District ratifies contract Monday

MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake School District and Public School Employees Union reached a contract agreement Sunday evening, narrowly avoiding a strike.

The groups met until 10 p.m. Sunday to discuss contractual issues for classified staff and emerged with a tentative agreement. Union members and the school board ratified the agreement in separate meetings Monday night.

"Progress was made in all the important areas, and this was an impressive time for the membership to stand up and be heard, and make a difference," said union spokesperson Rick Chisa.

Included in the three-year contract is a 4.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment retroactive to Sept. 1. Employees who are more significantly below average are getting a 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment, including food service, technology, warehouse and security employees.

District administrators agreed to add $30,000 to the employees' insurance pool during the 2008-2009 school year and $15,000 the following year.

"I think we got to a fair settlement," said Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Monte Redal.

A verbal agreement was reached to review the process for comparing the wages of similar jobs with similar school districts.

Redal said the parity study is being conducted in the three years before the next bargaining session.

"This is a substantial step in putting a lot of our differences behind us and working to improve our wages in Moses Lake longterm," Chisa said.

Union leaders were prepared to declare a strike if an agreement was not reached Sunday. The last public school employees union strike in Washington happened in 1999, Chisa said.

Resolutions were signed in preparation for a strike, by the board of directors Thursday following an executive session.

Redal said the resolutions are standard procedure for when a labor group threatens to strike.