Glendale Teachers Association
3233 N. Verdugo Rd.
Glendale, CA 91208
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Phone: (818) 240-3924
Where did all the money go?
Last year (2023-2024) GUSD spent $71 million on services. The district pays outside agencies much more than it would pay in-house, union employees. This privatizing is eating up money that could be used for raises and other improvements to our schools. Why are our Glendale public schools becoming so reliant on private, for profit corporations?
For Context:
The district has a total budget of $372 million for ’24-‘25. It costs the district approximately $2 million dollars per 1% raise to all employees. Instead, they are now budgeting for almost as much as they spent last year on outsourcing jobs!
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Interested in knowing what the recent FCMAT (The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team) had to say about the district’s misuse of funds? Click here for the FCMAT Report. And click here for links to email Dr. Watson and the board to let them know that you expect more from GUSD.
Support Glendale Teachers
Why are teachers organizing?
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Glendale educators are organizing to demonstrate our commitment to standing together for quality GUSD schools. Our hearts and souls are invested in cultivating classroom communities that motivate our students to learn. We proudly stand together to fight for the support that our students need to thrive, and this includes the support that educators need to thrive.
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What is happening at the bargaining table?
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Educators in GUSD have been working under an expired contract for over a year. Consequently, our wages are less competitive and our working conditions have not been updated to the standards of the time. Despite efforts to reach an agreement last year, GUSD management declared an “impasse in bargaining” over the summer. This further delays any progress towards signing an agreement. We hope that our collective actions will influence GUSD management to reach an agreement promptly.
What does the Glendale Teachers Association (GTA) stand for?
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GTA stands for our students. As professional educators, we believe that every GUSD student should have an excellent fully credentialed teacher for all 180 days of the school year. We use our collective power to combat the statewide teacher shortage that is impacting our students. We believe this crisis is best conquered by ensuring GUSD is an attractive district for teachers to work, and we recognize that this is best accomplished through a collaborative relationship between labor and management.
What has GTA accomplished?
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Just last year, our community saw the power of collaboration between labor and management when we stood together in unity against extremism and hate that was threatening our classrooms. Together, we won safer and more supportive classroom conditions for students, and we preserved curricula that lifts up students of all backgrounds and identities. But the need to work together should not have ended there. Our students continue to need District leaders to stand with GTA educators to secure a contract that attracts and retains highly qualified educators for every classroom.
What are GTA's demands?
We demand that our elected Board members:
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Recognize and fix our current salary schedule that is turning highly qualified educators away from GUSD.
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Act and vote in accordance with their adopted board priorities (“Recruit, hire, and retain the best talent that supports our diverse students.”) by directing their finance department to prioritize attracting and retaining high quality educators in the budget.
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Sign a tentative agreement so that educators will no longer work under an expired contract.
Are GUSD educators going to strike?
We hope not. However, the District’s unilateral declaration of an impasse in bargaining has forced us down a path that could lead to a strike. Our bargaining team would have preferred to continue face-to-face negotiations, and we had hoped to reach a favorable deal during mediation or fact finding (should mediation fail). But we are not naive. Our Proud Union Member buttons are a signal that GTA educators are organized, united, and ready to act.
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If you would like to support teachers and quality GUSD schools, please email the Board of Education and Dr. Watson to ask them to ensure that GUSD schools are able to attract and retain great educators. Their email addresses and a template are available below.
Click here to join GTA's mailing list for community updates.
Write to the Board of Education and Dr. Watson
GUSD
Board Members
GUSD
Superintendent
Sample email
Dear [Board Member Name/Dr. Watson],
I am a [parent/teacher/community member] from [school name] and I strongly urge you to do everything in your power to reach a fair settlement with the Glendale Teachers Association. The quality of our schools is a reflection of the support and respect that you provide to educators. As [an elected board member/superintendent], you should do everything you can to ensure that salaries are comparable with those of neighboring districts. GUSD needs to attract and retain quality educators for our students, which it cannot do while teacher pay is lagging behind recent increases in other districts.
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Thank you,
[Your Name]
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