“The Boston Teachers Union applauds the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s unanimous decision in support of essential labor rights in the Commonwealth. Today’s decision reaffirms a union’s right to pursue arbitration awards and seek recourse from the courts if employers refuse to fulfill the terms of a contract.
Our grievance highlights a critical issue in our efforts to secure a new contract that will build equity and education justice for Boston educators and students. The district’s prior failure to maintain 18 cluster paraprofessional substitutes not only violated the terms of our current union contract, but also left educators scrambling to cover for absent staff. When positions are left vacant, it throws schools into disarray and takes vital resources away from students with special education and ESL needs – students who urgently deserve to receive the support and resourcing necessary for them to thrive in Boston Public Schools.
That is why, in our current contract discussions, we are calling for one building substitute per school because it has been so challenging to recruit and retain substitute teachers. We are also seeking fair wages to retain staff and to curb future vacancies. We need to ensure that our educators can focus on meeting our students’ needs without having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, and this victory for educators and students is one key step toward that goal. Today’s decision is an important step towards a better, more just system of labor relations. The 8,000 educators in the Boston Teachers Union will continue to advocate for a new union contract that supports students with learning differences, and creates the school system educators and students deserve.”
— BTU President Erik Berg