The members of the Brookline Educators Union overwhelmingly voted on Thursday evening to authorize a strike to begin Monday, May 16, should the Brookline School Committee and the BEU bargaining team fail to reach an agreement this weekend. The BEU and its supporters will be holding a rally at 10 a.m. Saturday at Brookline Town Hall. The BEU issued the following statement following the vote:

Brookline educators have been working for nearly three years without a contract that addresses fair and reasonable compensation as well as working conditions that meet the realities of a modern, comprehensive education. We have been patient. We have been bargaining in good faith. The Brookline Educators Union has never walked away from the bargaining table, contrary to what the School Committee claims. 

Educators are simply fed up with the Brookline School Committee’s approach to bargaining – or rather its active avoidance of serious bargaining.  

The BEU is adamant that agreements on the time that educators must prepare for their work with students, the time that they have to collaborate with colleagues and the ability for the district to attract and retain educators of color are not only legal subjects of bargaining but also of immense importance to the quality of education provided to the students in Brookline.  The fact that the School Committee deems these concerns unworthy of discussion demonstrates a disheartening disregard for educators; it is also alarming evidence of the extent to which the committee is willing to erode the quality of education provided by Public Schools of Brookline.

Assertions by the School Committee and others about lower student enrollment are distractions. The needs of our students are greater than ever before, and the expectations of public schools to support the emotional and social as well as the academic needs of students have never been higher. 

The inexcusable delays in settling contracts and the complete unwillingness to even talk about issues that have such an impact on students and the quality of education that we provide them have brought us to a point where Brookline educators must take bold action. We will no longer stand for the disrespect displayed in the approach to bargaining nor stand by while the School Committee persists in gutting a school system that many have considered to be not only among the best in the state but the best in the country. That quality is a product of the work done by the teachers, related service providers, aides, librarians, counselors, coaches, and staff working directly and daily with our students. We will always fight for what our students need and deserve.

The BEU is pleased that the School Committee is finally countering our proposals – after months and months of showing no willingness to move and stalling negotiations at every turn. Contrary to what the School Committee has stated, we did not walk away from the table on May 9 and we made a counter proposal prior to their last proposal of the evening (which was an increase from their prior offer of ½ % more over 6 years). We have just sent the School Committee our latest counter proposal. We hope that the School Committee will work with us intensively in the next 2 days to reach a tentative agreement that can be signed by Thursday at 5 pm so the BEU can hold a ratification vote at our scheduled 7pm General Meeting.

Here’s what the BEU has proposed today (May 10) as a counter to the School Committee’s salary offer:

— 6% over three years, plus a 1% increase to start the following year for all money items 

— 8% over the following three years, plus a 1% increase  to start the following year for all money items.

We feel this is quite fair, as it meets the School Committee almost where they were, and by putting money on the end of the contract it gives them time to find the money to fund their contractual obligations. Our proposal also includes stipends and longevity.  Longevity payments allow the 37% of educators who only get a cost of living increase to attempt to keep up with rising costs, showing that Brookline values our most experienced educators.

We insist on keeping working conditions proposals and racial justice provisions in our proposal, as they speak to the crushing workload and need for collaboration time that many of our members face and the importance of retaining our educators of color. However, despite many concessions and compromises that the BEU offered on these provisions over the past two years (including this week), the School Committee has steadfastly refused to offer any counter proposals about working conditions – directly impacting the conditions for students in the classroom!

It is important to clarify a few points regarding negotiations between the  Brookline Educators Union and the Brookline School Committee.

The school committee’s message sent last night did not tell the whole story. The BEU did not “walk out” on mediation last night, and is taking the last school committee proposal under advisement.  Furthermore, the BEU has in fact made counter offers on the economic proposals, but the School Committee has refused to address our proposals on working conditions and racial justice. We have made proposals regarding prep and planning time and proposals aimed at attracting and retaining educators of color.

These proposals are based on the professional judgment of educators that will benefit our students.

Yet to the school committee, these proposals are not even worth talking about.

The committee also is trying to sell the old trope that educators receive annual “step raises.”  Steps are not raises; steps represent the base pay for educators stretched out across several years. Compared to other professions, educators agree to wait several years before achieving maximum potential earnings. They do this to help the municipalities that they work for. Raises are the actual increases in pay to address the rising cost of living. 

As it stands now, the movement we saw last night is not concrete and the School Committee can withdraw its offers. The BEU is asking the School Committee to sign a written agreement by 5 p.m. Thursday. 

The School Committee has time to make serious, concrete offers that address our concerns. The BEU bargaining team is ready to negotiate. We are ready to settle if the committee speaks to the two non-monetary issues that are crucial to the quality of education that we provide our students. We are also ready to take further action if the School Committee continues to ignore its obligation to bargain over our working conditions which are our students’ learning conditions.

Thank you for your solidarity and for the support that you give to our students every day.