Judge sides with support staff union in arbitration battle with CCSD

The support staff union for the Clark County School District moved closer to winning a multimillion dollar grievance over salary increases after a judge denied a motion to vacate an arbitration award this week.

But the district said it plans to appeal the decision, arguing that those raises were part of a salary freeze included in the union’s 2013-2015 contract.

The Education Support Employees Association has argued that staff promoted from 2012 to 2015 did not advance on the salary schedule after completing a six-month probationary period.

Guillermo Vazquez, executive director of the union, estimated the award is worth at least $7 million for more than 1,000 members.

“We’re hoping we can finalize the data so we can actually see what each individual that has been promoted would earn,” he said. “They definitely deserve it, it’s been long overdue.”

Support staff who are promoted typically advance on the salary schedule, then advance further after successfully completing probation. The grievance stems from the second raise after the probation period, which the district did not provide.

The union won the grievance in arbitration, but in September the district filed a motion to dismiss the award. Judge Timothy Williams denied the motion Tuesday in Clark County District Court.

If not appealed, the decision could add further financial strain to the district — which currently has unresolved contracts with administrators, police officers and police administrators groups.

The district expects an arbitration ruling for two of those groups — the administrators and police administrators — by the end of the month.

Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.