Union lawsuit challenges privatization of school district's RALLY program
- Jasz Garrett
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Education support staff union alleges Juneau School District failed to fulfill contract's notification, cost assessment requirements
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
A lawsuit claiming the Juneau School District illegally privatized a preschool and after-school program was filed Tuesday in Alaska Superior Court by its unionized employees.
The RALLY (Relationships and Leadership, Learning for Youth) program has served Juneau families since 1984, operating in most elementary schools and employing more than 15 unionized staff, according to the Alaska Public Employees Association (APEA). The association, the state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), represents the Juneau Education Support Staff union, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
In July, the district decided to close the full-day preschool and afterschool childcare and activity program as of Aug. 9 due to a shortage of staff.
The lawsuit concerns “the blatant and willful violation of the collective bargaining agreement” between the support staff union and JSD, according to the complaint. There is no upcoming hearing scheduled for the case as of Wednesday.
In addition to the lawsuit, a temporary restraining order seeks to maintain the “status quo,” delaying the closure of the district’s RALLY program until a full preliminary injunction hearing can be conducted.
However, the district closed one site early at the end of the last school year because there was not enough staff to meet licensing requirements, according to a report presented by Superintendent Frank Hauser to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday. In addition, he said RALLY lacked sufficient staff at other sites to continue this fall.
Auke Lake Preschool, an independent, local center, began leasing space in three JSD facilities to operate its K-5 program on Sept. 2.
There were five 12-month district staff members represented by JESS who worked for the RALLY program at the time of its closure, according to Hauser. He said JESS staff who previously worked in the district RALLY program were reassigned to positions within JSD.
JESS includes about 280 employees of JSD who are not certified teachers, such as paraprofessionals, maintenance and custodial staff. One of the terms of the bargaining agreement with JSD, “contracting out,” refers to the practice of union jobs being privatized in different ways so that they no longer exist.
APEA/AFT Business Manager Jeff Kasper said in an interview Tuesday the contract defines a process that must be followed if the district is considering contracting out jobs currently held by unionized employees. The union must first be notified, and the district must then conduct an analysis demonstrating cost savings and efficiencies.
“That's really what was violated,” Kasper said. “The district did not let the union officially know that they were closing the RALLY program and signed a contract with the preschool.”
Hauser said the district met with the union in April about RALLY and the staffing struggle. He also said that district administrators met with the union president to discuss the RALLY closure and the reassignment of RALLY staff. He said RALLY staff were notified multiple times of the closure and their reassignments to open positions.
Kasper said while the union had meetings and informal discussions with JSD to contemplate changes to the RALLY program, it was “a surprise” when the district signed a contract with Auke Lake Preschool in July.
“The reason why we are going to the courts is because within the collective bargaining agreement there are also articles about how we handle grievances and disputes,” Kasper said. “The process for that can take upwards to a year to eventually go to an arbitration and have an arbitrator rule whether the contract was violated or not. Since they’ve already signed the contract and appear to be moving fairly quickly, we didn't have any choice but to seek the court’s intervention to delay the process. We’re just asking for the contract to be followed and the (cost) analysis be done. And frankly, I think the public deserves that too.”
Hauser said the district submitted an April request for information in his report. Kasper said the union received no notification of the responses received and the approved plan by the school board. The plan was expected to include options such as contracting with an independent provider. Kasper said the cost analysis would have shown if transitioning the RALLY program to Auke Lake Preschool is less expensive and more efficient for Juneau families.
“After they (JSD) do the analysis, they are supposed to sit down with the union and we can discuss what’s going to happen and how it’s going to play out,” he said.
Hauser said “no RALLY staff were monetarily negatively impacted by their reassignment to new positions” and “all reassignments were processed in alignment with a negotiated agreement and with consultation with the union president.” The Juneau Independent did not receive a response by Wednesday from JSD to questions about the cost analysis and what would happen to the after-school program if the union’s temporary restraining order is granted.
A notice posted by the district Wednesday states families enrolled in Auke Lake Preschool’s program will receive updates directly through the school.
Kasper said the harm of not having the cost analysis causes JSD to lose unionized employees.
"Today, the daycare workers at RALLY working with the kids are receiving benefits through a union contract, like healthcare and leave and other benefits," he said. "They're going to be replaced by workers who are not unionized, who are not receiving any benefits, or probably anything. So that's really the issue. It's an attack on the unions, of trying to diminish the unions, and they're not following the process, and they should."
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
