In my first job as a front office employee, back in 1996, I was asked to help change diapers for kids in pre-K, kindergarten, and even in the self- contained special education room. I have a son with Down syndrome, and I had compassion and a willingness to take on this duty outside of my job description. My experience isn’t unique. An office staff member is often asked delegated certain health services when the nurse isn’t in the building. A teacher or paraeducator frequently runs a class for a colleague who is dealing with a discipline problem, or helps staff after-school activities—all without compensation. Sometimes called “job creep,” these extra duties can be added gradually or suddenly, but when your workload expands without compensation, the union must step in.
When I started my career, I felt as if pitching in outside of my job was being a team player. But it can have serious ramifications if something goes wrong. What’s more, it is not the current staff’s responsibility to make up for staff shortages. That leads to stress, burnout, and more shortages!
Some 30 years later, I’m a union leader and trainer for NEA’s Education Support Professional Leadership Institute. I advocate on workload issues for my colleagues at Landmark Elementary School, in Little Rock’s Pulaski County Special School District, in Arkansas. If job creep is spiraling out of control in your school, here’s how your union can help you push back.
1. Take a careful look at your job description and contract.
Note additional hours and tasks that are not in the description, and also look at what your contract says about “other duties as assigned.” Take that documentation to your administrator and ask your building representative to join you. Be prepared to talk about the negative impact it has on your actual duties and the problems it creates, particularly if you don’t have the training to fill in for others.
2. Foster a good relationship with your administrator at the start of the school year.
This way, you’ll avoid going into sensitive meetings as adversaries. At my school, I asked our administrator if she’d consider becoming an NEA member—and she agreed! Now she understands union issues on a much deeper level. Of course, not every administrator will be as cooperative. As a union leader, I’ve had to tell administrators that a colleague will do the extra tasks, but that we would grieve it. Often, the administrator will back off right away.
3. Ask your union reps to include the following language in your next contract.
If your contract includes broad language, like “additional duties as assigned,” bring that to the attention of your local union. Use the draft language below to address these topics:
Overload and working beyond the school day or week: “In the event employees are required to perform duties in excess of provisions set forth in the contract, they shall be entitled to additional compensation.” Clearly state how much the additional compensation will be.
Additional students: “When teachers receive additional students on a temporary basis, they shall be compensated at the rate of [enter negotiated amount] per student, per day, or any part of a day.”
Extra duties: “Unit members [education support professionals] may be requested to perform duties which reasonably relate to the duties contained in their job description. In addition, a unit member may be requested to perform duties which do not reasonably relate to the duties contained in their job description, provided that the district pays such employee assigned to work in a higher classification a [enter negotiated amount] differential pay above their regular rate of pay or the first column of the classification they are covering, whichever is higher. “Unit members working in a higher classification for more than [enter negotiated number of] working days shall receive a [enter negotiated number] differential pay on the next consecutive working day.
“A unit member may be requested to perform extra duties in an equal or lower classification or fill a vacancy, provided that the district compensates such unit member at their normal rate of pay. “Unit members shall not be left alone on a routine basis, nor serve as a substitute to be responsible for instructional education in the absence of certificated staff being assigned to the class. Any time unit members are in a classroom without a certificated staff member in excess of [enter negotiated number], administration shall be notified.”
These are just a few examples, but the most important step is to start the conversation with your union representatives. Get to know your union contract at nea.org/UnionContract.
Audrey Nichols is an educator in the Pulaski School District, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
