Hello All,

Thank you to Tiffany White, ASHA Senior Director, School Services in Speech-Language Pathology for leading me to this Community of Union Strong SLPs!

I am chairing the NEA-Alaska Related Service Provider Committee.  We are currently collecting bargaining language that is supportive of Related Service Providers as 4 larger Alaskan School Districts, including Anchorage School District, will begin negotiating contracts.  Guess which organization is the most helpful regarding this research! I appreciate the resources on the ASHA Teacher's Union Page (Teacher Unions), recent summer articles in the ASHA Leader (Great Job SLPs of Huntley Community School District 158), and the virtual Town Halls.  I was actually a panelist on the Jan 2024 ASHA/NEA virtual town hall.  I have reached out to NEA collective bargaining who provided some helpful language as well. 

Outside of these resources, if anyone has any additional recommended contracts to review, please let me know.  We are especially focused on our groups as they are thinning out, with a continued increase in virtual contracted services.  As of last year, the speech therapy departments for the two largest school districts in Alaska were 1/3 virtual SLP contractors.  This is also thinning out the collective bargaining unit.  

Thank you for any recommendations.....and for being members within this critically important community for school based SLPs Educators!

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Mary Dooher, M.A., CCC-SLP
Wasilla, Alaska
ASHA LDP Alumna
NEA Disability Rights Resource Cadre
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