By LESTER CHANG
Fremont Union High School District teachers plan to meet with the public at the Elks Club on April 25 to voice concerns about contract negotiations with the district.
The teachers' union is holding the meeting to rally support from parents and other members of the public for upcoming contract negotiations.
The 7 p.m. meeting comes in the wake of an April 2 decision by district trustees not to respond to a request by the Fremont Education Association for more discussions before contract negotiations that are set for April 23.
The talks involve about 400 teachers whose contract will expire in August.
At its April 2 meeting, the board said it couldn't act on the FEA's proposal because it had been put in the "communications with the public" section of the agenda.
By procedure, as set by state law, the board could only ask for clarification of the request and could not act on it.
FEA President George Gredassoff said he made the request because he felt the district negotiators were foot-dragging. The union has made numerous counterproposals, but district negotiators have yet to submit any, Gredassoff said.
The board, however, met in a closed session with its negotiators and gave instructions. Members didn't elaborate on the details of that meeting.
Contract talks chiefly revolve around salaries and health and retirement benefits.
The district proposes to raise yearly salaries of new teachers from $28,000 to $35,000 over a three-year contract period, with salaries of experienced teachers rising from $48,000 to $65,000.
The union wants to negotiate yearly. Teachers propose a one-year contract that would raise salaries for new teachers from $28,000 to $35,000 and salaries for experienced teachers from $48,000 to $59,000.
Holding annual talks would better enable the teachers to cope with changes in the cost of living, state revenue sharing and other variables, union officials said.
The district wants to alter the way health benefits are delivered to the teachers. It wants to lump the cost of medical insurance into a teacher's salary and allow teachers to choose from among 13 medical insurance carriers and other health insurance carriers.
This plan, if implemented, would would teachers to select only services they need, resulting in savings for them, district officials said.
The union wants to maintain a health and medical plan that provides a wide range of services.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.