Education Support Professionals — Your On-the-Job Rights and Benefits

This is part three of a series about collective bargaining for Maryland educators. Read “Collective Bargaining — It Makes Your Contract Legally Binding” and “Bargaining Your Contract — Your Right and Duty.”

Your right to negotiate your work contract through your local education association is protected by law and only possible because the majority of your colleagues said “yes” to union representation. The protection of a contract means you are not subject to the changing tides of administrators and school boards or the personal grievances that may arise in the workplace.

To help you better understand just what contract rights are — and the importance of using your contract to protect your job and status — read this sample list and imagine if these rights and benefits would be possible if the decisions were left only to your employer.

Your agreement may include some or all of the items, or use different language to achieve the same or similar benefit. Your negotiations team studies the specific language in every contract to be sure it is enforceable and not ambiguous. In most cases, every local contract addresses these issues to the benefit of the employee.