Orange County teachers rally to reject new deal between union, school district

Teachers gather to vote 'no' on contract they say will bring pay cuts to some

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Dozens of teachers donning red shirts filled the Castle Church Brewing Co. on Friday afternoon to rally against a contract deal struck between their union, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association and Orange County Public Schools last month for the 2019 to 2020 school year. 

The rally comes days before the 14,000 teachers in the district will get a chance to vote "yes" or "no" on a contract rally organizer and Innovation Middle School teacher David Grimm said doesn't reflect teachers' value.

[RELATED: Orange County Schools approves proposed teacher salary agreement]

"We just feel as though our union truly didn't fight for us, and we are going to vote 'no' and hopefully get that contract rejected and they will have to go back to the table and start bargaining again," said Grimm, who has been teaching for 22 years. 

The deal does come with what the district calls a cost of living raise, or COLA, which is about $500 for teachers across the board and more for teachers who are deemed highly affective, which district officials say is about 84% of their 7,000 teachers.  

"This salary increase, it's an average percent of payroll of 4% and I think overall," said Scott Howat, Orange Public County Schools communications officer. "A teacher making $48,000 that's highly affected is going to have a 4.22% increase in pay that far exceed(s) the surrounding districts." 

However, Grimm, along with other teachers, says it's not enough, especially with skyrocketing insurance premiums that are part of the deal. 

"Anything associated with your health care is increasing," Grimm said. "Dental is increasing. Vision is increasing. So all of these increases, combined with the offer, as far as the wages go, a  lot of people are going to be getting pay cuts."

According to the new insurance plans in the contract, a family plan for a teacher will cost just under $1,500 per month. 

"I have personal friends who are going to lose $2,000 because of this," Grimm added. "Did they really fight for us?"

According to Wendy Doromal, president of the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, she and the bargaining team did fight. 

The CTA union originally asked for a 10% increase in salaries and no insurance hikes; however, Doromal said the district refused. 

"We believe this was the final offer they were going to give, and we've been told since then that this is it," Doromal said. "The answer was no, and no and no at the school board level, too."

Now Grimm hopes the teachers who rallied Friday will vote "no" and reject the contract. If the contract is rejected, the CTA will go back to the bargaining table. 

"I expect that if it is a 'no' vote, we will probably end up at impasse," Doromal said. 

The district will begin tallying those votes Monday at 1 p.m.


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