District Refuses To Compromise On Any Level With District Teachers
LANGHORNE, PA (August 16, 2012) — Much as the NFT Negotiation team predicted, the this evening’s bargaining session with the Neshaminy School Board was a complete waste of the Federation’s time. Despite the presence of the NFT’s senior attorney, that Board President Ritchie
Webb has publicly asserted was necessary to be in attendance for their side to agree to any terms, neither Webb nor anyone else from the Board saw fit to even meet with the NFT’s bargaining team. In an effort to nonetheless move the process forward, the NFT presented the Board with a written proposal to resolve a series of minor issues to which the Board had already agreed – twelve items contained in the arbitration award on which there had been no disagreement. Characteristically, Webb and the Board’s lawyer Charles Sweet backed off their initial agreement and instead would only agree to redraft the document and present it for consideration at the next meeting.
The state-appointed mediator attempted “shuttle diplomacy” by travelling between the two rooms in an effort to get both sides to negotiate. However, absolutely nothing was accomplished and the evening passed without progress. Despite never having moved toward resolution for the past four years, the Board continued to cling to its refusal to engage in any semblance of meaningful bargaining. The Federation strongly but futilely encouraged the Board to reevaluate its position and finally engage in real bargaining.
The next session is scheduled for August 29 – just six days before the start of the new school year. The NFT entered this evening’s session with tempered hope that the Board would be willing to engage in negotiations but it is apparent to the teacher’s union that the Board has no concept of how it will resolve this dispute – and that it seemingly couldn’t care less in order to do so.