We hope you’re staying dry, and that you have a wonderful Halloween this weekend!
We know that the staffing shortages in our district, along with the pandemic-induced social emotional crises our students are going through, are placing additional burdens on those in the schools. We have been advocating for BPS to expedite hiring and deployment of needed personnel, but staffing shortages are widespread across industries and across the country, so if you have friends or family who might be interested in joining BPS as a para, a bus monitor, a cafeteria worker, or a substitute, please encourage them to apply. And there was news yesterday about legislation that would allow public sector retirees to work more hours. If you are a retired educator who is interested in substituting in BPS, please apply today!
We returned to the bargaining table last week for contract negotiations for the first time since August. BTU negotiators provided compelling evidence that the BPS model of “one teacher, three licenses” is not conducive to meeting the needs of all students, and that our members expect Inclusion Done Right! The BTU team also presented the union’s proposals for professional development, focused on voice and choice for educators, and we heard BPS’s responses to our proposals on facilities and housing justice. Management rejected 14 out of our 17 proposals, stating that they don’t belong in the contract. It is clear that in order to achieve the conditions that our members and our students deserve, we will need all of you. If you don’t already have a Contract Action Team up and running in your school, please work with your building reps to establish a CAT Team asap – we will need to be ALL-IN for this year’s contract campaign!
We continue to work to ensure that our members who have been incorrectly sent letters stating that they’ve been placed on administrative leave even though they are following the district’s vaccine verification or weekly testing protocol are not punished or docked pay. If you discover that you have been incorrectly docked pay even though you were in compliance with the policy, please let your field rep know. As always, we encourage all of our members to get vaccinated, and for those that are not vaccinated, we have resources for convenient testing methods on our website.
Election Day in the City of Boston is November 2. Boston has the only Mayor-appointed School Committee in all of Massachusetts, and BTU is ALL IN to make the Boston School Committee representative of the students, families and communities they represent by allowing voters to elect their committee. Make sure to vote YES on question 3 on November 2! You can visit the campaign’s website for more information and exciting volunteer opportunities in the next two weeks leading up to Election Day. In the meantime, the Boston School Committee Nominating Panel is accepting applications to fill four expiring terms on the Committee.
Friendly Reminder: Check your pay stub to ensure that you are being paid correctly! Many BTU members have caught errors in the past and it’s important to check and correct before it’s too late.
Finally, we are excited to announce the arrival of Douglas Guo-Ping Miller, the son of President Jessica Tang and her husband, Doug! Doug was born on Monday, October 18 at 6:55 p.m. Mom, dad, and baby are all doing well! Congratulations to Jessica and Doug, and welcome to the world, baby Doug!