EAA’s CBA is TBD

What He Had In Mind

Richard Griffin is a former member of the transportation department at ACPS and former member of the EAA. From 2023 to 2024 he spearheaded the initiative to bring collective bargaining to ACPS. Without him and the transportation department, we would not have the current tentative agreement being negotiated.

Richard, or Dick, was an outspoken and energetic member of ACPS before he retired. He has long championed the idea of change within the EAA. His reasoning is simple: if we keep doing the same thing, we cannot be surprised when we get the same results. For this reason he was RUN’s first supporter and remains one of the loudest ones to date. We are so honored to have Dick's support. We hope we can get the support of more members who feel the same and want change.

Dick knew that educators at ACPS deserved better. He wanted his colleagues and friends to feel that their hard work and dedication was rewarded at ACPS. Members of transportation in particular were disgruntled at their working conditions and he wanted to ensure that bus drivers, mechanics and monitors were treated equitably. But he understood that a strong CBA would deliver for all educators at ACPS. Unfortunately, the present leadership does not seem to share his vision or values.

The CBA In Its Current Form

EAA has been describing the tentative collective bargaining agreement as “historic.” The details of such a deal have yet to be shared with members, despite the fundamental concept of a CBA revolving around collaboration. To date, the process has been anything but collective, flying in the face of VEA’s own slogan: “No deal about us, without us.” Yet members were not included and their voices have been lost in the CBA process, even though members have consistently demanded answers and engagement from leadership. As of now it is impossible to say if members will support the contents of the agreement, or if there will be enough time to correct course if they don’t.

What little is known about the non-economic items of their deal does not reflect EAA’s own supposed objectives. On their website EAA lists one of their goals as “Advocat(ing) for better and more comprehensive healthcare options for all employees.” Yet, when the opportunity arose to advocate for educators and fight against the healthcare offsets, we saw no evidence of that fight. It appears healthcare costs will rise and the burden of the cost offsets may completely eliminate any pay increases from the tentative CBA. While specifics of the deal remain unknown, so does the date to vote on the proposal.

At present, we at RUN are concerned for dues paying members and non-members alike. In this moment, educators need someone to fight for them like never before. And yet time slips by and the hope that an announcement of the details of how this deal will uplift every struggling educator at ACPS becomes more disenfranchised. We are beginning to wonder if EAA is setting up educators for a situation that undermines the rights of all union members. What other conclusion can be drawn if they ask members to vote on a CBA that they are unfamiliar with, or which excludes items they care about due to a lack of meaningful communication?? The concern only grows as days turn into weeks. As of now only one thing is certain, the deal will certainly be historic, but possibly not for the reasons our leaders have been advertising.

Our Goal Is Collective

The CBA should have been drafted collectively with dues paying members. Every step of the way their involvement should have been encouraged and actively pursued. This was Dick’s vision for the CBA and he hopes it is not too late to see it through. Were it up to us, every single issue and concern any educator has would be painstakingly negotiated and included in the CBA, turning their demands into reality.

We want a CBA that we can emphatically vote yes on. David, Howard and Tyron have been demanding a CBA worthy of ACPS for years. They have spoken at school board meetings, city council meetings, EAA meetings and advocated for members every chance they got. For years we have been fighting desperately to get the CBA we know educators deserve, and have deserved for far too long. Until the tentative CBA is shared with members we won’t know if that effort has been worth it. As of now, it is up to EAA to decide when members are worthy of being part of the process.

Regardless, we won’t stop fighting. Whatever the details may or may not include, we know that better is possible. No detail should be left off the table when it comes to ACPS educators. Should we be elected in the upcoming election, we vow to provide exactly that to every hard working member of ACPS, dues paying member of EAA or not. We could not agree more with Dick, if educators want a different result within EAA, then we need to try something new. Vote for David Paladin-Fernandez, Tyron Barnes and Howard Van der Sluis so we can enact the original vision of the collective bargaining agreement. Our CBA would be built on a collective voice, turning it into a singular vision. The election is scheduled for May 18th, 2026, turn out to share your voice in your vote and if you are not a member, ensure you spread the word.

Let’s fight for change together.