Newsletter

A Publication of the Central Valley Education Association

C.V. Educator

December 2006

SNOW AND ICE, PARKING LOTS AND LABOR AND INDUSTRIES

The recent snow fall and cold weather have left the District’s parking lots with some very slippery areas. This seems to happen at least once every winter and it brings to mind a few facts about district accident insurance that all employees should be aware of. All employees in Washington have accident insurance through the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Employers in the State are compelled to pay taxes for all employees to a fund to cover loss of wages and other damages when injured on the job. In return, employers cannot be sued by the employee when on the job injuries occur unless it can be proven that the employer intended to harm the worker. The insurance does not cover employees traveling to and from work and this lack of coverage extends to accidents that occur in the parking lot when arriving at work or leaving work at the end of the day or work shift. I am sure this seems unreasonable to many but a little background may help. The parking lot issue arose in response to employee issues at the Boeing Company in Seattle. It seems that when shifts end for thousands of workers at Boeing plants there is quite a rush as employees hurry to get out of the parking lot early and avoid the long lines. It was not uncommon for accidents to occur during this daily melee to get out of the lot first. Boeing denied these claims based on the fact that the workers were off duty, had clocked out and the accidents were on their own time and not the fault or responsibility of the Boeing Company. A test case went to court and Boeing won. The state legislature then wrote into law the parking lot exception. Thus we have the current law as explained above.

There are a couple of exceptions to the law that should be noted.

The first concerns an employee who visits more than one work site during the day. If a person works at two or three sites and is injured in a parking lot while traveling from one site to another they would be covered. Or if an employee attended a meeting at a site different than his or her regular site and then was injured when they arrived at the regular work site they would be covered as well. However, the exclusion would still apply in both of the above cases if the employee was injured in the parking lot when arriving at the first work/meeting site or leaving the last work site of the day.

Another exception concerns workers who are in the parking lot as part of their regular duties. For example a school employee who happens to be in the parking lot as a requirement of their supervisory duties or who has gone back to their vehicle to retrieve or unload items they have brought to work would be covered for an injury.

This may have raised more questions than it has answered but I thought members may have been interested. If you have questions please email me at cvea@aol.com or call the office at 926-0201. Be safe!

WEA-RA ELECTIONS

The Central Valley Education Association is allowed 12 seats at the Washington Education Association Representative Assembly. The RA will be held in Tacoma on March 29-31. Please be aware that March 31 is the first Saturday of spring break. If you are interested in representing the CVEA please notify the Association in writing (letter, fax, email) by January 5. If you have any questions, please call the office, 926-0201. Take a chance, this is a great opportunity to get involved, meet some new friends and learn more about the WEA.

VOLUNTARY DAY FOR COLLABORATION AVAILABLE

One of the things bargained last year was the addition of a voluntary day at per diem rate of pay for the 2006-07 school year for the purposes of collaboration activities. This will be increased to two days for the 2007-08 school year. This is entirely separate from the Thursday released time for collaboration. The exact contract language (p. 40) says:

“This day supports collaboration time activities in which the entire staff is involved. Individuals unable to participate in the collaboration activities will not be eligible for pay. In planning for the use of this day, building administrators will seek input from their certificated staff and consult with their building leadership team.”

The input mentioned above should include:

1. What days and times will be utilized (time claimed for voluntary days must be spent outside the contracted workday, i.e. evenings, weekends). Two half days(3.75 hrs,) are acceptable.

2. How the time will be spent (i.e. what collaboration activities will the staff participate in).

Some buildings have already done all or part of the voluntary day. If this voluntary day has not been discussed in your building please see your Building Rep or call the CVEA office to discuss bringing it to the attention of your building leadership team. If you have questions please call (926-0201) or email(cvea@aol.com) the office.

SPARKS ARE FLYING

WEA Eastern Washington is holding their SPARKS program February 8-10 in Spokane. The SPARKS program is for WEA members with:

One day will be spent at the Glover Mansion in Spokane and the program is free and available to the first twenty people who apply. Prior the the program participants are surveyed to define their needs as new educators. Once together the information is collected. Then it is time to share stories and experiences and bond with colleagues at a similar place in their career. Clock hours or credits are available and WEA will pay for substitutes.

If you, or someone you know seems especially Sparky and might be interested in attending, Contact Sally McNair at the WEA-Eastern office(509-326-4040, or smcnair@washingtonea.org).

WEA CHILDREN’S FUND

Do you know students whose families can’t afford to buy them a warm coat, a new pair of boots or some school supplies? The WEA Children’s Fund can help!

The goal of the WEA Children’s Fund is to meet the modest and immediate needs of students encountered by WEA members in their daily workplaces. The intent is to ensure that the physical, social and emotional needs of students do not stand in the way of success within the school setting.

Guidelines:

WEA Children’s Fund will provide help for members who occasionally spend their own money to fund children’s needs.

Requests for shoes, clothes, mittens, hats, coats and immediate school supplies will be honored.

Larger or unusual requests will be reviewed by the WEA Children’s Fund Board and will be funded on the basis of available resources.

To access the Fund, call 800-622-3393 and ask for the Children’s Fund. A member request form will be completed over the telephone and the member will simply forward the receipt via mail (or fax to 253-946-7604) for reimbursement.

Donations to the fund are tax deductible and are gladly accepted. Please make checks payable to the WEA Children’s Fund, and mail to WEA Children’s Fund, P.O. Box 9100, Federal Way, WA 98063-9100.

CVEA EXECUTIVE BOARD

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