Snow Days Reimbursement Explanation:

This is an email response given to an SU/B member by SU/B’s  NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist (LRS).

I am Anna Geronimo, the NYSUT representative who works with the Substitutes United of Buffalo. Linda Sieckmann-Dugan forwarded your email to me regarding compensation for snow days.

First, I want to assure you that the union has presented proposals to pay substitutes for snow days in the last several rounds of negotiations and has not been able to get the District to agree to such compensation. We have addressed this question in the last few general membership meetings that I have attended but I’ve suggested that the union also post the answer to this question on their website for those who maybe weren’t able to make a meeting. We intend to propose such compensation again when the contract is up and we are in negotiations, which will be in about a year. The current contract expires on July 1, 2025 and we will begin negotiations sometime in the late fall of this year, 2024. Please keep a watch for emails asking for support in negotiations as the best way to attain a proposal is to show how much of our membership supports it. So we will be asking members to take action and support the negotiating team when we begin negotiations.

Please note that we cannot demand to negotiate at any time during the term of our contract, unless the district makes some change affecting our membership and we can demand “impact bargaining.” But we’ve asked for snow day compensation in every negotiations, both for all subs as well as for only building subs, and the District refuses to agree to it. We will keep trying but I want to be sure you understand we’ve been working on this issue for a long time. If you still have questions, please respond to this email and your president, Shirley Sapp-Burgess, or vice president, Linda Sieckmann-Dugan, would be happy to discuss with you.

Note also that it’s always best to reach out to your union with questions that are contractual issues, as pay is. The District would be violating the law if they engaged with a member on these issues instead of working with their elected representatives. Have a great day,

Anna