WTU MEMBERS APPROVED A NEW CONTRACT WITH A HISTORIC LANDSLIDE VOTE OF 3,445 TO 29!!

Thank you all so much for the work you've put in these past four years. Hopefully, this contract starts to heal past wounds. When we start negotiations in the next few months on a new contract for 2024 and beyond, we look forward to a far more collaborative relationship. It's imperative that we work together to improve students' learning conditions and outcomes and do what's necessary to reverse the teacher turnover crisis that impacts students directly. 

- WTU President Jaqueline Pogue-Lyons, December 13, 2022

ABOUT THE CONTRACT VOTING PACKAGE 

On Dec. 5th, all WTU members received an email to their DCPS email account from TrueBallot, Inc. This email contained the documents needed for WTU-members to make an informed voting decision as well as a link to the actual ballot. If you did not receive the email, please follow the steps in the Ballot Email Tips below to retrieve your ballot and accompanying information.

BALLOT EMAIL TIPS

1. Give the email time to reach you. It’s going out to thousands of people and it is a large file. Everyone will not get it at the same time.

2. Please remember to check your DCPS email and DCPS junk mail file. The sender of this email is [email protected] which your computer may classify as junk and send to a junk folder instead of your inbox.

3. In addition to checking your Junk mail folder, please type [email protected] or "WTU Contract Ratification" into the Search box of your email account.

4. Also, please check your paystub to make sure DCPS classified you as a WTU-Dues paying member. Only WTU dues-paying members will receive the Contract Voting package. If you are not a member, you can join the WTU if you enroll by Noon on December 13th.

5. If you’ve checked your DCPS email and DCPS junk mail and still haven’t received an email from TrueBallot, Inc. by Tuesday, December 6th, THEN please contact Carlton Nettles - [email protected]

6. Please note when you receive your ballot email, you must click on the voting link to see all the documents in the contract voting package. 

GOOD NEWS!!

We put in the work! We didn't let up -- and it paid off! After three tough years of negotiation, a tentative agreement was reached between the WTU and DCPS. The WTU won:

• a 12% salary increase over four years that includes all retros and 4% this year
• an additional 4% signing bonus
• all benefits included and paid for
• significant increase in administrative premiums

...and that's not all! 

Details on the tentative agreement will be released to WTU members via the Members-Only Website. WTU Members should reach out to their building representatives if they need help with the password. A fact sheet outlining the changes to WTU's current contract are available along with a video recording of the November 29th Town Hall Session. 

All WTU members will have the ability to vote on whether or not to accept the offer. We'd like to thank the community groups who have supported us over the years as well as our tireless members. We couldn't have done it without you!

TAKE 10 TO TALK!

Please tell us your ideas on flexible scheduling and teacher retention! DCPS Instructional Superintendents and the Chief of Schools will be looking at the data. As you may already know, DC has the highest teacher turnover rate in the country and the pandemic has made this crisis worse. So many careers that teachers are qualified to move into pay at least as much if not more and are now significantly more flexible- so we're pushing hard to get the city leaders to invest in flexible teacher scheduling and other retention strategies. We need to hear from you.

WATCH WTU PRESIDENT POGUE-LYONS TESTIMONY ON TEACHER RETENTION

WTU IN THE NEWS ... Click on photos 

WTU EVENTS

FALL 2021 WTU CAMPAIGNS

The WTU engages its members in campaigns to promote issues that matter to us. Given COVID-19, much of our work has been virtual. However, as safety permits, wewill mobilize supporters to build the movement for great public schools for all students – regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, zip code, or luck in a school lottery. Some of our previous campaigns revolved around the following:

• Save the Librarians - This year, the WTU ran a successful campaign to place a librarian in every school. DCPS has committed to funding school librarians through 2023, but not beyond. Join us as we mobilize to make sure librarians keep the positions we were able to win for them initially!
  
  
• Fund our Schools - The WTU’s Fund Our Schools Campaign calls for funding to guarantee that each and every DC public school receives the support needed to meet the needs of its students. This includes funds for adequate staffing levels, up to date computer labs, libraries and other resources, designated funding for school security so that these costs do not diminish educational resources, and provide sufficient funds for the programs needed by students who have been traditionally underserved by our schools. This campaign is part of a national effort by the American Federation of Teachers to urge lawmakers to approve budgets that accurately reflect the needs of students.