One-day recess is over
Classes back on as short strike settled at 4:20 a.m.
Classes resumed Tuesday morning after a teachers’ strike closed all Brookline public schools on Monday.
Jessica Wender-Shubow, president of the Brookline Educators Union, said teachers were happy to be back in their classrooms, and described the strike as “an important lesson for everybody that you can’t ignore the urgent needs of people who do the work for so long.”
“We have to do it,” she said. “People strike because it works.”
The final negotiations between the union and School Committee began Monday evening and continued overnight. A tentative deal was reached at 4:20 a.m., the union said.
In a statement, the
School Committee said the agreement covers contracts between 2020 to 2026. It includes a 6% retroactive raise for Sept. 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2023; an 8% raise for Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 30. 2026, with an additional 1% raise on Aug. 31, 2026.
The committee said the wage increases are in addition to contractual steps, “which provide automatic annual pay increases for most teachers, based on years of experience.”
For the first time since 2013, starting in 2023, educators will receive an increase in longevity pay, which provides additional compensation for Brookline teachers who have achieved the highest salary step, the committee said.
“The terms acknowledge the needs of students and educators, as well as the financial reality of the town,” the School Committee said. “We thank students, caregivers, and the community for their patience and understanding, as we finalized these agreements that will further advance Brookline’s mission of an excellent education for every child.”
Negotiations stalled over the weekend when the two sides could not agree on union demands for guaranteed daily preparation time and substantive action on attracting and retaining educators of color.
The impasse led to cancellation of school Monday and a series of pickets outside the schools in the morning and town hall later in the day.
The final agreement was reached after a fifth mediation session. The wage increases are nearly identical to what was on the table over the weekend, but the contract includes more of a commitment to diversity in the district and provides “adequate daily prep time” for teachers.
Wender-Shubow said the union had to push the School Committee “to the brink” at 4 a.m. to finally get it to agree to guaranteed prep time.
Teachers often work without a break, she said, and the lack of agreement on that issue almost led to another day of picketing. Overall, she said the union was happy with the final contract.
“We definitely feel like it moved the town of Brookline forward,” said WenderShubow. “It’s been a tough haul and there’s important stuff in there. I hope it’s the foundation for some real positive change in how Brookline works with its employees.”