Juneau School District and Juneau Education Support Staff reach tentative agreement

The Juneau Education Support Staff (JESS) and Juneau School District (JSD) have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, effective July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2022. This succeeds the current contract, set to expire on June 30, 2019.

JESS and JSD worked cooperatively to reach the tentative three-year agreement. Interest-Based Bargaining and the Affinity Model were used for collaborative negotiations. The next step is ratification by both parties.

The teams met January 24 and 25, February 8 and 20, and again on April 23. Writing committees met on additional days to craft the agreement, culminating in an all-day session today to complete the process.

The JESS bargaining unit is the school district’s second largest employee association, representing about 322 employees. JESS membership includes office and instructional support staff, school nurses, RALLY employees, as well as maintenance and custodial personnel. JESS is the local affiliate of the Alaska Public Employee Association.

The JESS membership will vote on the new contract in the near future. The Juneau School District Board of Education vote will follow. Details of the contract will be released to the public as part of the school board’s action.

For more information, contact JSD Superintendent Dr. Bridget Weiss at 523-1702 and JESS President Chris Cairns at [email protected].