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TEACHERS AND
ESP'S, LOCAL 59 Weblinks: Map to MFT Directions
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Teacher Rights / Representation
UNION MEMBERSHIP
Union membership is a benefit to members and
is established by filling out a white card. Union membership provides
- Legal representation statutory discharge cases,
MDE maltreatment investigation interviews, Bd of Teaching (teacher
licensure) matters, initial assignment of counsel up to point of criminal
charges being filed, etc. (Ask for
Ed Minnesota Legal Services Policies if you have a specific situation).
- Grievance support should an individual
(not contract defense) issue go to arbitration
- $1M liability policy coverage (errors and
omissions policy) – this covers defending civil litigation, reimbursement
of up to $35,000 in criminal defense acquittals
- Continuous payment of dues at the last
level while active is required if matters are being pursued while you are
on leave or discharged
Check your paystub:
- “LOC59FS” means Local 59 Fairshare (not a
member) fees are being deducted and you may not be a member
- “LOCAL 59” means you are a member
according to our records
- Any problems – contact MFT/Mary Lachelt (mlachelt@mft59.org,
612-529-9621 x261) AND payroll@mpls.k12.mn.us and
indicate the specifics of what your stub is showing and what appears
incorrect.
RIGHT TO HAVE A UNION REP PRESENT
Allowed if
concerned about potential discipline or change in your working conditions.
Have you been
asked to provide an oral or written statement to your supervisor or the
district? Or, placed on Administrative
Leave?
If you have been
asked for a statement – Inform your supervisor that you will respond shortly
and contact your MFT Staff Business
Agent ASAP!
If there are
serious allegations – contact an MFT business agent and let administration know
you are in touch with the union if they are seeking a statement from you - Do
not make a statement immediately.
Serious
allegations are those that that could lead to further investigation by the
police, MDE, or other authorities or agencies.
The concern is that any statements you make to someone other than legal
counsel are not protected by attorney-client.
MFT will assist you and determine next steps so that your rights are
protected.
You have the right to a union representative
in a meeting that involves discipline. If you reasonably believe that
discipline may result from a conversation with a principal, you may stop the
meeting and request a union rep from the building or MFT office. Politely
inform the administrator that you would like to reschedule if a union rep is
not immediately available. Err on the side of seeking a union rep who can
observe and record meetings where your employment or employment record may be
at risk. If asked for an interview by the police as the potential subject
in a possible maltreatment allegation while you were acting within the scope of
your employment, CALL MFT IMMEDIATELY for advice about representation.
Education
Communicate immediately with MFT before
talking to anyone if you have been asked to attend an interview or have a
matter that may impact your career or license.
Letters or requests from your administrator, the district, Minnesota
Dept of Education (MDE), State Board of Teaching (BOT), or legal authorities
should prompt you to call us ASAP.
MEETING WITH SUPERVISOR
You cannot avoid
or unreasonably delay this meeting, but you can protect yourself by asking for
union representation, hearing out the concerns and indicating that you will
respond in a reasonable time (for urgent questions - such as whether you saw a
child get on the bus - would not be reasonable to delay in order to get
representation). Ask the administrator
if there is a consequence to delaying a response (insubordination,
possibly). You can then determine
whether it is worth the risk to not respond.
LOUDERMILL CONFERENCE (Meeting with
Employee Relations Associate, Dept in room 309 807)
This meeting cannot be avoided, but you can
protect yourself by having union representation. Because conversations with the employer’s
representative and any discipline imposed are not finally concluded until all
grievance/challenge rights have been exhausted, you are allowed a business
agent to appear with you and observe/take notes at a loudermill. You would be allowed legal counsel to handle
your matters if your issue goes before an arbitrator later. In the meantime, the proposition of “Do it
and Complain” apply. The district gets to
carry out its wishes and the employee & union determine whether there will be
a complaint. MPS link: http://humanresources.mpls.k12.mn.us/loudermill
What
you need to do if notified of a loudermill meeting:
- Write an account of anything that you believe the District will ask
you about (they do not have to share their investigatory information ahead
of time)
- Provide a written account to a business agent
- If you have been placed on administrative leave, we should already
be in contact and you should not be discussing this matter with ANYONE
associated with the district.
Cleveland
Board of Education v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532 (1985) was a case decided by
the United States Supreme Court involving a public employee who was dismissed
without a pretermination hearing. This type
of conference is an employment matter to apprise you
of concerns or allegations and obtain your responses before the District
reaches a decision. It is used in instances when the discipline will or
may be less than termination. You have a
right to have UNION representation present to observe the meeting. You do
not have a right to investigatory information the district may have. The conference will occur during paid time
(or you will be paid if it is over the summer).
It is usually in your interest to attend and respond. If there are serious allegations that could
involve outside authorities/agencies (liberty interests), then contact us
immediately for more specific advise/assistance.
TENNESSEN WARNING (Data Privacy Act
Warning)
Under the MN Government
Data Practices Act, the school district needs to inform you of:
1.
Purpose
and intended use of the data:
a.
Why the
data are being collected.
b.
How the
data will be used within the collecting agency (District).
2.
Whether
the individual can refuse or is legally required to provide the data being
requested from him or her.
3.
What
consequences are of supplying or not supplying the data.
4.
What
other agencies or person will legally be able to get the data.
Tennessen Warning is the name given to the requirement that a government agency must notify an individual of four things prior to asking the individual to supply private or confidential data. It is sometimes called a Data Privacy Notice or Notice of Privacy Rights. In making decisions about what data to collect or create, an employee should know that not providing a “Tennessen Warning" means that the data cannot be kept or used. If the “Tennessen Warning” is provided, then the data may be used and disseminated consistently with what individual the individual was told as long as the agency (district) has the legal authority to do so.
A Tennessen Warning does not have to be in writing, but a written Tennessen Warning is recommended. See sample Tennessen Warning (Minnesota Data Practices Information Form).
Relevant laws: Official Records Act - Minn. Stat. section 15.17; Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) - Minn. Stat. chapter 13; Records Management Statute - Minn. Stat. section 138.17. For a more information see: Data Practices Act Powerpoint.
FORMS OF DISCIPLINE
Oral Warning
Disciplinary Letter (Including a warning
that “further incidents will lead to further discipline” makes a letter a
disciplinary letter)
Unpaid suspension days in addition to a
disciplinary letter
Discharge
While some warnings/letters may feel
disciplinary, the hallmark of a disciplinary warning is direct use of warnings
like “Refusal will mean you are being insubordinate” or verbiage in a letter
like: “Further incidents will lead to further discipline.”
EMPLOYMENT
RECORD & PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE
Although not mandatory for the district to
follow progressive discipline, arbitrators will generally apply the rule that
earlier discipline needs to occur before harsher discipline is imposed. Conversely, if earlier discipline exists, the
District can reasonably impose harsher discipline. An employee’s entire employment record is “in
play” at any given time when discipline is considered – which means the periods
of good service as well as occurrences of incidents.
MN BOARD OF TEACHING (BOT) INVESTIGATION
The State Board of Teaching (BOT) is under
the MN Dept of Ed. and is charged with regulating teacher licenses and
independently investigating employment matters that affect tenured
teachers. Under state law, school districts MUST report discharges,
resignations, or suspensions of tenured teachers (see MS122A.20 Subds
1-2). At some point, the BOT will individually notify you of an
investigation, the concerns, and seek a response from you within 30
days. If you are an active member of the MFT (i.e., signed a white
card and not just paying fairshare), you will get legal assistance with this,
but MFT does not receive notification of this kind of investigation. If
you would like assistance, you must notify MFT immediately so that you can
consult with legal counsel (referral to Education Minnesota). They will
follow up the matter with you and provide a written response to the charges in
the BOT letter. There may be a hearing, but many matters are resolved
through a settlement process. Do not ignore a BOT matter.
GRIEVANCES – (Just Cause for discipline
/ Collective Bargaining Agreement Violated) [View sample form]
Under Article XIV the contract, a grievance
must be filed 20 duty/school days (weekends, breaks are not counted)
from a "harm" to your employment rights. Bring your concerns to
your steward or an MFT business agent immediately to see if your
situation is grievable. Grievances are the contractual way to remedy
contract violations or unreasonable or unfair disciplinary decisions.
There are four levels: Building Meeting/Level I, District Meeting/Level II,
Mediation/Level III, and Binding Arbitration/Level IV. MFT must support
the grievance for it to go forward and expects your participation and candid
preparation of a written account of your issues or concerns. With that in
mind, please be prepared to:
Keep a record - Write down the sequence of events, keep
track of documents, be prepared to concisely and accurately tell your story or
show your records and the source of support you have for your side of the
story, whether it would be witnesses, documents, past practices, etc.
Pinpoint the issues, if asked to do so (What
is inaccurate in this letter?)
Explore the assertions of the district (Why
would the district conclude that ….?)
State what would resolve the dispute
Exercise good faith in responding to the district's
assertions or giving credence to accurate assertions
Consider writing a rebuttal to a written
reprimand if you cannot point to a factual inaccuracy in the reprimand letter
Immediately
Contact the
RIGHTS IF YOU ARE DISCHARGED
If you are discharged as a tenured teacher,
you have rights under the Teacher Tenure Act (MS122A.41). The school
board will need to take official action after which you will receive a
certified letter from the school board.
If you feel your discharge is unjustified, we advise you to respond
to the directions in the school board letter carefully and choose to request
"a hearing before an arbitrator" specifically within 10 days of the
letter's date.
We can assist with drafting this letter, but
we do not make the request for you. Notify MFT immediately as
well. If the 10 days' pass, then you will have acquiesced to the
school board's decision and lose your challenge right. MFT can assist you
work out a mutual agreement in lieu of the discharge. Typically, you will need to be prepared to
resign to avoid further information about discharge from entering into your
employment record with the District. We
will be there each step of the way to advise you.
If you are not under the Teacher Tenure Statute, contact MFT to learn whether you have a right to have the union support you to arbitration. This will generally be dependent upon “just cause” language in the collective bargaining agreement. A final determination would be determined through MFT and based upon Education Minnesota’s Legal advice.
REALIGNMENT
Realignment is mandated by the Teacher Tenure Act and legal decisions interpreting that act unless the district and union have jointly bargained a legal modification to realignment. For a visual explanation of a typical realignment example, click on Realignment FAQs. Contact a business agent at MFT if you have further questions about realignment.
© 2003 Minneapolis Federation of Teachers 67-