General Information about the Election!

September 12 - Bargaining Election
General Information Distributed for employees of the Espanola Public Schools
ESPANOLA – NEA, August and September 2007

Espanola-NEA urges you to vote and to vote "yes" in the upcoming secret ballot election which will be held at nearly every school site under the supervision of the State Public Employee Labor Relations Board. The date of the election is Wednesday, September 12, 2007.

After this election, Espanola-NEA is certain to negotiate over these and other issues: salaries; the work day; the work year; all benefits; the manner in which we are paid; leaves (how much and what is required); the number and type of in-services and instructional programs; job descriptions; and a grievance procedure that takes the politics and sweet-heart deals out of the system by providing for Binding Arbitration by a neutral third party. In short, if you want a real voice in how you work, how and how much you are paid for it and even the type of work that you do as a professional employee, then you must vote "yes" on Wednesday, September 12.

View some current Collective Bargaining Agreements negotiated by school employee unions in other New Mexico districts at: http://nea-nm.org/collective%20bargaining.htm

THE VOTING PROCESS: The election will be by SECRET ballot. Voters will be allowed to vote without interference, restraint, or coercion. The ballot will be very simple. You will indicate your "yes" or "no" vote with an "X". It will be very quick and easy to participate. You then fold the ballot and personally deposit it in the ballot box under the supervision of the State Public Employee Labor Relations Board. Do not write your name on the ballot or make any other markings on it: this will invalidate your ballot. Please be sure all your colleagues vote too (but not within 50 feet of the voting location)!

Eligible employees may vote at any location and any time listed. The district has agreed to provide ALL eligible employees with relief from your duty so you may have time to vote at your location. In some cases, this means folks leading classrooms or performing other duties will be provided a substitute while they vote. Employees who are not leading classrooms may leave their duty as needed to vote. However, to ensure everyone can vote, you may vote at any location, including at the end of the day at Carlos Vigil until 4:30 and at EVHS until 5:00.

THE VOTING TIMES AND LOCATIONS ARE:
7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Abiquiu, Dixon & Mountain View

9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Hernandez, Velarde & Chimayo

11:15 a.m. – 12:00 noon Alcalde, San Juan & TEQ Sombrillo

12:15 to 1:15 EMSE, Central Office, JHR, Los Ninos & Fairview
Central office employees will vote at EMSE. Los Ninos employees will vote at J.H.R.

2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Carlos Vigil Middle School

2:30 – 5:00 p.m. Espanola Valley High School

ESPANOLA PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES WHO MAY VOTE: Employees need not be a member of Espanola-NEA to vote in this election. However, under the Public Employees Bargaining Act, all supervisory employees, confidential employees, and managerial employees are excluded from being eligible to vote and to be represented. If you are unsure about your eligibility to vote, contact Brian Every, Beth Sanchez, or Karen Martinez.

TWO BARGAINING UNITS: There are two bargaining units, both of which will be represented at the negotiation table by Espanola-NEA. The members-only Negotiation Teams will be professionally trained. The members-only Bargaining Support Committees for each unit will help your negotiators set priorities to negotiate for with the district.

The Certified bargaining unit consists of all certified employees in the position of Teacher, Assistant [Including all specialties such as Educational Assistant, Instructional Assistant, Library Assistant, Library Teacher Assistant, Special Education Assistant, Teacher Assistant, Special Education Teaching Assistant, Title I Assistant, Title I Assistant Teacher], Counselors, Educational Diagnostician, Librarian, Nurse, Psychologist, Reading Coach, Reading Intervention Specialist, Recreational Therapist, and Social Worker.

The Classified bargaining unit ( NEA prefers the term Education Support Professionals "ESP") consists of all classified employees in the position of Administrative Assistant I and II, ADS Coordinator, ADS Secretary, ADS Tech, Clerk, Cook, Head Cook (less than 400 students), Custodian, Head Custodian (less than 400 students), Data Specialist, Financial Specialist, Financial Specialist I, Indian Education Specialist, Library/Media, Maintenance, Medicaid Manager, Payroll Tech I, Procurement Specialist, Receptionist, Registrar, Secretary, Special Education Parent Liaison, Title I Liaison, and Title I Mentor, Bus Driver, Special Ed Coordinator, Insurance Specialist, Transportation Technician, and Transportation Coordinator.

Absentee Ballots:
Employees who are eligible to vote but who will be absent on the day of voting for legitimate cause, may request an absentee ballot, by telephone, from the Election Supervisor, the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) (505) 831-5422 or juan.montoya@state.nm.us . Your request must be received at least seven (7) calendar days before the election. To be counted, your ballot is to be mailed to the PELRB by September 6.

OBSERVERS: The district and the Espanola-NEA are entitled to one (1) observer to assist and observe each polling place. The observers shall not be supervisory or managerial employees over the eligible employees, union officers, or union employees. Representatives of the union and the district in addition to observers may observe the ballot counting. Observers will be relieved of their duty for the entire time that voting takes place at their location, plus sufficient time before and after. Espanola-NEA members wishing to be an "Observer" should contact: Andrea Schelter at EVHS.

THE VOTE TALLY:
The tally of the ballots shall occur at 5:00 PM at Espanola Valley High School. Immediately following the counting of ballots, the State labor board will serve a tally of ballots upon each party. The tally shall show the number of votes cast for Espanola-NEA, the number of votes cast against the Espanola-NEA, the number of challenged ballots, and the percentage of employees in the unit who cast ballots. The tally shall also state whether the results are conclusive and, if so, what the conclusive vote is. If the tally shows that the choice of "no" received fifty percent (50%) or more of the votes cast, then the tally shall reflect that the Espanola-NEA was not chosen as exclusive collective bargaining agent. If at least forty percent (40%) of employees in each of the bargaining units voted, and more than fifty percent (i.e., 50%+1) of the votes were "yes," then the Espanola-NEA shall be certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining units. Espanola-NEA will begin bargaining with the district as quickly as we can. THANK YOU!