Bellevue bargaining talks turn to reduction in hours and recall

Last night’s AISP bargaining was a continuation of discussions about Reduction-in Hours and Recall. The Union wants more flexibility in the reinstatement of hours including a two hour variance based on hours previously worked. The Union and District will meet on Friday for further talks.

» Read more

Bellevue Bargaining is Going to Mediation

SEIU Local 925 Bargaining Team and the District have agreed to seek the help of a PERC mediator.

» Read more

Local 925 Members With Andy Stern Healthcare Reform

Jackie Wheeler, Linda Matsumoto & Andy S

April 30, 2009

Bellevue Members with Andy Stern Support Healthcare Reform

» Read more

SEIU Member's Essay Changed The Way Some Schools In Marysville Serve Lunch

One Essay Changed The Way Some Schools In Marysville Serve Lunch
The Effort To Recycle Now Heading To Elementary Schools

Parella Lewis | Staff reporter | KCPQ 13
May 26, 2009

One essay changed the way Marysville Middle School served lunch. And now the change is spreading to other schools in the community.

Styrofoam treys were replaced with biodegradable cartons. Composting and recycling is now a daily effort by both the students and staff.. And the end result is about six bus loads of garbage less than before. Principal Pete Lundberg tells Q13 Fox News, "We were producing 25-50 bags of garbage a day. We had like two eight yard dumpsters that had to be dumped twice a week." Now he says that waste is down about seventy-five percent.

This change was spurred by a custodian at the school. Mathew Edgerton says his daily trip to the garbage got him thinking."Jumping on the dumpsters try to smash it down so you could close the lid at the end of the night. I guess jumping on the garbage, I'm thinking there's got to be a better way than this", explains Edgerton.

His union happened to be having an essay contest, so Edgerton entered. His essay won and [read article]

Lake WA Schools Craft a Responsible Budget

The Lake Washington School District, with an $8 million deficit, tackled a tough job in a responsible way. Superintendent Kimball opted to cut adminstrators and increase fees in order to keep the impact of the deficit as far from the district's kids as possible. This includes protecting safety net programs for struggling learners, such as the Ready Start preschool program.

Jeannie Parks, LWSD

We're really proud of our district for having the wisdom to put our kids and families first in these tough times.
Jeannie Parks, Preschool Teacher, Lake Washington School District

At the Table...

BSD Bargaining 0509

Local 925 members caucus during negotiations with the Bellevue School District. "We're hard at work!" says Chapter President Linda Matsumoto (in back, at right). "We're doing our best for members in these challenging economic times."

Historic Education Reform Passes

"This bill lays the foundation for fully funding the services our members provide United for Good Jobs & Schools

and ensuring a quality education for the children of our state," says Tyler Bass, Local 925 K-12 Division Director on the passage of the historic education reform bill. SEIU Local 925 calls on Governor Gregoire to sign it into law. To see the Seattle Times article, click here.

SEIU Quality Public Services: Everybody Wins!

Local 925 member Matt Edgerton (right) presents Marysville School District's Jim Baker with a $20,000 grant from SEIU to implement Matt's award-winning idea.

"The Green Team," Local 925 member Matt Edgerton's winning idea for Quality Public Services, has been such a success that the Marysville School District plans to implement it at all its elementary schools this fall.