[Ohio-talk] looking for advice
Marianne Denning via Ohio-talk
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Mon May 26 22:24:30 UTC 2014
Nicole, are you able to move? Sometimes that is what it takes.
On 5/26/14, via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Debbie,
> You're right....that's not what I want to hear! Lord knows, I was there
> long before any of these fools, so if I end up needing to leave, I won't be
>
> leaving without a fight! It's sad too....because the rest of the staff,
> parents, and students have all been wonderful. I'll keep an eye
> out....but
> the market is pretty saturated in the area and I'm not the cheapest on the
>
> block with my masters degree. I actually would be more worried about loss
>
> of seniority than loss of money.
> Nicole
>
>
> In a message dated 5/25/2014 11:37:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
>
> Nicole,
>
> You won't want to hear this.. Keep looking earnestly for another job!!
> Hopefully your having ten years or so, most of your salary would transfer
> to
> another district and you would neither lose money nor start at the bottom
> again.
>
> Debbie Baker
> (We're on friendly nickname terms by now).
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via
> Ohio-talk
> Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2014 11:12 PM
> To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] looking for advice
>
> Debra,
> I am in somewhat of a unique situation....if it isn't crazy enough
> already.....in that, I am president of a union that is a "local", in that
> we
> do
> not belong to a larger union....LONG story. Anyway, so we are
> represented
>
> by an attorney in the area who works with many different districts unions
> in
> some capacity and even does work for OEA. In our district, it is
> customary that the President is at the negotiating table. This year, all
>
> 4
> unions in the district are negotiating. Some of the other unions have
> already started. It is my understanding from speaking to them, that
> this
> time, the district is even pushing boundaries with this, in that, they are
> at times insisting on only speaking to the President and the Rep. Of
> course, it is simply another "tactic". I do not believe though that even
> if I were not "at the table", that they would not be tempted to still
> retaliate, knowing I
> was still "behind the scenes". You are right though.....it would be
> illegal for them to do but it would be a matter of proving it.
> Can you see though why I have this tug-of-war going on in head!!!! It's
>
> maddening! LOL
> Nicole
>
>
> In a message dated 5/25/2014 10:09:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
>
> Nicole,,
>
> Debra Baker one more time. I just realized: I don't know about your
> district, but when we bargained in my district, the union president never
> sat at the actual negotiations table anyway, just as the board president
> didn't either. Perhaps that would be best for you considering this
> matter.
> Talk with your labor relations rep. Of course your team would keep you
> informed about bargaining at all points. But perhaps you wouldn't sit at
> the table.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of via
> Ohio-talk
> Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2014 9:39 PM
> To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] looking for advice
>
> Hi Colleen (and all),
> You are right that sometimes you do have to go to the next step. I do
> believe I am probably at that point.
> With that said, as you stated, sometimes there are risks involved. To
> further complicate my situation, there is something I didn't share in
> my
> original message....because it really shouldn't matter....but it is what
> is making me hesitate on this.
> You see, I am also a union president. We are negotiating our contract
> this year and negotiations are slated to be done in June and July. My
> concern is that if I do go outside the district and file a complaint,
> that
> they may
> take that and lash back by taking it out on the union during
> negotiations.
> Negotiations are already anticipated to be tough this year and I am
> fearful they would retaliate....and I think it would be difficult to
> prove
> that
> that is what they were actually doing. Does that make any sense?
> Like I said....it shouldn't matter...but the reality is, the timing
> stinks.
> So that is what is making me hesitate. I meet with the union's
> attorney
> this week about negotiations and am hoping to get her take on the matter
> then.
> Thanks for your input!
> Nicole
>
>
> In a message dated 5/24/2014 3:13:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
>
> Hello Nicole,
> I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes it is necessary
> to
> go to the next step when the powers that be are not willing to work with
> you when you ask for reasonable accommodations.
> While there are some risks when you go from the Soft Approach and
> Internal
> Mediation sometimes you have to decide that you need to go outside the
> agency you work for even if this is somewhat intimidating.
> Sometimes people want to make it difficult for someone in hopes that
> they
> will give up and leave their position.
> As Marianne said a good paper trail is your best bet.
> Document, document, document.
> You are the only person who can decide what you want to do in this
> situation.
> I would like to encourage you to go to the next step sooner rather than
> later because the more you allow people to ignore their agreement and
> reasonable accommodation request the more they will do so.
> Colleen Roth
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:09:15 PM
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] looking for advice
>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>> I am not one to put messages on the list very often and when I do,
>> it
> is
>> typically responding to someone else's message.
>> I am looking for some advice from others though...ffget an idea of
>> what
>
>> others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length.
>> Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind.
>>
>
> I
> am
>> finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school
> system
>> as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school
> district
>> for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally
>> blind
> and
>> might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so,
>> the district's administration was very helpful and very willing to
>> provide
> any
>> reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn't
> pushy
> and only
>> asked for things that were essential. They were always more than
> willing
>> to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even
> during
>
>> those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different
>> Special Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents
>>
>> that I
> worked under.
>> For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused
>> problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and
>> any
> requests I
>> made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the
>> Superintendent
> at
>> the time quickly corrected the issue.
>> In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a
> new
>> Special Education director, and new principals. The response I
> have
>> received from the current administration has been very different.
>> At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a
>> reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my
> request.
>
> I again asked
>> a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each
> time...
>> .while still being professional and respectful. I was still
> ignored.
> Then at
>> the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an
>> attempt
> to
>> resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had
>> issues
> with
>> a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact
> him
>> and never responded. After discussing it with our union's attorney
> (who
>> also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would
>>
> file an
>> internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint
> and
>> chose to have our union's attorney act as my representation. The
> district
>> contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After
> some
>
>> discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue
>> without
> the district
>> having to go through the investigation process first. Although I
> was
>
>> angry because I felt that the district's actions were totally out of
>>
> line and
>> unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of "I'm out
>> to
> get
>> them". I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner
>>
> I
> had
>> been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I
>> requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was
> myself,
> my attorney,
>> the district's attorney, and administration. We came to a written
> and
>> signed agreement between the district and myself as to the
>> reasonable
>
>> accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide.
>>
>
>
> I thought
>> with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that
>> we'd
> all
>> be able to move on and I'd get what I needed. The agreement was
> supposed
>> to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under
>> so
> that
>> they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks
> later, I
>> was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the
> agreement....and
>> they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This
> concerned
>> me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same
> response.
>> So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said "How can
>> I expect these people to follow an agreement that they don't even
>> seem to
> be
>> aware of? I mean, that doesn't seem very fair to them." She then
> contacted
>> the district's attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference
> call. I
>> explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the
>> administration had been informed of it but stated that she would
>> make
> contact again
>> with the Superintendent's office and tell them that they needed to
>> check
>
>> again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of
>> the
> agreement
>> and expectations. Again, I wasn't out to "get them"...I was simply
> just
>> trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago.
>> So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional
> development
>> meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation
>> that
> would
>> allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the
>> professional development. Mind you, this professional development is
>>
> information
>> and training on our new state level teacher evaluation
>> system....which
> in
>> turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job.
>>
> So, yes,
>> it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be
>> provided today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The
>> two administrators who ran the professional development were both
>> people who
> were provided
>> the information....one of which was ironically, the Special Education
>>
>
>> director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the
> accommodation. I had to
>> go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry
>>
> and
>> frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I've tried very
>>
> hard to
>> work with the current administration and have tried to
>> understanding
> and
>> forgiving. I've given them chances to make things right and do
> the
> right
>> thing. They just don't seem to care!!!
>> So, my question is......._what avenue would you do next? Would you
>> try
> and
>> mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow
>> the
>
>> agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside
> the
>> district? What direction would you take from here? What
> suggestions do you
>> have?
>> Any thoughts are appreciated!
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Nicole
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--
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053
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