GUAM Federation of Teachers President Tim Fedenko has responded to calls for the Guam Department of Education to return to the teacher contract negotiation table.

In the GFT newsletter, Fedenko said he agreed with the statement recently made by Gov. Eddie Calvo on the need to restart talks with GFT.

Fedenko also encouraged teachers to not lose hope, stating “one voice will not get the board to resume negotiations but when thousands of voices come together by attending negotiation meetings or board meetings, then we can get our message through.”

Fedenko also asked teachers to be involved in the negotiations, informing them that when participation is required, the teachers will be updated via the GFT eUpdate, the union website, and direct mailers, as well as their respective stewards and department chairs.

“In 1965, contracted teachers of Guam’s public schools wanted to establish better relations between teachers and their administrators. They knew the only way to do this was to get organized and improve these relationships through a collective bargaining agreement. Since 1970, when the first board-union contract was established, the contract has only gotten better,” Fedenko stated.

But with the expiration of the recent agreement, Fedenko warned that teachers are left without a contract.

Moreover, “negotiations are at a standstill until the board’s team gets back to the table from their indefinite caucus.”

Taken advantage

As a result, Fedenko said, “a select number of administrators have taken advantage of the situation by taking away seniority and increasing teachers’ workloads, just to name a few.”

Finally, Fedenko also cited Calvo’s statement on “having a contract in place that protects teachers and negotiating for students and teachers in good faith.”

In the PROA newsletter published by the Governor’s Office last week, Calvo said GovGuam must negotiate for students and teachers in good faith, with all intention to provide the very best learning environment, standards, and accountability to those standards in the new contract.

This can be done, according to Calvo, through the collective bargaining process, which has been halted. He said the Guam Education Board “must come back to the table, start the collective bargaining process, and negotiate in good faith.”