A man with a Clark County Education Association union T-shirt is removed from a Clark County School District meeting after causing a disturbance at the Greer Education Center Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. The teachers union (CCEA) and CCSD are currently in contract negotiations.
Published Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | 3:27 p.m.
Updated Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023 | 6:53 p.m.
The Clark County Education Association agreed today to put pressure on Gov. Joe Lombardo to “end the stalemate” between the union and the Clark County School District as bitter contract negotiations continue.
The union held a full-membership meeting today as planned to discuss “work actions,” but did not take up votes to strike – work stoppages, sickouts, slowdowns or operational interruptions – according to one attendee. Nor did members take a vote to “work to rule” as a kind of work action, meaning teachers would only work the 7 hours, 11 minutes a day outlined in their current contract . The union had previously floated “work to rule” as a kind of work action it might consider if it did not have a satisfactory contract to ratify by today.
The union does not have such a contract. CCEA and the district are still mired in contract negotiations, with their last bargaining session on Aug. 18.
Details from the meeting are slim, as CCEA denied entry to the event at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion to the media and said there were no plans for a press conference afterwards. Union leadership has not responded to repeated requests for comment on behalf of their members.
The union has also not released a public statement on social media.
However, the attendee shared photos from the slideshow presented to the crowd inside the venue. One photo showed a lengthy statement, which the members reportedly agreed to, seeking Lombardo’s intervention. It read, in full:
“The level of vacancies in CCSD are at a crisis level. We have close to 2,000 vacancies with close to 35,000 students without a full-time classroom teacher. Governor Lombardo and the Nevada Legislature made a historic investment in our public school system, with a significant amount coming to CCSD. To date, CCSD has refused to use that investment to address the vacancy crisis. We are entering our 2nd month of the school year, and more educators are threatening to quit before the school year ends. Accordingly, we are calling on Governor Lombardo to use his authority as Governor to intervene and end the stalemate CCSD has created in addressing this crisis of vacancies.”
Lombardo gave this statement to the Sun:
“After providing record funding for education in Clark County, it’s disappointing that negotiations between CCSD and CCEA have been unsuccessful so far,” he said. “While I’ve always believed collective bargaining should be handled at the local level, I’m eager to help resolve this conflict in a way that best serves the children of Clark County.”
The union has held several rallies in recent weeks as it remains at odds with the district on a new two-year contract. On Thursday, one rally drew hundreds of attendees – CCSD Police estimated about 1,500 employees – to the School Board’s meeting location. Three teachers were removed from the meeting room, with two of them issued misdemeanor citations for disrupting proceedings, when they led dozens of union supporters in loud, extended chants.
Among other demands in current negotiations, CCEA is seeking 18% across-the-board pay raises over two years. The union is also seeking additional compensation for special education teachers, teachers in high-vacancy, typically low-income schools, and an increased pay rate for teachers working extended-day hours at certain campuses.
CCSD has offered 10.5% raises across the board over two years, additional pay for certain special education teachers and teachers in “hard-to-fill” positions, plus placement on a proposed new pay scale that the district says emphasizes college education and years of experience more than the current scale. Reclassification on the pay scale would be by request only, but the district has said that it could result in significant pay increases.
"The issues that divide the parties should be resolvable at the bargaining table," CCSD said in a statement to the Sun. "If CCEA is proposing that the governor mediate the parties' dispute, we welcome the opportunity to show the governor that our proposals are fair, equitable, and financially responsible."
CCSD filed a lawsuit against CCEA in July, arguing that “work action” is a veiled threat to strike, which is illegal for public school teachers and other local and state government employees in Nevada. As of Tuesday, a judge said the district’s charge was premature, but did say that some public comments made by CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita were “concerning.”
