home | boulder county

Teachers Support Voice for Boulder County Employees

October 5, 2006

Dear Commissioners Ben Pearlman, Tom Mayer, and Will Toor:

Teachers in the Boulder Valley School District are public employees, just like the employees of Boulder County.  We understand that some of these employees are organizing a union to have a say on issues, such as health care, that affect them.  We believe that public employees have a right to organize a union and have a voice in workplace issues.

The Boulder County Model Resolution Creating a Union Recognition Process submitted to you by the Boulder Co. Employees Organizing Committee and SEIU incorporates many best practices that the Boulder Valley Education Association (BVEA) has written into our current master agreement with the Boulder Valley School District.  These include interest-based labor management partnerships and binding arbitration.  These practices enable us to settle disputes and promote employee-management cooperation and problem solving.  We have recently moved away from adversarial bargaining to interest-based bargaining, such as is included in the Recognition Process, much to our mutual benefit and improved communications.  These practices have also resulted in higher teacher morale, when we feel like we have a meaningful voice in a collaborative process.

The County should remain neutral on the question of a union, so that employees can decide, free from management advocacy one way or the other.  Employees should have reasonable access in their workplace buildings to meet with union staff representatives during times they are not required to be on the job. 

Teachers know as well as anyone the financial impacts of increasing health care costs. BVEA has an insurance committee that works with the school district to work out the best possible health care plans, even as we are all buffeted by skyrocketing costs from insurers.  As a large county employer, Boulder County can lead the way on developing fair and reasonable public employee health care plans, and this process can only be improved when employee representatives of a union can work hand-in-hand with you.

As County Commissioners, you are in the unique position to provide leadership in support of Boulder County employees’ establishment of a union.  The Recognition Process submitted by SEIU is an exemplary process that we believe is worthy of your approval, and we ask that you come to an agreement soon so that you can all move forward in a positive direction.

Thank you,

Kenneth Nova, Treasurer and Executive Board

Boulder Valley Education Association
7464 Arapahoe, #3
Boulder, CO  80303