoption Process
• Report Card
•P.R.O.P.S
•iCARE (AFT Innovative Funds)
Child Development:
Thematic Unit Projects (AFT Innovative
Funds)
Information Technology
•Pilot Elementary Grade Book
•District Technology Plan
Developing Building Representatives
Capacity and Culture
 Building Representative trainings
 Monthly attendance at union meetings – 98% attendance
 Providing opportunities to participate in AFT training
programs
 Having “fierce conversations”
 Building trust and relationships
 Creating a culture to question district issues together
Developing Administrators’
Capacity and Culture
 Ability to collaborate in a union partnership is a criteria
used when selecting new administrators
 Union representation is present on all administrator
interview panels
 Union’s point of view and input is valued and consider
when major District decisions need to be made
 New principal training and orientation includes
understanding the background and guiding principles of
the partnership
Partnership Standing Meetings
Superintendent
Union President
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Negotiator
Asst. Sup. HR
Union President and Chief Negotiator
Asst. Supt. Academic
PASS Coordinator & VP Elem.
Curriculum and P.D.
VP HS & VP MS
Special Education
VP Special Education,
Special Ed Advisory Committee
Information Technology
Union President
Coordinator of Child Dev
VP-Child Development
ABC Management
All Labor Unions
District Cabinet
ABCFT Executive Board
ABC-ABCFT District Level Collaborations
Board of Education
Superintendent’s Office
Academic Services
•CA Common Core Standards
•Smarter Balance Assessment
•Weekly meetings
•Shared principles; beliefs
•Conferences on Collaborative
School Reform
•Special Education PROPS (Proactive
Problem Solving) Committee
•Negotiations
•Recruitment and Retirement Fairs
•New Teacher Orientation
•Personnel Issues
•Insurance Benefits Committee
•Budget Workshops
•Finance and Audit Committee
District
Human Resources
Business Services
and
ABCFT
Collaborations
School Services
•Liaison with Principals – Training
(COMPASS)
•Problem-Solving
•Leading Equity Action Project
(LEAP)
•PAL Committee
Partnership Impacts Teacher
Recruitment, Retention and Moral
•
•
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•
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•
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100% credentialed teachers
99% highly qualified teacher.
Large applicant pool
No “hard to staff school”
Average years of teaching is 16 years
Proactive approach to addressing personnel problems
Few grievances – resolved at lowest level - no
arbitrations
• No lay-offs of permanent teachers
Academic Performance Index (API)
State Comparison 2008-2013
ABC Exceeds the State Target of 800
900
849
850
814
800
750
822
833
795
742
755
767
852
778
791
789
State
District
700
650
600
2008
2009
State Target
800
2010
2011
2012
2013
Start Your Own PAL
 Commit to Take a Risk
 Start regular meetings between the Superintendent and
the Union President
 Develop you Guiding Principals and Behaviors
 Start Regular Meetings Between Human Resources
and the Union President
 Pick a Project
 Expand the Capacity…
With other Executives
With site union reps and principals
With Partnership Committees
More Ways to Build PAL
 Encourage principals and union leaders to develop an
open dialogue and positive working relationships
 Encourage site principals to hold regular meetings with
the union reps on your campus
 Consider union representation when forming
committees
 Consider union’s voice when making decisions
 Pick a project to work on together
Closing Thoughts
 Practice PAL with fidelity and authenticity
 Partnerships are about relationships and trust that are
established over time
 Working together takes time and commitment
 It is easier to have your union working with you rather
than against you
Making PAL work
RELATIONSHIPS
COMMMUNICATION
COMMON VISION
Questions
and Answers