Still Hopes to Bargain
CSA Ads Lament Lack of Contract

By HOWARD MEGDAL

A media blitz by the union representing Principals, Assistant Principals, and other school administrators regarding its stalled contract talks with the city will continue through Nov. 10. Council of School Supervisors and Administrators Jill S. Levy, whose members have been working under an expired contract since July 1, 2003, said that though negotiations have given her no cause for optimism, there are plenty of reasons to take CSA's grievances to the public. The lack of bargaining progress led the union to file for fact-finding with the state Public Employment Relations Board in September to try to resolve the stalemate.

JILL LEVY: Broadcasting union's plight.

Not Too Late

"Even though we're moving into fact-finding, that doesn't mean we can't come to an agreement," Ms. Levy said in an Oct. 31 phone interview. "We want to encourage the Mayor and the Chancellor to give us a contract. Our members deserve one, and quickly."

The 30-second TV ads run through Nov. 9 on NY1, WCBS, WNBC and WABC between 5 and 7 a.m. and 5 and 7 p.m. The ads also ran this summer to mark the three-year anniversary of CSA's expired contract.

In the television spot, several Principals detail the ways they have helped their schools, with Ms. Levy narrating. The CSA leader then appears on camera, saying, "In the business world, leaders are rewarded for their success. Three years of hard work and still no contract? Disrespectful."

The 60-second radio spots will air through Nov. 10 on WABC-770, WINS-1010, WCBS-News 88 and WADO-1280. The newspaper ads will appear in the New York Sun, New York Observer, and other local papers through Nov. 10.

Many Motivations

Ms. Levy said there were several purposes to renewing the media push.

"There's always more than one target audience," she said. "Of course, the primary purpose is for the Mayor and the Chancellor. But also, it is for others to put pressure on those two. It also is for our members, to let them know we do not think the current situation is acceptable. And lastly, it is for a general public that seems to have forgotten that while all the other unions got their contracts last round, we still haven't."

A week earlier, Mayor Bloomberg appeared to be grouping the CSA with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association when he criticized the latter union for seeking contract arbitration for the fifth time in the last six rounds of bargaining. Talking about the PBA's unwillingness to reach a deal through negotiations, he said, "Virtually every other union, with the exception of one other that I can think of, has been able to do that repeatedly."