Published On: October 19, 2021

We hope that everyone has had a chance to enjoy the fall weather recently. Massachusetts in the autumn has a truly unique beauty, and we feel lucky to be able to experience it every year.

We wanted to first address the district’s implementation of the vaccine verification or weekly testing policy. We’re proud to share that even according to the City over 96% of BTU members are in compliance with the mandate. We believe that number is higher, because some of our members have been incorrectly sent letters stating they will be placed on unpaid leave. We are working to quickly ensure that our members who are following protocol aren’t 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.

We are returning to the bargaining table for master contract negotiations with BPS on Thursday. Our negotiating team is only as strong as our members in our schools!  Throughout this school year, we will be mobilizing our membership to take action in support of our contract campaign, and a key to this will be developing strong Contract Action Teams (CAT Teams) at each school. A CAT is like a phone tree and allows you to quickly reach every member at your school. See here for a step-by-step guide on how to get started, and let us know who your CAT leader is here!

On October 6, 12 of 13 City Councilors signed on to co-sponsor the “Resolution Opposing State Receivership for the Boston Public Schools”. Join us to email all four At-Large Councilors (Essaibi-George, Flaherty, Mejia, and Wu) and your District Councilor to thank them for their support, and Frank Baker to let him know we expect better. Take action now!

Some news from AFT National: the U.S. Dept. of Education finally settled Weingarten v. DeVos, a suit filed in July 2019 to hold the federal government accountable for its failure to manage the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program! You can read all about the enormity of this decision and how this affects public employees across the country. Additionally, AFT is relaunching their Share My Lesson platform with an all new, user-friendly redesign to supercharge engagement and support educators with the latest tools for student success! Make sure to check out the new and improved site here.

BTU member and middle school ELA teacher, Bernadine Lormilus-Henry, was featured in an article from TechCrunch! Bernadine participated in the Boston Teacher Externship Program, a program to help teachers develop their environmental sustainability literacy. The externship has inspired to Bernadine to consider new curricula like “designing for wellness in the post-COVID built environment and building structures that can withstand sea-level rise”. 

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. 

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