The Marblehead teachers union has “significantly lowered” its wage proposal in contract talks with the School Committee bargaining sub-group, “while remaining committed to our stated goals of ensuring competitive, livable wages in Marblehead that stop our schools from hemorrhaging experienced staff,” according to Jonathan Heller, Village School teacher and Marblehead Education Association co-president.
“We presented the School Committee with a proposal that would make compensation in Marblehead slightly above average on the North Shore,” Heller continued. “Importantly, our proposal would help to retain high quality, experienced educators in Marblehead and therein ensure our schools can be fully staffed for the safety of students and staff.”
Heller said after taking two hours to review the proposal, the School Committee sub-group rejected it. On Thursday, Oct. 3, School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner wrote to the Current, “The committee spent time costing out the union’s new wage package on October 1, and the bargaining sub-committee informed the union that we would have a counter proposal on wages for the next scheduled bargaining session on October 8. The committee looks forward to continuing to bargain in good faith to reach agreement that is fair to our employees and students and affordable for our taxpayers.”
Here is the MEA’s latest proposal:
In a statement released Tuesday evening, School Committee member Sarah Fox wrote, “The MEA presented a new wage proposal which the sub-committee dedicated significant time to costing out the proposal in order to determine the financial implications. This included a one-year contract combined with a consecutive three-year contract and contained a wage proposal with a cost of $9,691,000 over the four-year period. The current MEA proposal would result in either significant staff reductions or a tax override in excess of 9% over current property taxes. It is important to note the cost is to cover Unit A (professional staff) alone and does not account for increases for the other four units.”
The statement continued: “The sub-committee is receptive to a one-year contract with a consecutive three-year contract and is using this new structure to provide updated wage proposals at our meeting on Oct. 8, 2024.”
Work-to-rule
Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers at all five Marblehead schools gathered outside their buildings Wednesday morning, launching a work-to-rule action. Work-to-rule means they will no longer perform duties outside of their contractual agreements, including offering extra help outside of school hours, serving on committees, chaperoning field trips and writing newsletters.
“The School Committee and its attorney continue to drag out bargaining and employ stall tactics we have seen in other communities where bargaining could not reach a fair contract in a timely manner,” Heller said. “We have no choice but to escalate our protest to their intransigence and demand the committee bargain in good faith and start prioritizing the educators and students in this town.”
Starting Monday, educators at rotating schools will stop all voluntary work. They will also enter their schools in unison at the contractual start of their day and hold informational pickets outside of schools.
Explaining why work-to-rule is happening at a different school each day, Heller said, “We know this will be disruptive, and the last thing we want is to further burden students and families.”
Interim Superintendent John Robidoux sent an email to district families explaining that union members have the right to work-to-rule actions. He added, “If a principal observes any conduct that creates a risk of injury to our students or staff during the picketing, they shuold notify the superintendent, and the superintendent should notify the police so that the policee take action to ensure tht the picketing does not create a public safety issue.”
The teachers have been working without a new contract since Aug. 31 and custodians since June 30. In addition to a wage increase, they are asking for more parental leave and the creation of a school safety task force that empowers teachers in policy making.
***This story was updated Thursday afternoon to clarify that every day of the week, teachers at rotating schools will be in work-to-rule.
