SDEA Visiting Teacher Information and Agency Fee Provision
The San Diego Education Association is the union of more than 8,000 certificated employees of the San Diego Unified School District. SDEA is our union. SDEA staff, elected leaders and members work hard to improve the work lives of all SDEA members, including Visiting Teachers.
Here are some of SDEA’s victories for Visiting Teachers:
- Pay for SDEA-represented Visiting Teachers is the highest substitute pay rate in San Diego County. In fact, because of regular salary increases that SDEA members won, SDUSD pays its Visiting Teachers 30 percent more than the average for other San Diego County school districts.
- Visiting Teachers won employment benefits like accrual of sick leave, and have the right to equitable work hours and preparation/planning time. In fact, SDEA-represented Visiting Teachers share most of the same union rights as contracted Teachers in SDUSD.
- SDEA staff representatives have fought successfully to overturn unfair evaluations and dismissals of Visiting Teachers, and have represented Visiting Teachers in enforcing their rights under the union contract.
In addition to your rights in the union contract, Visiting Teachers may also sign up for SDEA membership, which entitles VT’s to SDEA member privileges such as free legal services, discounts for a variety of goods and services, and – last but not least – voting rights within the union.
For all of us, our union rights, services, and benefits bear a cost. It has long been required that either union dues or a “fair share” fee be paid by all employees represented by SDEA (CTA/NEA) – except for Visiting Teachers. If Visiting Teachers contribute their fair share, we can build a stronger union – for Visiting Teachers and all SDEA members.
To that end, on May 21, 2008, the SDEA Representative Council (a body of some 200 elected leaders of SDEA) approved a proposal to charge an “agency fee” (or “fair share fee”) for all Visiting Teachers protected by the SDEA Collective Negotiations Agreement with SDUSD who do not choose to become dues-paying union members. Teachers were notified of this change twice in 2008 by mail.
The final SDEA Visiting Teacher Dues/Agency Fee structure includes the following components:
- SDUSD will begin deducting SDEA Agency fees in September 2009.
- The total dues/fees for 2009-10 will be $13.84 per pay period (the tenth and end of each month), or $27.68 monthly.
- Visiting Teachers will ONLY be charged dues/fees of $13.84 when a regular bi-monthly paycheck is issued (from September 1 through June 30). If you do not receive a check during any of these regular pay periods, you will not pay dues/fees for that pay period.
- Dues/fees will be charged no more than twice per month from September 1 through June 30 (no dues/fees are paid in July or August), with no more than 20 deductions per school year.
SDEA members have had much success in improving the quality of our jobs and of our students’ education. Membership in SDEA is critical to the success of our profession and to the preservation of the right to quality public education for every child. In the coming weeks you will receive by mail an SDEA membership form. There is no additional cost in becoming a full member, and there are many additional benefits. We hope that Visiting Teachers will join us as full members of SDEA so that together we can strengthen and enforce the rights and working conditions of all SDEA members.
Together we are stronger!
To become an SDEA member, complete and fax in the SDEA Visitng Teacher Membership Application below:
Visiting Teacher Membership Form