CAT Tracks for June 13, 2009

Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for June 13, 2009

S.N.A.F.U.

The CAT "early warning system" has detected foul play...

Apparently a few CATs received their June 15th paycheck Friday and it was lighter than expected...as in, NO RETROACTIVE PAY!

There's that "ASS-U-ME" word again...

Okay, actually you had a little help in that regard...from your handy-dandy CAT Negotiating Team, primarily in the person of yours truly.

Remember the afternoon of May 26th, when we assembled in the CJSHS Cafeteria to discuss and ratify the new CBA. Someone brought up retroactive pay. I polled the group as to your "druthers"...a lump sum of the unpaid portion of the $605 raise on June 15th and dribble the remainder over the remaining 2008-09 school year checks...OR...no lump-sum payment and dribble the $605 over said checks.

The consensus was to spread the $605 over the final six checks...so as not to incur excessive tax withholding. (It was my advice to have the retroactive District-paid health insurance applied to future health insurance obligations...to further avoid the tax person. I heard no objections.)

So...you sat back and waited patiently. (Of course, the catty among us might remark that waiting on $605 to be divvied up and dispersed in NOT urgent business...nothing to lose sleep over, by any means.)

However, as the reaction from our "advance team" of hard-working CATs clearly demonstrates...receiving "what's due me", especially after a year-long wait is NOT something with which the District should play.

In short, there were some PO'd CATs contacting President O'Shea yesterday!!!

They say "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Well, needless to say, there is no love lost between CSD #1 and CAT. This latest "surprise" is just the latest occasion upon which I shall venture an "I'm sorry." Neither I nor any member of CAT did anything wrong. However, I did lure you into an assumption...that you would begin to receive your "back pay" on June 15th.

My bad!

I'm moved to a couple of "disclaimers":

To "ass-u-me" that retro pay would be forthcoming on the next paycheck (that fell the requisite "10 days" before the imposed payroll department deadline...which would, indeed, have been June 15th)...that prognostication was based upon over 30 years of experience. One of the few positive things that you could count on from CSD #1...after "war was over", it went ahead and paid the "reparations" in a timely fashion.
Ta Da!
Strike that one off the list as of Monday. (Hmmm...guess I can throw this piece of paper away now. Like my usual "shopping list" after visiting the store...ain't nuthin' left!)

CAT had been in contact with the District's attorney concerning the payment of retroactive monies. From that correspondence, CAT had no reason to expect any S.N.A.F.U. However, in re-reading that last sentence...silly me! The acronym says it all...in CSD #1, expect to be "fooled" with...you should ass-u-me it!!!

So, I shall again assume the role of "messenger"...the bearer of bad tidings...something that one should get used to after prolonged negotiations, consuming 33 not-so-glorious nights...but does NOT!
Yep, after 30 years and half-a-dozen previous superintendents, Cairo School District Number One WILL NOT PAY its employees what they are due.
Yet another bridge of basic trust has been burned...

When will you get your money???
I shall NOT venture a guess...
What I shall tell you is that CAT contacted the District's (negotiations) attorney on Friday afternoon. He promises to look into the matter...ASAP.
When CAT hears something official, CAT Tracks will publish that information.
Stay tuned...

Editor's Note...Disclaimer...Whatever...
Yes, CAT Tracks will publish whatever the District says it will do. However, CAT Tracks will NOT vouch for the veracity of that proclamation.
In short, whatever the District announces as the payment date...do NOT "bank on it". Do NOT write checks on your anticipated "bonanza" until you know that it has arrived safely in your account!

How soon I forget...
Started to close this edition with a footnote that at least you would see a slight "bump" in your paycheck...the 30-something dollars that you were paying in union dues will stop with the June 15th check (since the dues are paid in 18 installments from September through May.)
However, that would be another of those "ass-u-me" moments, another one of those things that has happened for 30 years, but...
Trust, but verify!

Whassup with the District's health insurance plan/premiums? When will the new rates go into effect? What will the new rates be? When will the "retro pay" on health insurance premiums kick in...and how?
I ain't gonna touch that one...have no "insider information" about health insurance!

Any "assumptions" in THAT area shall be yours and yours alone...