Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. 
WTU members oppose contract proposal: findings from a survey of WTU members
August 15, 2008

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WTU Members Oppose Contract Proposal

Findings from a survey of WTU members conducted by
Peter D, Hart Research Associates, Inc.

Key Findings

WTU members are aware of the contract negotiations, and they are highly dissatisfied with the proposed agreement. Concerns about seniority and tenure protections and tying teacher compensation to test scores trump other concerns, and most members are not willing to sacrifice these protections for the chance to receive large increases in salaries, bonuses, and benefits, especially because funding for these increases is not guaranteed.

WTU members feel mixed about how well they think the DC Public School (DCPS) system is doing serving DC students, and virtually all have ideas about what changes are needed to improve the quality of education that students receive.

• 25% of WTU members say that DCPS is doing an excellent or good job meeting students' educational needs. Three in 10 characterize DCPS as being just adequate and 39% say the school system is doing not that good or a poor job.
• 31% of members identify improving parental involvement and responsibility as a change that would do a great deal to improve the quality of education that students receive.
• Improving the quality and accountability of teachers and administrators also are Identified as reforms that would do a great deal to improve the quality of education, with 20% and 17% identifying these changes respectively.
• 20% of WTU members also identify improving teachers' resources and supplies as important to improving the education that students in DCPS receive.

WTU members are aware of the contract negotiations and are highly dissatisfied with the proposal.

• Members have a high level of awareness about the contract negotiations, with 68% saying they've heard a fair amount or a great deal and only 1% saying they've heard nothing at all.
• Without being provided any information about the contract proposal, by nearly two to one (44% to 23%) WTU members express unfavorable over favorable opinions about the proposal, with an additional three in 10 (29%) saying that they have not heard enough about the proposal to have an opinion.

Members were read the following objective statement about the proposal and again asked for their opinion;

The contract proposal being discussed by Chancellor Rhee and the WTU would create two new salary schedules. One salary schedule, called the Green Plan, would apply to all new teachers and current teachers who choose to participate in that plan. This schedule would include large pay increases for the five years of the contract. By the fifth year, the starting salary under the Green Plan would be almost $58,000 and the salary on the top step would be over $113,000, Teachers in the Green Plan also would be eligible for performance bonuses of up to $20,000 per year based on student test scores and other factors. Current teachers who choose the Green Plan would have to give up their tenure rights, but could be considered for new permanency rights after one year.

Teachers who choose the other salary schedule, called the Red Plan, would get a pay increase of about 28% over five years--with the top salary ranging from $88,000 for teachers with a Bachelors degree to over $113,000 for teachers with a Ph.D. Teachers in the Red Plan would not be eligible for the $20,000 bonus, but would retain their current tenure rights. For all teachers in the DC public schools, no matter what plan they choose, seniority would no longer be factored into decisions about teaching assignments, hiring, or excessing, which means the involuntary transfer and assignment of a teacher from a work location to another due to enrollment and/or budgetary constraints.

• On this basis, high bonuses and salary increases not withstanding, WTU member opposition to the proposed contract increases, with 58% feeling unfavorable toward the proposal, compared with 33% feeling favorable and only 9% percent saying they are not sure.
  • A plurality (40%) of WTU members say they feel very unfavorable about this proposed contract deal.

Seniority and tenure protections are of great importance to WTU members and are at the heart of their anxieties about the proposed contract.

• Loss of seniority and weakened tenure protections are the top reasons that WTU members give for feeling concerned about the proposal.
• WTU members overwhelmingly reject the view that tenure is a part of the problem in DCPS. By 61 points (77% to 16%) members think that maintaining tenure rights is important as compared to feeling that the tenure system is a part of the problem.
• 76% of members say that WTU should NOT sacrifice tenure protections and seniority rights, compared with 20% who say the pay increases make the proposal too good to turn down.
  • This strong support for seniority and tenure protections is held by teachers across the seniority spectrum.