Post updated at 2:39 p.m. Monday, July 22:
The Lawrence school district has offered classified staff members 99-cent raises to their hourly wages as part of a tentative contract agreement.
PAL-CWA has been advocating for a living wage for the custodians, paraeducators, food workers and other staff in the district it represents. Ross Allison-Natale, president of Communications Workers of America Local 6400, previously said the union has primarily focused on achieving a living wage for the 2024-25 year.
Right now, a living wage for a single adult living in Lawrence with no children is $19.87 an hour, and the lowest paid classified worker’s hourly pay is currently $13.03.
The district on Monday afternoon released a joint statement between the school board and the PAL-CWA bargaining team announcing the agreement.
Staff would also be eligible for horizontal movement, which is based on continuous years of experience for classified staff.
“Most staff would receive 11 to 13 cents in increases through horizontal movement, with exact increases dependent on salary schedule placement,” the statement says.
Changes to contract language would allow new employees to utilize their sick leave days beginning on their first day of employment; allow classified staff to utilize their personal business leave days on inclement weather days; reflect continued coverage of full insurance premiums for full-time employees; and include gender-neutral pronouns, according to the statement.
“Our bargaining team is really excited about this contract and eager to turn our attention towards fighting for a big investment in public schools at the state level,” Allison-Natale said via email Monday. “Our state has a 4 billion dollar surplus and we have school staff who can’t feed their own families, special education students who do not get the services they need and over worked and under paid teachers. We believe through organizing our coworkers, parents, students and community members we can win the schools our students deserve!”
PAL-CWA is scheduled to host an informational meeting for all classified staff at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 25. It’ll be held at the union’s new office inside the former Broken Arrow Elementary School, 2704 Louisiana St.
Before the tentative contract comes before the school board, classified staff members will take a vote. Information about the ratification process will be shared directly with PAL-CWA members.
“The teams wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Superintendent Dr. (Anthony) Lewis, the Board of Education, negotiations teams, PAL-CWA members, and classified staff during this process,” the statement says. “The teams are committed to continuing to address further goals and needs through biweekly labor-management meetings between PAL-CWA leadership and district staff, as well as support the Board in advocating for additional school funding at the state level.”
Lawrence Education Association, the district’s teachers union, has also recently come to an agreement that includes a $1,400 increase to the base annual salary for teachers. Board members will consider approving the tentative contract during their meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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