With contract negotiations dragging, Melrose lecturers are are beginning to put stress on the college district.
The Melrose Education Association hosted a rally Monday night time exterior of City Hall, saying their “work to rule” protest. The union voted final week to undertake the coverage, which implies lecturers will probably be taking over solely work instantly mandated of their previous contract.
“We’ll certainly continue to work within our contractual hours,” stated MEA president Lisa Donovan, explaining that for example, center and highschool lecturers will probably be picketing exterior the college till the 5-minute mark when they’re contractually required to go inside and return to picket traces 5 minutes after faculty.
“It’s a sign of protest,” Donovan stated. “Because we’re not out to punish our students. We want to support our students, but what we see as more harmful to our students is not settling long-term fair contracts for our educators.”
The union and metropolis went into contract negotiations for lecturers and paraprofessionals in February and the contracts expired in June.
“We have never been in a situation where we haven’t had a tentative agreement in June before the start of the next school year,” stated Donovan. “This has really been a distraction that has dragged on for far too long for our educators.”
Some sticking factors have been compensation and preparation time compromises, Donovan stated. These mirror comparable latest points in Malden and Haverhill faculty districts, the place lecturers went on strike earlier within the fall to push for contracts.
Donovan stated she couldn’t but touch upon whether or not additional motion, like a strike, can be thought-about going ahead.
Monday’s rally kicked off at 7 p.m. and led as much as the City Council assembly at 7:45 to reveal assist for the trainer’s protest. The work-to-rule protest will go into impact throughout the district Tuesday.
Donovan famous there’s been an “outpouring of support” from the group and fellow lecturers’ unions.
So far, Donovan stated, the union has not heard response from the town.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”