Good morning. 

We will meet today from 2-8 PM in negotiations, and we have a session beginning at 10 AM this Friday and continuing on an open-ended basis, as we strive to wrap up the Master Agreement by the close of the weekend. We will have met eight days this month as both sides have tried to address the urgency of meeting the reporting deadline for the TIF Grant.

I regret to say that the district has not taken their bargaining obligation as seriously as we would have liked. I am not optimistic today that we can overcome the district's intransigence even though we will continue to meet around the clock if necessary.


It would be helpful if the superintendent, who has been a complete no-show throughout this 22-month process, would take an interest in settling this contract. Outside of an unannounced, one hour pop-in visit with a guest--it was more like a meet-and-greet--the superintendent has avoided the entire negotiating process. Her absence and her team spokesperson's non-responsiveness have not been helpful and may lead to the district's forfeiture of the $9 million Teacher Improvement Fund (TIF) Grant that would have gone to Turnaround Schools. Regardless of the superintendent's apparent distaste for the negotiation process, she ought to be at the negotiating table. What else of greater importance could she be doing?

Yesterday, instead of working to resolve the issue, the superintendent sent out her BPS this Week with a reference to a Boston Phoenix article that showcased an obscene gesture by the former, presumed deceased union chief, Jimmy Hoffa. Ironic, isn't it, that the school system blocks YouTube but exhibits no such standard of behavior when the obscenity apparently runs in its favor? Ouch! We'll chalk this miscue up to the superintendent's continued inattentiveness. Here's an answer to the Phoenix article. The answer, sans obscenity, is scheduled to run this week in the Phoenix.

Although we have reached agreements on many issues, including teacher staffing, increased tuition reimbursement and an extension of eligibility to 2nd and 3rd year provisionals, many key and significant issues remain.


Regrettably, in the last nine months the district has not budged an inch on salary and length-of-workday issues. The district is still insisting that we work additional time without compensation and has not changed its salary offer at all. Their first offer offer to us has been their last offer. We intend through these negotiations to settle all matters in the best interest of the total membership in a way that is good for students, affordable to the city, and fair to our members.


We are scheduling a meeting for all members who work inTurnaround Schools for Tuesday, April 3. At that meeting we will either lay out the details of the Turnaround Agreement as part of the Master Agreement or we will tell you why we were unable to reach an agreement on both. This meeting will be open primarily to all members who work in Turnaround Schools, though we will not turn away any BTU member as is our policy. The meeting will start at 5 PM. There will be light refreshments, and we hope we see you there.

 

AFTMA's telephone town hall will be held tomorrow, March 28, at 7:15 PM. Members will receive a telephone call prior to 7:15 PM so that they can join the event. Please let your membership know. The subject is the initiative petition sponsored by Stand for Children.

Elementary Field Representative Michael McLaughlin is hosting one of his annual seminars on retirement, and all are welcomed to attend. The seminar will be held on March 27 at 4 PM at the BTU. If you have any questions, please email Michael here. Please see the flier here.

The Boston Teachers Union Health and Welfare runs a softball leagueeach year in the spring. Every school is allowed to enter a team; we try to accommodate each team based on its dismissal time and the location or part of the city where the school is located.

The Boston Writing Project (BWP) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston announces its 32nd annual Invitational Summer Institute on teaching Writing.  This popular teachers-teaching-teachers institute runs on campus Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM, July 9 through July 26.  Participating teachers receive a $200.00 stipend, free parking, and PDP's, and are eligible for six graduate credits at a substantial discount.  The BWP is seeking 15 K-12 teachers from all subject areas to participate. Anyone interested in an application and/or more information should check out the BWP website or contactPeter Golden 

Annual Laptop Registration: On March 19, OIIT launched an updated registration application to all L4L laptops as part of the annual laptop registration process. All L4L users are required to update their laptop registration information by Wednesday, April 25. All users will need to register laptops while connected to the BPS Network. 

Registration takes approximately 5 minutes to complete and requires a reboot of the laptop. NOTE: Users who have recently changed their password in The Hub should use the new password.

Please note that after the April 25 deadline, OIIT will collect laptops that have not been registered to run routine maintenance and software updates. As part of this process, data will unfortunately be lost. OIIT will redistribute laptops to teachers as quickly as possible.

If you have any registration questions, please contact the OIIT Service Desk at 617-635-9200. See here for more information.

The BTU is saddened to announce the passing of Mr. Paul Beichel, retired art teacher from English High School. The BTU sends its most sincere condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. See here for Paul's obituary.

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