master contract agreement

A G R E E M E N TTHIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into this 30th day of June, 2010, by andbetween the BOARD OF EDUCATION of the DOWAGIAC UNION SCHOOLDISTRICT #31, of Dowagiac, Michigan, hereinafter referred to as the "Board" and theBERRIEN - CASS COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION/DOWAGIAC EDUCATIONASSOCIATION, MEA-NEA, hereinafter referred to as the "Association".ARTICLE 1 - PURPOSE AND INTENTWHEREAS, the School District has a statutory obligation, pursuant to Act 379 ofthe Michigan Public Acts of 1965, to bargain with the Association as the representativeof its teaching personnel with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditionsof employment, andWHEREAS, the parties have conducted extensive negotiations, each side ingood faith, to arrive at an agreement which will be fair, not only to the School, but alsoto the Association; andWHEREAS, as a result of the extensive good faith bargaining which has takenplace, the School and the Association have arrived at such agreements, the terms ofwhich have been reduced to writing and are set forth hereunder;NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, and the mutual covenantsand agreements herein contained, it is agreed as follows:ARTICLE 2 - RECOGNITION AND AGENCY SHOPSection 1: The Board hereby recognizes the Berrien - Cass County EducationAssociation/Dowagiac Education Association, MEA-NEA as the exclusivebargaining representative as defined in Section II of Act 379, Public Acts of 1965, inregard to wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for the followingcertified personnel employed by the school: Classroom teachers, counselors, librarians,speech therapists, special program teachers and permanent full-time substitutes undercontract. The term "teacher", when used hereafter in this agreement shall refer to all ofthe foregoing employees who are members of the bargaining unit.Section 2: Excluded are all administrative, supervisory and executive personnel,substitute teachers, and all other present and future employees of the Board other than"teachers" as defined above.Section 3: The Board further agrees that for the duration of this agreement orany extension thereof, it will not recognize nor bargain with any entity other than theAssociation.Section 4: All teachers, as a condition of continued employment, shall sign anddeliver to the Board an authorization form for the assignment of dues and assessmentsof BCCEA/DEA, MEA/NEA, or shall pay such fee directly. It is recognized that theproper negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements entailsexpenses which are appropriately shared by all teachers who are beneficiaries of suchagreements. To this end, in the event a teacher shall not join the Association, suchteacher shall, as a condition of continued employment by the Board, cause to be paid1