Faced with stalled negotiations at the bargaining table, several MTA locals have engaged in recent months in escalating actions, including three that went on strike.
From South Hadley to Melrose, educators have been organizing more standouts and "walk-ins," demonstrations at school committee meetings, and work-to-rule actions. In most cases, where levels of activism are on the rise, educators are working under the terms of expired contacts.
As MTA Today went to press, the Woburn Teachers Association had just reached a tentative agreement following a five-day strike. Educators had sought improved pay and working conditions for educators, including Education Support Professionals.
The Melrose Education Association launched into action following winter break. The local, which went for 200 days without a contract for classroom teachers, first voted no confidence in the city’s mayor and school committee. It then followed with a strike vote, which overwhelmingly passed on Jan. 13. Local members were ready to hit the picket lines once classes resumed following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, if a contract agreement was not reached. An intensive, daylong bargaining session – conducted mostly free of a state mediator, as the union wanted – resulted in a three-year contract that met the financial and professional needs of educators.
MTA leaders reflected on the action taken by the local.
"It is inspiring to watch these dedicated educators hold firmly to their principles," MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said. "The Massachusetts Teachers Association supports legislation to lift the prohibition on educators and other public employees from going on strike after six months of bargaining. We firmly believe that if the existing ban were not in place, and the Melrose School Committee knew it could not simply delay negotiations with the MEA, then a contract would have been completed long ago."
Unions throughout the state are standing firm on proposals that address adequate pay and working conditions. In both Melrose and Medford, members rejected tentative agreements that fell short. Medford ultimately was able to bargain improvements that members approved in December, gaining preparation time for educators and wage increases that are in line with neighboring school districts.
The Middleton Educators Association – representing fewer than 100 members – flexed major muscle in a contract fight that involved deep community organizing and several public events. The MEA highlighted how its members were being treated unfairly because they were paid far less than colleagues teaching at the middle and high school in the regional Masconomet district. By mid-December, the MEA got the contract it wanted without making any concessions. Highlights included an 11.25 percent raise over three years, increased tuition reimbursement and stipends, a sick leave buyback provision and an increased contribution to educators’ 403(b) and 457(b) retirement plans.
In western Massachusetts, the South Hadley Education Association saw heightened activism among its members lead to a tentative contract agreement that addressed longstanding pay inequities.
Members of the Waltham Educators Association fought for and won a three-year contract that included a more inclusive, forward-thinking, eight-week parental leave benefit, as well as livable wages.
Waltham educators centered their fight on parental leave language that allowed them to care for their own families as they do for their students. Previously, new fathers were not entitled to any additional time off after the birth or adoption of a child.
The new contract also included the highest COLA the local had won in 20 years, as well as a 3.25 percent raise each year, providing members with more than a 4 percent pay increase overall in year one.
Across the state, thousands of members in dozens of locals are organizing for living wages that will attract and retain high-quality educators to their school districts, and advocating for improved working standards that will benefit students through improved learning conditions.
In Malden and Haverhill, local associations addressed broad issues such as racial justice and housing insecurity, refusing to abandon such goals as they entered into respective strikes in mid-October.
The Haverhill Education Association secured a three-year contract with pay increases that will narrow a wage gap between educators in the city district and those who work in surrounding communities. Prior to this contract, Haverhill paid its educators about $10,000 less than the average salary for educators in the state, and the city failed to attract and retain the staff needed to meet the needs of its 8,000 students.
The HEA also won language addressing school safety and racial justice. Through a financial settlement with Haverhill officials, relating to the cost of school closures, the HEA will establish a scholarship fund for Haverhill High School students pursuing education careers.
After ratifying the agreement, HEA President Tim Briggs described the hard-fought victory as transformative, not only for the union, but also for the city.
"The encouragement we heard from parents and other community members kept us strong and affirmed that we were doing the right thing," Briggs said, in a statement following the strike. "Their respect for us – and their willingness to entrust their children’s future with us — make us proud to teach in this city."
As a result of its contract fight, the Malden Education Association established a new pay scale, enabling paraeducators to get on a path to earning a living wage. The MEA also got the district to commit to a plan that will address housing insecurity among its student population. The three-year pact addresses adequate staffing, caseloads and class sizes.
The contract is a testament to solidarity, said MEA President Deb Gesualdo.
"Our members have been engaged throughout the entire process to win a contract that recommits our school community to ensuring that housing insecurity is not a barrier to students’ academic success, educators are paid competitively and fairly, and our students’ education is not dependent on their ZIP Code," Gesualdo said.
The Malden local reached a contract agreement during the first day of its strike. The Haverhill strike lasted four days, with HEA members participating in large numbers on picket lines at every school. On the final day of the Haverhill strike, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh called negotiators several times to encourage talks to continue until an agreement could be reached.
For updated information on contract actions being taken by local unions, please visit massteacher.org/news.
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