Brookline Educators Union

Paraprofessional Bargaining: BEU Update for the Community

PARAPROFESSIONALS: Why we’re fighting for a fair contract!

WHO ARE PARAPROFESSIONALS AND WHY IS THEIR WORK IMPORTANT?

Paras in Brookline do essential and important work to support the children and teachers in Brookline.

Some paras work in mainstream school classrooms, supporting the teacher so he/she can provide attention to every student.   Some paras work in Learning Centers, providing additional support to students with IEPs.  Other paras work one-on-one with our most severely disabled students so they can access education.  Paras are the ones who keep our technology working.  They are building aides that help the day run smoothly.

Teachers and administrators rely on the work of paras to help us meet the needs of our students and to be able to do our own jobs well.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT WORKING CONDITIONS FOR PARAS?

  1. Hourly rates.  For the majority of paraprofessionals, effective September 2015:
    1. In Brookline, these rates range from $15.80 to $20.84.
    2. By comparison, Newton rates ranged from 17.03 to 34.71
    3. Boston hourly rates ranged from $18.31 to $25.72.
  1. Annual salaries:
    1. Most paraprofessionals in Brookline work 6.33 hours per day. First year paraprofessionals are paid for 183 days, which makes their annual salary $17,838.
    2. Veteran paraprofessionals are paid for 189 days, which makes the maximum annual salary (after working 7 years) $24,935.
    3. The living wage in Norfolk County is $27,000 per year

 

  1. Paraprofessionals typically work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Some use the state and federal subsidies to get health insurance from the Massachusetts Connector.

 

WHY IS THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE’S OFFER INADEQUATE?

 

On November 10, the School Committee distributed their last proposal. Three main problems are:

 

  1. The School Committee’s published annual salary proposal assumes an increase to a 7-hour work day, but they have not put forth such a contract proposal. In fact, they are planning on cutting some paraprofessionals’ hours as early as next year. In addition, while their offer on starting hourly salaries is good, the top of the scale is woefully behind other communities.

 

  1. The differential offered for paraprofessionals in “special programs” is arbitrary and unfair to many other paras who do essentially the same work.

 

  1. While the School Committee says they place a priority on retaining paraprofessionals, they are unwilling to protect long-term employees from lay-offs.

 

 

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE CONDITIONS FOR BROOKLINE SCHOOLS?

 

Because of the lack of a living wage, some paraprofessionals are leaving Brookline – we currently have 350 paras in the system and 125 are new this year.   This is disruptive to the work of teachers and administrators and to students’ education.  Brookline teachers cannot do their work effectively without well-respected and well-supported paras!

 

Additionally, paraprofessionals are often the ones implementing students’ 504 plans and individual education plans, both of which are federally mandated.  If these working conditions continue for paras, we run the risk of being unable to meet the demands on these legally binding documents, leaving the Town vulnerable to expensive lawsuits from angry and frustrated families.  Pay now or pay later.

 

 

WHAT ARE WE ASKING FOR IN A NEW CONTRACT?

 

Paraprofessionals need a significant and fair pay increase and job security.   The BEU demands a dependable and livable wage so that we can attract and retain excellent paraprofessionals.  No one who works in Brookline schools full time should be expected to live in poverty!

 

It seems that the Brookline School Committee sees paraprofessional work simply as transitional to another career.  It is not – it is a valuable and highly needed profession.  Unfortunately, the School Committee’s action is a self-fulfilling prophecy: they treat the paras as transitional, so they leave for better conditions elsewhere.

 

All Brookline educators stand in solidarity with paraprofessionals, for a contact that compensates them fairly and provides for decent working conditions.

 

 

WHAT CAN COMMUNITY MEMBERS DO?

 

We urge Brookline parents and community members to stand with us.

  • Sign a card pledging to support paras in their fight for a fair contract
  • Attend a school committee meeting
  • Call and email school committee members
  • Write a letter to the Brookline Tab
  • To volunteer in other ways, contact the beu at beu-mta@hotmail.com or 617-277-0251

BEU & allies call for “Parity not Poverty!”

 

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PARITY NOT POVERTY!

Brookline Paraprofessionals (educators who work directly with Brookline students – especially special needs students) are terribly underpaid BY ANY MEASURE.

THE BOTTOM IS HORRIBLY LOW

Starting pay for a FULL TIME PARA working 6 hours a day for a complete school year is $16,908 per year.

Brookline’s Living Wage for a full time employee $28,517.

THE TOP IS HORRIBLY LOW

The top pay for a FULL TIME PARA with a college degree and 8 years of experience is $22,884 per year.

That’s not enough to live on.

NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES ARE MUCH, MUCH BETTER.

  1. Starting pay in Brookline is $3,256 a year worse than in neighboring Newton.
  2. Starting pay in Brookline is $4,545 a year worse than in neighboring Boston.
  3. Top pay in Brookline is $18,212 a year worse than in neighboring Newton.
  4. Top pay in Brookline is $7,251 a year worse than in neighboring Boston.

Every way you measure it, Brookline horribly underpays its paraprofessionals.

 Stand against this unfairness.

Stand with the Brookline Educators Union in demanding a fair wage for paraprofessionals.

BEU Advisory

For additional information, contact BEU President Jessica Wender-Shubow, 617-277-0251, 508-944-0239

Rally to Support

Brookline Educators

When: 5:15 pm, Thursday Nov. 10

Where: Brookline Town Hall, 333 Washington St.

 

Paraprofessionals and unionized administrators in the Brookline Public Schools are still working without a contract. Brookline Educators Union members and their community supporters are holding a rally Thursday, Nov. 10, before the School Committee meeting to demand a fair wage for the paraprofessionals and a reasonable workload for administrators.

The BEU will then share that message with the Brookline School Committee following the rally.

The school committee and BEU have a tentative agreement for classroom teachers, but the paraprofessionals and unionized building administrators are still at the bargaining table.

Negotiations were scheduled for Nov 9. Negotiations that began Tuesday, Oct. 25 and ran well past midnight on Wednesday, Oct 26, ended with no agreement and with the parties far apart, especially on wages and job security for paraprofessionals.

“The BEU wants to move paraprofessionals toward salary comparability with Newton,” said BEU President Jessica Wender-Shubow.  “We want the salary for full-time paras to have a floor of $20,000.  The school committee is balking at that, offering wage increases that amount to less than $2.00 a day for most, keeping the wages of many paraprofessionals at under $19,000 a year.  We are also far apart on basic job security, with the school committee refusing any layoff and recall language for paraprofessionals.”

Most paraprofessionals in Brookline are classroom aides. The current starting salary for a classroom aide in Brookline working 32 hours per week for 183 days is $18,036.  An aide working those hours in Newton earns $20,203.  After seven years of service, an aide in Brookline makes $24,408, though in Newton would earn $28,554.  After 15 years of service, the aide in Brookline is still paid $24,408, but in Newton would make $41,179.

Brookline Public Schools currently employ 350 paraprofessionals, 125 of which were hired this year. There are openings for almost 20 more paraprofessionals.

“We need a wage that attracts and retains the best educators that we can. Brookline students deserve no less,” said Wendy MacMillan, a paraprofessional and member of the BEU negotiations team.

Administrators who are members of the BEU are seeking contract provisions that address their shifting and increasing job responsibilities.

“Classroom teachers are extremely grateful for the community support we received during our negotiations with the school committee,” Wender-Shubow said. “The committee now needs to fairly treat the remaining BEU members working without contracts. The paraprofessionals, administrators and classroom teachers really function as a unit, each part vital to making sure that every Brookline Public Schools student is receiving an excellent education.”

 

Negotiations Update & New Date for Rally at School Committee Meeting

ALL OUT ON NOVEMBER 10!

The School Committee suddenly canceled its full meeting for Nov.1, postponing public comment and other business until November 10, the day after the next bargaining session.  We are therefore changing the date of our rally to November 10.

Please plan to come and encourage parents and other members of the community to come out to support paras and union administrators.

Let’s show them how determined we are to win a fair contract for paraprofessionals and BEU administrators by turning out on Nov. 10 (5:15 at Town Hall)

Help continue the proud history of the fight for dignity for paraprofessionals. See here.

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

The battle lines are once again drawn in Brookline – this time for the paraprofessionals, who are engaging in a major struggle for a barely acceptable wage and basic job security.

Negotiations ended after midnight on Tuesday with no agreement and with the parties far apart, especially on wages and job security.  The BEU wants to move significantly toward salary comparability with Newton.  We want the salary for full-time Paras to be $20,000 at minimum.  The School Committee is balking at that, offering wage increases that amount to less than $2.00 a day for most, keeping their wages at under $19,000 a year.  We are also far apart on basic job security, with the school committee refusing any layoff and recall language for paraprofessionals.

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