One-Year Deal is Beginning of Fight for Adequate Funding and Better Long-Term Contract
Sisters and Brothers,
This week, the negotiating team received an offer from the School Committee that we see as a big win for the HEA.
While many proposals remain on the table from both sides, the HEA has reached a tentative one-year agreement for the current school year, including a 2% raise retroactive to July 1, 2018. Negotiations will immediately commence and both parties have agreed to meet once a month until a longer term deal can be made. In addition, beginning in the 2019-20 school year, members will have the option to receive their annual salary in either 22 or 26 biweekly paychecks, a popular result from the membership surveys we conducted a year ago.
We have no doubt that this sudden willingness to show us respect and consider reasonable proposals is the result of our building collective power. We feel this offer puts us in the best possible position to fight and win an even better 3 year contract, while giving us a cost of living adjustment for this year.
Our showing of solidarity at convocation and our call to March for Respect on City Hall have obviously had a tremendous impact on School Committee and city leaders. On September 13th we can discuss and vote on this proposal at the General Membership Meeting, and March for Respect and with HEART for our fair share of funding from the city and state for the years ahead!
If the HEA general membership chooses to ratify this deal at the meeting on the 13th – as is the recommendation of both the negotiations team and the HEA executive board – then it means our work to secure fair funding for our school community is just beginning. We will continue to fight for the nearly $3Million more from the city and $14Million from the state that our students and staff deserve. As we see it, these funds are rightfully the schools’, and we intend to demand they are given back!
Have great Labor Day weekend!
HEA Executive Board