| Dear Member,
We have been fighting for a new fair contract for 11 months, and working under an expired one for close to five. In a fight this long, it can be easy to lose sight of the progress we’ve made together towards reaching our goals of securing an agreement that guarantees concrete changes to improve the education of students and working conditions of educators.
Ever since thousands of members stood together on Jan. 16th to hold informational pickets on the state of negotiations, there’s been movement on key issues at the negotiating table and a strengthening of participation in our collective fate.
Last week, the BTU met with BPS management for two sessions on January 23rd and 24th. On Jan 23rd. session, about 1/3 of the 120 people who attended were participating in a negotiation session for the first time. That is our power. Despite the lengthy negotiations, we have our solidarity and numbers to continue to produce a level of engagement necessary to sustain our fight and remind BPS that we will continue to be engaged as long as this process plays out.
Over these two negotiating sessions, the BTU reached two significant tentative agreements with district management. The first agreement changes how the district considers prior experience for school nurses.
Under this TA, school nurses will receive salary credit for their prior hospital and clinical experience based on how the medical field tabulates those hours. This development will give incoming and existing school nurses more credit for their previous experiences towards their BPS salary lanes.
The second agreement pertains to Supervisors of Attendance. For Years, the BTU has been fighting for SOA’s to be properly paid for their extended work year. Now, that will happen. Under this TA, SOA’s will work 9 days beyond the traditional 183 day work year and receive a 5 percent differential in pay. Finally, the additional hours they commit to the district will be compensated.
Those are the highlights, but the issue of wages still remains. Last Thursday, BPS management said that it has quote “Gone as far as it can go” with its proposal of a 2 percent wage increase for all units and a 4/hr increase for paraprofessionals over the course of a three-year contract.
With that proposal, the starting wage for paraprofessionals for SY’ 25-25 would be just over $32,000. If you’ve ever paid rent in Boston, or the greater Boston area, you know that does not come close to providing our lowest paid members the ability to sustain themselves without taking on other jobs. That is one of our major priorities: to secure a contract which allows our lowest-paid members to continue to dedicate their time to BPS and its students without having to thrash their legs under the surface just to tread water.
The BTU and BPS also revisited the district’s policy of requiring general education teachers to obtain additional special education licenses and perform the work of multiple educators. There was progress but nothing major to report and it will be visited again when we resume negotiations in February. If you’re interested in catching up on the state of inclusive education negotiations, check out last week’s bulletin.
We have also made progress in securing a guarantee from the district that it will provide the work and pay schedules for new employees by the start of the school year. For months, district management has insisted it cannot provide this information but following BTU advocacy it appears that educators will soon have a clearer picture of their work status at the start of each school year.
Federal and State Policy
Last week, we shared excerpts of the BTU and AFT MA’s response to the Trump Administration’s announcement that it will increase immigration enforcement and potentially target individuals at previously protected institutions such as schools. We have updated the statement, which you can read in full here
On a state level, Governor Maura Healey released her budget proposal for this fiscal year last week. The headlines state that she’s increasing education funding across the board. While technically true, the devil is in the details. Governor Healey’s proposal would actually result in a net loss of $6 million for BPS. Our city’s enrollment is stabilizing and BPS serves more students with additional needs and ELL requirements than any other district in the state. How does it make sense then for Boston to be targeted by cuts, especially when our Governor pledged to be a champion for education during her campaign?
The BTU is deeply concerned by this budget proposal and will work with legislators in the state House and Senate to ensure that BPS students receive the support they deserve.
Additional Important Updates:
The BTU has increasingly heard from members who are missing wages they have earned. And even more outrageous, the City of Boston recently changed their policy and is refusing to promptly make these employees whole. Therefore, the BTU filed an unfair labor practice charge last week at the MA Department of Labor Relations because of the City’s refusal to promptly pay BTU members wages they have earned.
Many of these employees are among the lowest paid, including substitutes and paraprofessionals. This is not only a violation of labor law, but a violation of the state Wage and Hour laws, so the BTU also informed the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. If your paycheck was missing pay, even if it was later corrected, please complete this FORM. We have a follow-up on the landmark passage of the WEP/GPO legislation during President Biden’s final days in office. For a comprehensive explanation of that provision’s impact, read more here!
The BTU Executive Board’s monthly meeting has been rescheduled from this Wednesday to next Wednesday on January 29th. |
