The History:

On the WEA website is a list of successes from the 1970s that gave educational employees contract provisions that we take for granted today, provisions that did not exist in 1965.  They are:

• Strong non-discrimination rights
• A right to a personal life
• Paid leaves including sick leave, emergency leave, personal leave, child birth and many others
• Defined evaluation procedures and criteria
• Class size limits with many taking into account the impact of special needs students
• A right to inspect personnel files
• Specific work days and hours
• Safety provisions to protect staff and students
• Academic freedom
• Additional pay for extra time and responsibilities
• Fair grievance procedures
• "Just cause" provisions protecting teachers being disciplined
• Fair layoff and recall provisions
• In-service training opportunities
• Job posting and transfer rights
• Prohibition against assigning teachers non-teaching duties
• Sick leave cash-out
• Fringe benefits including medical, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurances and many others!