| Dear Member,
Valentine’s Day is this Friday and we’re hoping BPS management is able to show our hardworking students and members a bit of love at the bargaining table this week. Just in case their hearts have been chilled by the recent snow and cold, our members will be bringing the warmth in standouts across the city on Thursday February 13th ahead of our next negotiating session. You can click the flyer above or this link to register to attend one of the 11 demonstrations.
To recap where we are, our membership has been working without a contract for more than 150 days and we are now approaching ONE YEAR at the bargaining table with BPS management. So far, we have been able to make some headway and reach tentative agreements that have real impact on the working conditions for some of our members.
However, progress has been incremental regarding two core issues: equitable wage increases for educators and establishing a sustainable approach to inclusive education that ensures students with disabilities receive their services from an additional educator and doesn’t rely on teachers being forced to obtain and use multiple specialized licenses simultaneously. Our advocacy has had a measurable impact. The district initially refused to discuss any policy that would set limitations on how many licenses it has the ability to require of a teacher. Now we are discussing enforceable standards across all grade levels.
Our negotiation session on Thursday Feb. 6th provided a stark reminder why these policies are necessary. Anne Brochu, a member of the BTU Negotiating team, explained that close colleagues of hers at the Murphy school, many of whom are veteran teachers, were recently informed they would have to obtain a third license to keep their jobs.
Then there’s wages. BPS management has repeatedly said its priority is to put money in the pockets of our lowest-paid members. Their offer to “uplift” our paraprofessionals would result in the starting salary for paras at the end of the contract in 2027 to still be under $38K. Their latest offer is a 2 percent wage increase for all bargaining units which management has said will only increase if the BTU relinquishes some of its hard-earned rights.
That is why we need to show up and stand out on February 13th to call on the district to stop breaking our hearts by continuing to defend an inclusion model that is failing students and offering wages that will keep our members struggling just to stay afloat. After the standouts, you are also welcome to walk that energy into the BTU Hall and attend the negotiation session scheduled for that night.
While our hope is to reach an agreement as soon as possible, we are anticipating that there will be a need for multiple negotiation sessions over February break. Currently, the BTU negotiating team and BPS management have agreed to meet for extended negotiation sessions on February 19th, 20th, and 21st. You can register to attend any of these sessions. Rest assured, our negotiating team will be working hard to negotiate a FAIR agreement as soon as possible.
There is a lot to keep track of at the moment but luckily we have a membership meeting this Wednesday February 12th from 4:30 to 6:30 at the BTU Hall. BTU staff members will be providing updates on the state of negotiations, answer questions about Thursday’s standout and upcoming contract actions, school closures, BTU internal elections and much more. Check out the meeting agenda and please let us know if you need childcare!
Additional Important Resources and Upcoming Dates
We would like to share an advisory recently released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) addressing the importance of educators and state officials providing support to LGBTQ students given recent directives and comments on inclusivity from the federal government.
There is an excerpt below, and you can find the full advisory and related resources here.
“This work remains firmly grounded in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 76, Section 5, which prohibits discrimination in public schools based on race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. Massachusetts schools remain responsible for providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students, and this responsibility under state law is not impacted by recent executive orders at the federal level. Our guidance on nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity in public schools is unchanged.”
Job postings for Transformation and Turnaround Schools will be posted on the BPS website on February 17th and the remainder of vacancies will go live by March 1st. Any teacher unit job selections must go through school based SSC/Governing Boards Personnel Subcommittees. For more information, please refer to the guidance provided by BPS.
We would like to thank our union siblings at Ironworkers Local 7 for coordinating a Free School Supply Drive for all educators, students and families on Sunday, Feb. 23rd from 10 to 2 at their union Hall at 195 Old Colony Ave. in South Boston. You can register through our Facebook event! |
