New president takes over classified union

Todd Barrett Todd Barrett has become the new president of the Las Virgenes Classified Association—the school district's nonteachers union—just in time to deal with California's freefalling economy and the unprecedented burdens being placed on education.

The 42-year-old Barrett was appointed by the union's executive board last summer after long-time president Penny Ellis resigned. He must contend with the likelihood that salary increases for the union's rank and file will be rejected by the Las Virgenes school district due to severe budget constraints.

But lost pay raises are the least of the union's worries.

"It's not going to be a good negotiating year," said Barrett. "Everybody's going to be lucky to keep their jobs."

Classified employees include secretaries, maintenance workers, cafeteria workers and other employees who are neither teachers nor administrators. The union operates as part of the California Teachers Association.

The school district's threeyear contract with its classified employees expires in June.

Under the governor's latest fiscal proposal, which has yet to pass the Legislature, school district budgets will be cut by 16 percent in the coming year.

Navigating in the new economy has been a "learning experience," Barrett said.

A heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technician at Las Virgenes, Barrett said he spends up to two days per week on his duties as association president, which include visiting employees at school sites, disseminating information through newsletters and meeting with district officials.

"Penny (Ellis) was fighting for the right reasons, (but) it's too much for one person to do," Barrett said. He plans to share his work load with the union's board of directors.

Barrett also has also been grappling with a controversial "agency fee," which calls for non-members to pay the same union fee as members.

He said all classified employees benefit from a union contract, although some employees decline to join for personal reasons.

If a closed shop agreement is eventually negotiated with the school district, all employees must join the union and pay the fee.

"We have not implemented a closed shop yet," Barrett said. "We tried last summer to start with the new school year, but couldn't get the language negotiated with the district. Some people still have the jitters.

"It was five years before I finally joined," he said. "People don't understand (the benefits)."

Barrett was hired in the district's maintenance department in 1994; he was named vice president of the classified union in 2007.

He lives in Simi Valley with his wife and two children.