Winter Break Update
December 29th, 2023
First and foremost...
We would like to acknowledge the retiring of our co-president Mark Hawkins. Mark gave many years to Gardner Public School and Gardner Education Association. As of December 19th Mark is a retired man...heres to all the fishing in his future.
With this being said...
The E-board would like to reach out in regards to something that has recently come to our attention. We have been working on getting some outstanding issues updated that we were led to believe from past leadership that issues had been resolved. However it has come to our attention this is not the case. If you have an outstanding issue that has not been addressed or haven’t received an update please email us at gea.union@gmail.com so we can set up a meeting.
We would like to apologize for this oversight. We are currently working on revamping our policies and procedures to prevent issues like this in the future.
Demetrios Tyros - President
Hilary Comeau- Co-Vice President
Ashley Chicoine - Co-Vice President
Important Dates:
Thurs. January 4th @ 3:45 - MTA Rep Information night - GMS Library All are welcome
Tues. January 9th @ 4:00pm Negotiations meeting at Elm Street
Negotiation Updates:
GEA Leadership has secured the first negotiations, We are asking for YOUR support and help! We have been working closely with the surrounding school’s union’s leadership. Many districts are revising how negotiations are done and are getting great results! We are confident in our strategy but want to hear more from you, please fill out the contract survey so we can form the best plan.
This year we are planning to negotiate both Unit A and Unit B contracts at the same time. This is a change from previous contract years where we would settle Unit A before we began Unit B. We feel this puts both contracts as a priority and are hoping for both Units support during the sessions as Silent Reps.
One of the new changes to negotiations is having more members involved in the process. This is the addition of Silent Representative and a CAT Team.
Silent Rep - You are signing up to attend at least one after school negotiations session. During this time you will be there as our eyes and ears, take notes and confer with the Negotiation Team during breaks. Sessions typically run from 4-7pm on scheduled nights. Even if you can only attend one, it makes a difference!
CAT Team Member- Meet with Union Building Reps to get the latest updated information and pass it on to other members in your building.
Please sign up to show your support for GEA Union and a better contact for all members! To sign up please fill out the GEA Bargaining Survey here.