TUCS is the bargaining representation for Tehachapi Unified School District certificated substitute teachers.
Mission
Provide bargaining representation for Tehachapi Unified School District certificated substitutes.
At its inception, TUCS does not intend to charge dues, provide individual legal representation, or provide representation to individual members in disputes with TUSD.
Goal
Achieve bargaining unit status by 51% of TUSD certificated substitute teachers affirming their membership in TUCS.
Tennets
Equitable pay for certificated substitutes
Pay for long term substitutes reflective of expected duties and qualifications in accordance with Ed. Code 45023.5.
Substitutes in place for long term are completing lesson planning and grading, and have daily commitments in addition to those of a daily substitute.
Pay for long term substitutes in place for 45 or more days, equivalent to the bottom certificated teacher pay scale step, retroactive. This is required for assignments exceeding 90 days in accordance with Ed. Code 45041.
Substitutes maintaining a grade book, completing report cards, updating students cumulative records have duties equivalent to a teacher and meet the requirements for entry into the teacher career field.
Commitment that a substitute will not be removed from an assignment for the purpose of avoiding additional pay levels.
Health Insurance offered to any certificated substitute regularly working 30 or more hours per week in accordance with the Federal Affordable Care Act.
Pay for substitutes in accordance with Ed. Code 45049, or interest paid for the 15 extra days that the district holds substitute pay.
Substitutes are currently payed 25 days after the end of their pay period, and their pay stub incorrectly reflects the days of their pay period. The district should be responsible for interest on the time that payments are late.
Inclusion of the legal requirements and district policies for earning sick time in a policy handout or employee handbook provided to all substitutes. Inclusion of the duty differences and district policy differences for short term and long term substitutes in a handout or handbook provided to all substitutes.
Commitment from district that substitute teachers will be provided 2 weeks of lesson plans when accepting a new assignment, or provided long-term compensation immediately if this is not the case.
Provisioning of district emails and computer accounts for substitute teachers upon beginning employment.
Establish clear delineation of daily and long-term substitute duties in a job description approved by the school board. Establish clear direction that long-term substitute teachers will either be paid by timesheet for time commitments in excess of the contracted day, or be subject to the payment and commitment provisions of the teacher contract, if payed at the bottom step of the teacher salary schedule.
Why
Aside from some district office employees, certificated substitutes are one of the only roles in TUSD currently unrepresented by a labor union. This leads to very little attention on the role of substitutes, and in fact there are incentives for other unions to advocate for policies to the detriment to certificated substitutes.
The district has a colored history of mistreatment of substitutes, including denying or ignoring sick time eligibility required by state law, and requiring substitutes to sign a job description "contract" not approved by the school board in order to be assigned a long term substitute position. See the issues for more information.