Collective Bargaining with the Gloucester Teachers Association
November 5 Community Update on Teacher Negotiations
Dear Members of the Gloucester School Community,
This afternoon the Gloucester School Committee petitioned the state Department of Labor Relations to step in to stop a planned illegal strike by the Gloucester Teachers Association, which we believe will significantly disrupt student learning in the coming days.
The School Committee took this step based on clear evidence the GTA plans to vote on this illegal strike as soon as Thursday and begin striking as soon as Friday. We are asking the Department of Labor Relations to step in and stop this illegal action immediately, and allow school to stay open and students to continue learning.
Teachers are essential employees who our children depend on for learning and safety during the school day. An illegal labor action will cause direct harm to students by forcing many to stay home without a parent or guardian able to care for them, removing access to mental health service options, and limiting students' abilities to secure warm meals. Additionally, emergency responders such as the Gloucester Police Department will have to shift substantial resources to manage the public impact of a labor action.
It is our intention that with our legal steps taken today, the School Committee and GTA can return to the bargaining table to find common ground and solutions that reflect the immense respect we have for our educators.
We all want our students to become successful, engaged, lifelong learners who feel a strong sense of belonging. The only way we can achieve that now is through bargaining in good faith.
We will keep you updated in the coming days.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Clancy
Chair
On behalf of the Gloucester School Committee
November 1 Community Update on Teacher Negotiations
Dear Members of the Gloucester School Community,
On Tuesday night, we held another negotiation session with the Gloucester Teachers Association (GTA). We entered the session with updated proposals and a serious, passionate desire to find a solution so that everyone’s attention can return to what matters most: Educating students.
The School Committee proposals continue to balance providing our teachers with competitive wages and paid time off that surpasses neighboring districts, while meeting the financial needs of the community and making sure that all teachers have the time to work together to improve student learning and academic achievement.
The GTA declined to consider our new proposals and did not offer any compromises of their own. For example, instead of moving toward the middle on teacher pay as the School Committee has repeatedly done, the GTA restated their initial, unaffordable and unsustainable proposal.
Negotiations are a two-way street. Each side has to move from its original position for progress to be made. We are not seeing that kind of movement from the GTA and their partners from the statewide Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA). If the GTA continues to negotiate with us, we believe we will reach a fair agreement with no disruptions to school or student learning.
Here is where the two sides stand on our salary proposals:
Teacher Pay
The School Committee has come to the table with a competitive salary proposal. On Tuesday, we increased our salary proposal and are now offering teachers a salary increase between 10% and 26% over three years. The School Committee offered to increase the highest paid teachers’ salary by an additional $2,600 above our opening proposal. The highest paid teachers would earn $107,400, up from the $97,500 they are earning now.
The GTA, on the other hand, continues to stick with its original proposal that would increase teachers’ salaries between 28% and 55%, with top teacher pay reaching $125,000 per year.
The School Committee’s salary proposal ensures competitive pay for our teachers without completely straining the city’s financial resources and impacting teaching personnel. Overall, our increased salary plan would cost the district around $1.1 million per year in FY25, FY26, and FY27.
The GTA’s plan would cost the district approximately $1.9 million in FY25, $2 million in FY26, and more than $2 million in FY27. To put that into perspective, the GTA’s FY25 proposal for teacher salary increases alone costs more than the increase in the district’s entire FY25 budget, including all staff salaries, services, and supplies. As we made clear during the negotiation session, the GTA proposal is unaffordable and unsustainable for the city.
To make progress, the GTA needs to engage in negotiations that offer a salary proposal that is more in line with the City’s finances, won’t risk staffing cuts, and overburden taxpayers. We remain optimistic that we can find common ground if the GTA will work with us to find an approach that accomplishes our shared goals.
Please see below for links to further updates about our proposal to offer a new Paid Parental Leave benefit and for ensuring that all teachers are able to work together during the workday to improve student learning and achievement.
Next Steps
Our next GTA negotiation session is planned for November 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the Gloucester High Library. The Gloucester School Committee remains fully committed to finding common ground with the GTA and negotiating solutions that meet the needs of our students, educators, and community members.
As always, ensuring our students become successful, engaged, lifelong learners with a strong sense of belonging remains our ultimate priority.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Clancy
Chair
Gloucester School Committee
Upcoming Negotiations Sessions
October 29, 2024 - 4:30 p.m. Gloucester High Library
November 12, 2024 - 4:30 p.m. Gloucester High Library
December 3, 2024 - 4:30 p.m. Gloucester High Library
December 17, 2024 - 4:30 p.m. Gloucester High Library
Gloucester School Committee Proposals
October 8 - School Committee Proposals
September 23 - School Committee Proposals
March 26, 2024 School Committee Proposal
April 29, 2024 School Committee Proposal
May 21, 2024 School Committee Responses to GTA April 9 Proposals
Recordings of Negotiation Sessions
October 8 - School Committee/GTA Negotiations
Sept 23 - School Committee/GTA Negotiations
September 9 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
August 22 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
June 11 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
May 21 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
April 29 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
April 9 School Committee/GTA Negotiations
October 21 Community Update on Teacher Negotiations
Dear Gloucester Public Schools Families,
As negotiations continue with the Gloucester Teachers Association (GTA), we think it is important to continue to update the community with clear and concise information about the status of negotiation and the good faith offers we have made to Gloucester’s teachers.
Our goals remain to work with the GTA leadership to do more for our educators while ensuring the Gloucester Public Schools can live within its means and continue to make strides for our whole community. As we have made clear throughout this process, we are confident that, by working in good faith with the GTA, we can reach an agreement benefiting teachers, students, and the district.
We also hope our honest and upfront communications can help reach our teachers and community members to ensure we can avoid the kind of strife and disruptions other communities have seen.
The Gloucester School Committee has stayed committed to fostering an environment in which Gloucester students can become successful, engaged, life-long learners that feel a strong sense of belonging. We have valued the GTA’s input throughout negotiations and recognize that students may only achieve our goals with the support and guidance of our teachers and educators.
However, the reality is that proposals made by the GTA throughout this process risk seriously straining the city’s finances and potentially reducing the amount of time our teachers work with our students and each other.
Among the issues on the table are educator pay and expanding paid leave benefits.
Educator Pay
The School Committee and the GTA just recently shared initial salary proposals on September 23rd. The School Committee’s opening proposal included salary increases of 15 to 25 percent, bringing top teacher salaries to $104,800. The GTA has called for increasing salaries by up to 55 percent, which would bring top teacher salaries to $125,000. We understand challenges posed by inflation and cost of living, and believe the School Committee’s proposed wage increases help teachers meet this moment, while keeping the city on strong financial footing. In contrast, accepting the GTA’s currently proposed salary increases would pose immense financial burdens on the city, and put at risk the ability to make much-needed investments in other areas of our schools.
Expanding Paid Leave Benefits
Along with negotiating salary increases, the School Committee and the GTA are considering expanding the District’s already generous benefits package. Currently, any teacher can accrue up to 165 sick days and can use their accumulated sick days for 12 weeks of fully paid parental or family leave. Other districts limit this type of paid leave to four weeks or fewer. The GTA has proposed to expand this benefit by eliminating any employee contribution and have all parental leave fully paid by the District. We fully support staff taking time for family and medical leave when they need to, but the GTA proposals have significant cost implications. The School Committee will continue to work towards a middle ground that is more in line with other communities.
The School Committee team will remain heavily focused on working towards an agreement. We know the only acceptable agreements must benefit all Gloucester students, and be mindful of taxpayers.
Our next negotiation session is on October 29, and we will provide an update following our meeting. You can read previous updates on our website here.
Paraprofessional Negotiations Update
We also want to let you know that the Gloucester School Committee’s next mediation session with the Gloucester Association of Education Paraprofessionals (GAEP) is this Tuesday, October 22. As you may know, we are negotiating separately with GAEP and the two sides have been working with a state mediator since January. Since the beginning of negotiations with the paraprofessionals, the School Committee has continued to increase its wage proposal and has offered salary increases for existing employees of 27% to 42%. Additionally, the highest paid paraprofessionals would earn $28 per hour. Providing our paraprofessionals a competitive wage is of paramount importance, and we know that our proposal achieves this. As we move towards our 10th mediation session with GAEP, finding common ground must be the focus. You can see more information about GAEP Negotiations here.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Clancy
Chairperson
Gloucester School Committee
October 4th Update: Gloucester School Committee Statement on GTA Decision to Use Work to Rule
September 24th Update - Negotiations Teams Exchange Opening Salary Proposals
At the September 24 Negotiation Session, GTA leadership and the School Committee negotiation teams exchanged opening salary proposals. GTA leadership is proposing that teacher salaries increase by a minimum of 28% and a maximum of more than 50% over four years.
The GTA leadership is proposing that the highest paid teachers would earn a top salary of $125,000 for a 183-day work year. In their opening salary offer, the School Committee team proposed a total salary increase over the three years of 7.4% to 24.4%. In the School Committee proposal, the highest paid teacher would earn $104,790 for a 183-day work year.
After the School Committee team presented its responses to 23 of GTA’s proposals, the GTA negotiating team presented a package proposal to the School Committee. The teams will continue working towards an agreement at our next scheduled meeting on October 8th.
September 9th Update - School Committee Seeking more time for Teacher Planning and Professional Collaboration
At the September 9th negotiation session, the School Committee proposed a consistent workday across the district, allowing preschool, elementary and middle school teachers to increase both their individual planning time and their professional collaboration time.
Currently, teachers at the preschool, the elementary schools, and the middle school have shorter contracted work days than Gloucester High School teachers.
Making the teacher work day consistent across all levels would also allow O'Maley to increase learning time and meet the minimum student learning time required by state law.
Statement of Intentions and Goals from the Gloucester School Committee Negotiating Team
The School Committee will approach negotiations with the mindset that, first and foremost, the primary purpose of our schools, all staff, and the School Committee is to work together in ways that result in more engaged student learning, higher academic achievement and deeper student belonging. Our collective bargaining agreement needs to fully support this primary purpose.
Below are the Committee’s goals for how we hope both negotiation teams will work together during negotiation and what we will achieve together during the course of negotiations.
Process Goals
Both negotiating teams will seek understanding about the core concerns behind the proposals by listening closely to each other.
By building trust through listening to and learning from each other about underlying concerns, the teams will work together to find multiple options that improve student learning and support staff.
Both teams understand and acknowledge that all proposals are put forth in good faith with positive intentions and typically need to be modified and improved upon during the negotiation process.
Both teams actively work to separate the people from the problems and challenges we face together - meaning attacks on the integrity of anyone’s character, intent, or experience are out of bounds and unacceptable to both sides.
Outcome Goals
The Gloucester Public Schools’ strong, collaborative culture remains intact and that we can continue to move forward to create even better outcomes for our City’s students.
Through the process of reaching a successor agreement we build trust and improve the relationship between the School Committee and the GTA.
Create an agreement that helps to strengthen student learning, meets the interests of both parties to the extent possible, and takes community interests into account.
The teams reach agreement on a successor contract by September 1, 2024.
Click to below to view the School Committee's Ground Rules Proposal
