Dear Fellow Members,
   Welcome Back! Another summer has run by too quickly, but I hope that you were able to enjoy the time and I know you are ready for the challenges of a new school year.  The LMEA continues to work on your behalf by addressing your contractual concerns, acting as a collective voice to the administration, participating on important district committees, and providing benefits like free workshops on retirement, maternity leave, and saving for college.
   This will be a busy year for our officers and elected members of the Combined Negotiations Committee (CNC).  Our current contract expires at the end of June, and preparations are ongoing for negotiations with the school district that will formally begin in January.  CNC has carefully reviewed the current contract and the survey of the membership conducted last spring. Our goal is to negotiate a fair agreement that addresses your concerns and recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of our staff and the quality of the educational experience we provide to our students.  You will be informed of developments through official channels such as the monthly CNC report that appears in the Executive Council minutes and, if necessary, directly from the LMEA office.  It is critically important that your full support be given to the CNC and LMEA leadership this coming year.  Only through a single, LOUD voice at the bargaining table can we get the respect we deserve and have earned.
   Have a great year; I look forward to seeing you this fall when I visit your building for our unit meetings!

Chris SantaMaria
President
 

• The LMEA is comprised of over 1300 professional and support professional employees working every day in ten schools, our operations department, over 100 buses, our technology center and our administration building.
• The LMEA is one of only three “merged” education locals (out of more than 500) in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  This makes us unique and a very strong bargaining unit.
• We have an outstanding group of officers who put in many hours on your behalf.  Together, they have over 65 years of experience in LMEA leadership!: 
• President - Chris SantaMaria……………………Teacher, Harriton HS
• First Vice President – Arlene Flicker………...…Teacher, Cynwyd ES
• Vice President Support – Victor Fedeli…………Receiving, LMHS
• Vice President Professional – Aimee Avellino…Teacher, Cynwyd ES
• Secretary Professional – Mike Stettner…………Teacher, Lower Merion HS
• Secretary Support – Lisa McDevitt………..……Secretary, Cynwyd ES
• Treasurer – Darlene Mandarino………………....Secretary, Lower Merion HS
• The LMEA has its own office located at 306 Parsons Avenue in Bala Cynwyd.  Members are invited to stop by at any time and check it out.  Besides record keeping and other tasks involved in running an organization as large as ours, the office is used

      for committee meetings, workshops, and our monthly Executive Council meeting.

• The Executive Council is the regular governing authority of the LMEA.  It meets every month and is comprised of officers, committee chairs, and building reps.
• The LMEA has its own website lmeaonline.org where you can find information about the organization (such as our Constitution and By-Laws), minutes of our meetings, prior Apple Cores, and links to the PSEA, PSERS, NEA and other important sites.  You are welcome to post a classified advertisement on our website by contacting Matt Stanford, our webmaster.
• There are two very important standing committees in the LMEA.  Each has elected representatives from the major job categories:
• Combined Negotiations (CNC) which bargains new contracts and new positions created by the district.
• Professional Rights & Responsibilities (PR&R) which meets monthly and monitors the grievance process through levels I, II, III, and arbitration.
• The LMEA honors retirees every year with its annual spring banquet.  This festive occasion is a great way to salute the years of service of our colleagues and wish them well as they embark on new adventures.
• Building Reps are key players in the LMEA.  They are the “eyes and ears” that the leadership relies upon to monitor and report issues as they arise.  All members are strongly encouraged to know their building reps, they can quickly answer most questions about your contract and argue on your behalf when issues come up in your building.   The 2009-2010 LMEA Building Reps are:

Administration…………………..Debbie Williams
Bala Cynwyd…………………..…Prof.: Dave Willis, Kevin DiSantis; ESP: Paul Speicher
Belmont Hills………………….…Prof.: Jeff Levingood, Vinetta Madafarri; ESP: Lynda DiSantis
Building & Grounds………….…Larry Giaquinto, Jack Collins
Cynwyd………………………..…Prof.: Terri Tyler, Nancy Einstein; ESP: Sherle Kofsky
Gladwyne………….………….….Prof.: Jennifer Welby, Cheryl Stumm; ESP: Marybeth Gutches
Harriton………………………….Prof.: Katherine Swercewski, Justin Ochiograsso, Kathy Bold; Heather  Earny; ESP: Heidi Cooke, Tamara Jones
Lower Merion……………………Prof.: Louise Pierce, Pete Kaczmar, Brian Feeney, Russ Loue;
                                                          ESP: Soryl Angel, Jan Hemingway, Pete Kosmalski
Merion……………………………Prof.: Margie Mora, Janet Lawson; ESP: Monica Mixon
Penn Valley……………………….Prof.: Joanne Cook, Joe Mudd; ESP: Angie Pryzbewski
Penn Wynne……………………..Prof.: Yvette Devoue; Dayana Melendez; ESP: Maureen Morrison
Transportation (Matsonford)……Gidget Carter, Alden Washington, Gene Dashkiwsky
Transportation (Connolly)………Kevin Melvin, Rodney Garvin, Clarence Rowland

LMEA•306 Parsons Ave Bala Cynwyd, Pa 19004 •610-664-5450•

Fax 610-664-5451•www.lmeaonline.org

Copyright ©2009 lmeaonline.org

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