The Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union has asked the Vermont Labor Commissioner Anne Noonan to vacate her Findings of Fact and Order of Feb. 10 requiring the Supervisory Union pay any disputed wages.
"We have all suffered from interruptions to the academic year," said Catherine McClure, superintendent of the supervisory union. "We want to be fair to our teachers, our students and taxpayers. We sympathize with our teachers, but agree that wages should be paid for days worked. I think that's a concept everyone can understand."
Teachers were issued an advance payment in response to Hurricane Irene which when combined with the Sept. 15 payment provided teachers with over 16 days of pay for only 4 days of work.
A Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division spreadsheet outlining teachers’ salaries was included with the request. The DOL spreadsheet clearly indicates that teachers have been paid more than the days they have worked.
The Request to Vacate stated that the DOL failed to prove there is an underpayment to teachers. The Request goes on to say that the Commissioner’s Order suggests that the CBA violates state law, which would require a revision of the payment provisions within the CBA.
Central to the debate is whether there were wage discrepancies as suggested by the teachers union or whether the teachers were paid properly according to their CBA and state law.
“Through the complaint process everyone is provided guidance and clarification in the interpretation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and how it relates to state law,” said McClure.
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