Good morning. A national action is being planned for March 8, International Women’s Day. It is a day to honor women’s victories and achievements, as well as to demonstrate how far women in our society still have to go to achieve full equality in the workplace.
On behalf of our 76% female teaching force we have been negotiating for 14 months. We have had no success. We have met 32 times in negotiations, for over 200 hours. Both the School Department and the city have, frankly, treated us poorly and disrespectfully. We have little doubt that, were the BTU a workforce that were 76% male, we’d have settled the contract by now.
On March 10, two days after International Women’s Day, we will be staging a citywide walk-in at each of our schools to call attention to the poor treatment our workforce has received.
We need your help.
Please help organize a brief “walk-in” at your school Friday, March 10. We are asking that members wear blue as well as our new stickers, and hold new signs before school at a visible location half an hour before school starts.
Here’s why we need your help this week:
- Our negotiations have stalled and the district has not responded to requests to meet.
- Our goal is to settle by the end of this month. If not, we are likely not going to settle until after the November city election. Simply, there’s a lot going on in the city and the district, and time to complete negotiations has a short window.
- It’s time for our membership to take a visible action to show the city, the School Department and our communities that we are serious about settling a Fair Contract Now!
At the membership meeting on March 8, we will be handing out signs and a new “tool kit” that will contain all you will need to make this day a success. Please make sure that someone is available to pick up the materials March 8.
Join us in this important action both to stand in solidarity with women and also to fight for a fair contract! We seek a contract that is good for our schools, good for our students and fair to our members. We seek nothing more, and we seek nothing less.
Be sure to sign up your school and upload photos. Please share photos on social media using @btu66 and #ContractNow #DayWithoutAWoman
Thank you. For questions or support, please contact Organizing Director Jessica Tang at 617-650-0632. The BTU is also proud to be one of the sponsors of the Day Without Women rally Wednesday evening. See the flyer for more information.