Welcome to a new school year!
We hope you had a restful, joyful and relaxing summer. To the hundreds of new educators (and union members) beginning their journey with Boston Public Schools, we welcome you to the BTU union family! We are eager to work together to build a brighter future for Boston’s children. We’ve laid out some of our priorities for this year below and look forward to seeing you all at the union’s first monthly membership meeting of the school year on Wednesday September 11 at the BTU Hall.
Negotiating a New Contract
Negotiating a strong new contract is priority #1 this school year. Our contract expired on August 31, and despite 20 bargaining sessions extending over 75 hours at the negotiation table, BPS has been slow to respond substantively to most of our major priorities.
This fall we must all work together to pound the pavement, pack School Committee meetings, and organize in our schools and our communities to raise awareness and strengthen alliances. We will not settle until we win a contract which guarantees a fair and equitable wage increase for all members, with particular emphasis on our lowest-paid members, and which ends the practice of requiring teachers to do the job of both a general education teacher and a special education teacher!
Inclusion Done Right
The BPS inclusion model denies students with disabilities the same supports from an additional teacher that they would receive in other Massachusetts districts. This failing model continues to be among the most critical issues that confronts our educators and our students. We are confronting this issue head-on at the bargaining table, but we also will continue to organize with families, students, and community organizations to ensure that students with disabilities in Boston have access to a high quality education in the least restrictive environment.
This means that students must receive the specialized instruction outlined in their IEP from an additional teacher. It is not acceptable or sufficient for management to simply demand that the general classroom teacher get an additional license, so that the district can claim that they are providing services. We will fight to move towards a model that centers student needs and IEP goals.
Facilities
Advocating and organizing for more new school buildings will be another item at the top of the BTU’s list. The City of Boston has only built six new school buildings in this century, and well over half of our buildings date from before World War II. The BTU issued a resolution over the summer, laying out clear pathways for the district to improve its long-term facilities improvement plan approach. Even if we build a new school building every single year, it will take 116 years to have a full system of new schools!
It is great that the new Josiah Quincy Upper School facility opens its doors to students this week. We will continue to push for several new builds or complete renovations each year for the foreseeable future, along with regular maintenance on an ongoing basis for all of our buildings. It will also be important for school communities to have a voice in decisions about facilities, including closing or merging schools. Our students, their families, and our educators deserve no less!
Community Hub Schools
Implementing a Community Hub School model in Boston has been and continues to be another key priority for our union. We successfully secured a commitment from the district this year that BPS would strive to expand this nationally proven model to 20 different schools as well as hire a Hub Community School Coordinator to oversee this process. This model provides wraparound services to students, giving them access to healthcare, internships, recreational enrichment and advancement opportunities that have been historically inaccessible to members of most communities.
Presidential Election
We have work to do in Massachusetts and especially beyond to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as our next President and Vice President! BTU members have already signed up to work with the AFT, our national union, and to support the ticket in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. We will be holding our annual Fall Leadership Conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in October, during which volunteers will have the opportunity to work with the Harris/Walz campaign to get out the vote in that swing state. Please read the weekly e-Bulletin for other opportunities to join the BTU, AFT Massachusetts, and the AFT in campaigning for the Harris/Walz ticket.
Update on the State of Contract Negotiations
The BTU has continued to negotiate with the district over the summer, has established a Contract Organizing Committee, and is taking the first action of the year by using time within our 30 minute union meetings to write postcards to the Mayor. We look forward to seeing everyone at future walk-ins and rallies, attending bargaining sessions, participating in social media campaigns and educating your community about the details of a contract that Boston’s educators and students deserve. Our next negotiation session with the district is scheduled for September 19th, let us know if you plan to attend!
We will provide more details about our positions and strategy at our first membership meeting of the school year next Wednesday at the BTU Hall from 4:30 to 6:30pm. Let us know if you need childcare for the meeting. We encourage all members to apply to join our Contract Organizing Committee whose sole purpose is to advise leadership on contract campaign strategies.
We also need to continue to show up for our labor allies. On Labor Day, the BTU joined hundreds of other locals in solidarity with the striking hotel workers of Unite Here Local 26. More than 10,000 workers across the country made the difficult decision to go on strike to fight for what they believe in and what their workers deserve. Hotel workers are fighting similar battles as our own members, especially paraprofessionals: many are forced to work multiple jobs and still cannot afford to live in the city they serve. We strongly support their belief that ONE JOB SHOULD BE ENOUGH!
Our presence during these moments of labor history reaffirms our commitment to the broader pursuit of workers’ rights, provides an opportunity to strengthen our relationships and offers a platform to remind those in power that they are truly confronting a unified front. Check out our social channels (Facebook, X, Instagram) for photos and to see our Elementary Field Rep. Lea Serena calling on the Mayor and the School Committee on Labor Day to join us in ensuring our students with the highest needs are receiving the services they deserve.
This year we will also be in negotiations at Neighborhood House Charter School and Codman Academy Charter School to secure those educators’ first union contracts. The workers at these two newly-organized schools have shown tremendous energy and solidarity, which will be crucial to reaching agreements which set precedents for fair working conditions at charter schools within our district.
Follow us on social media and check in at btu.org/bargaining/ to see summaries of negotiating sessions and keep up to date on organizing actions!
Fighting for change can be a challenging and lengthy process but together we have a resolve which will not be denied. We are thrilled to share that the Massachusetts State Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled in favor of the BTU in a case which will hold the School Committee accountable when it comes to the arbitration process. The case began in 2018, and due to our persistence, the School Committee must now honor a contractual agreement and hire 18 paraprofessional substitute educators. This is an historic victory for both the BTU and the broader labor movement for it 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.
NEW-BTU Special Election Information:
Nominations for Vice President opened on August 1 and will close on September 11. Dues paying BTU/RTC members in good standing can run for this office and sign nomination papers. Please see the updated Electronic Nomination Instructions and Candidates Guide for more information. Paper nomination forms are available at the union office.
Each member can only nominate one candidate in this race. 100 nominations are required to qualify for contention, but it is recommended that prospective candidates gather more to account for potential duplications.
Paper nomination pages must be handed in at the BTU membership meeting on September 11. Electronic nominations automatically close at the end of that meeting.
Mail-in ballots will be sent out in mid-September and ballots must be received by October 15th in order to be counted. In-person voting will be held on October 16 at the BTU. If there are more than two candidates running, October 16 will be a primary election. If there are two or fewer candidates, October 16 will be a final election. New BTU members can participate in the election but must vote in person.
You may contact ombudspeople Marjie Crosby and Danielle Fraine with questions or concerns at electioncommittee@btu.org. Members are welcome to attend and ask questions at the start of election committee meetings. The next meeting is Sept. 30 at 5 pm at the BTU. Contact mfrank@btu.org with any questions about your membership status.
BTU Events and AnnouncementsJoin the BTU Contract Organizing Committee! The Contract Organizing Committee will work in collaboration with the negotiating team and Executive Board to develop and implement organizing and action plans for our contract bargaining campaign. We’re looking to convene a diverse group of BTU members, representing a range of bargaining units, roles, grade bands, races, experience levels, and school types across as many schools as possible. Learn more and apply here. |
| Join the AFT MA 2024 Get Out the Vote Team
AFT MA members are taking action to get out the vote for the democratic ticket in battleground states this Fall and Summer! Fill out this form to let staff know how you are interested in getting involved, and you’ll hear back shortly to get plugged in. Democracy and Education is on the ballot this year! Submit Building Rep Election Results A reminder that all schools should conduct Building Rep elections before the end of the school year. If you need guidance on how to conduct a Building Rep election, please see p. 25 of the Building Rep Handbook. Once you have your election results please submit them at btu.org/brelection. Paraprofessional Development Managing Student Behaviors: CHANGE OF DATE! This Professional Development Session will provide participants an overview of strategies to identify warning signs while working with students in any program area and across grade bands. Participants will learn techniques to identify student triggers and best practices to ameliorate behaviors and provide safety for the learning environment. The two sessions will now take place on November 19,2024 at 4:30pm at the BTU Hall. Register here. Puerto Rico: Virtual Reading and Discussion: 9/8 and 9/15 7-8pm, 9/21 3pm Join the ethnic studies committee to read and discuss the text Puerto Rico, A History, by Jorel Meléndez-Badillo! We will discuss the book on 9/8 and 9/15 on Zoom from 7-8pm, and have a discussion with the author on Zoom on 9/21 at 3pm! All are welcome for a part or all of the events! Register HERE
BTU 11th Annual Back to School Fair: Saturday September 28th, 10am-2pm Join Educators, Families, Students and Community Partners for a joyous day celebrating Back to School! Thousands of free books! Music, Food, Family Fun Activities and much more! Please share the word with your school community! Check out our page to register and learn more about tabling for your organization! Educators Thriving: Make Your Well-Being a Priority this Year, Deadline Sept. 23rd In this free course for BTU members learning and practicing concrete strategies to prevent burnout and support your own well-being so you can be your best for yourself and your students. Check out our flyer to learn more, check out an informational video, or register for a free preview session in September. Those who complete the course and all assignments are eligible to earn Academic Ladder Credits toward lane advancement. Spots filled on a first come, first served basis with final due date of September 23rd. Unafraid Educators Meeting: Monday, September 23rd @ 4:30pm Please join us at Fenway High for our September Unafraid Educators Meeting! We are the BTU’s Immigrant Rights Organizing Committee, and work to support our students and families. We will discuss goals for the upcoming school year, and share what we accomplished last year! We’ll have pizza, salads, and snacks for everyone. Power Saturdays at the BTU: SY 24-25 Power Saturdays are a monthly day for BTU members to connect, learn, and grow our power together through three unique learning and leadership development opportunities. Member Organizers: Build organizing skills and take action; Education Policy Program: Connect research, policy and practice.; Writing and Research Fellowship: Deepen personal and professional identity through research and writing. Learn more and apply.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer: Join the BTU Walkers on Oct. 5th Join a group of your BTU union siblings at the annual Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston from 8am to 10am to contribute to the fight to eradicate breast cancer. Click here to join our team and donate! Harvard Conant Fellowship Information Session: October 9th, 7-8 PM This virtual event will provide an overview of degree programs and unique funding opportunities available to BTU members. Hear from Admissions and Financial Aid officers, as well as past recipients of the James Bryant Conant Fellowship, a competitive full-tuition award to support the professional growth of outstanding educators in BPS. Register Here. Paraprofessional Informational Meeting and Resources Fair: October 10th Come join us at the BTU Hall on October 10th at 5pm for important information and great resource materials from colleges, MTEL support and more. Register here! BTU Fall Conference: October 18th to 20th Join us for the 2024 Annual BTU Fall Leadership Conference from October 18-20 at the Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel (250 Market St, Portsmouth, NH 03801). The program will include plenary sessions, skill-building workshops, meals, and social events to build up our power and unity as BTU member leaders. The registration deadline is October 4th. BTU Retirement Planning Seminar: October 25, 2024, 4:30-6:30pm “When will I be able to Retire?” Find out by attending the BTU Retirement Planning Seminar on Friday, October 25, 2024. Trustees from the City of Boston Retirement Board and from Health Insurance and Social Security will also be in attendance.
Professional Learning & Development UpdatesEach week, we have many new and exciting Professional Learning & Development opportunities to share with you. You can find a full description of each listing on our Professional Learning & Development Updates Page.
|
