Andover lecturers are out of the classroom and on strike as they proceed to battle the School Committee for a brand new contract settlement after greater than 9 months of bargaining.
Around 1,000 educators, college students, dad and mom and different supporters gathered on the Town Common for a solidarity rally Friday, lower than 24 hours after 95% of the Andover Education Association voted to authorize an “open-ended strike.”
“In Andover, traditionally this has been a lighthouse district for public education. We want to keep it that way,” union Vice President Julian DiGloria mentioned. “We are doing this to keep it that way.”
“The School Committee just needs to work with us, offer us a fair contract, respect their employees, and we will continue to make this a lighthouse district,” he added.
Educators are calling for higher pay for educational aides, truthful raises for lecturers, protections for prep time, longer lunch and recess durations for the youngest learners, entry to paid household and medical go away, and extra of a say in curriculum selections.
The strike comes after the union bargained with the School Committee almost 30 instances, with out the 2 sides reaching an settlement.
Under state regulation, lecturers, together with different public staff, will not be allowed to strike as a way of forcing contract concessions. As a consequence, the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board has ordered Andover educators to instantly return to high school.
The state has additionally appointed a mediator to “work with both parties and help them reach a fair and equitable agreement,” in keeping with a Friday morning replace from the School Committee.
The first session with the mediator got here Friday afternoon following the hour-long rally. There was no indication that the union and School Committee could be reaching a deal by the tip of the evening, DiGloria advised the Herald. He added that either side say they’re dedicated to wrapping up negotiations by the tip of the weekend.
“We believe our most recent offers … are fair and competitive,” the School Committee acknowledged within the morning replace. “Our offers increase salaries and wages, provide significant additional elementary teacher prep time, and expand paid parental leave, while staying within our budget parameters and long-range financial plan.”
Among the presents are a 23% increase for starting-level trainer salaries to $58,870 and an 11% improve for top-level salaries to $118,882 after three years; vital boosts in hourly pay for educational assistants; and an extra 10 minutes of uninterrupted prep and planning time almost daily.
Kevin Mann, a social research trainer at Doherty Middle School, has labored within the district for 16 years, and he advised the Herald that it’s been going within the “wrong direction.”
One of the obvious points, he mentioned, is how the district has been hiring extra directors and never sufficient lecturers, and that has resulted in much less time to assist college students as lecturers meet with division heads “just to do stuff.”
“I hope it’s done today,” Mann mentioned of the strike. “This kind of thing hasn’t affected them. We’ve had so many people stand up and give heartfelt talks to the School Committee, but they’re just not [listening]. I don’t know what it is.”
Legislation has been filed on the State House that might amend the regulation to permit lecturers to strike if they’ve been at contract negotiations for greater than six months with out reaching settlement. Gov. Maura Healey, nevertheless, has indicated she would veto the invoice if it hits her desk.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”