WTA in the Midst of Negotiating Contracts

Working closely with the School Committee, the Winthrop Teachers Association (WTA) has presented their contract requests going forward. The WTA represents four bargaining units including school secretaries, school nurses, educational support personnel (ESP), and teachers, all of which are due for an updated contract. As the school needs budget gets presented to the Town Manager, the WTA will be asking for a three-year contract including annual wage increases and the streamlining of the teachers’ scheduled hours to reflect consistent start and end times for all teachers in the district.

Currently, some teachers finish their day at 2:15 p.m. and are required to be on site until 3:15 p.m. however; that difference in end time creates conflicts with after school activities for coaches and those who have district meeting obligations in other buildings.

“When every building in the district has a different end time, it makes it difficult for all teachers to get to meetings on time,” said Teacher Association president and third grade teacher, Kristen Reynolds. “It makes sense for all teachers to finish at the same time since teachers either end up waiting around or showing up late. This also affects those teachers who are coaches. When there is a sporting event after school that requires transportation, coaches who work in the ATC building end up getting to the bus late, which holds everyone up.”

The WTA is also hoping to have the teacher evaluation system streamlined and to update the continuing education language, reflecting consistent language for course reimbursement. Since October, there has been a handful of meetings for contract discussions and negotiations, and. the association hopes to come to teacher agreements at their May 13 or June 5 meeting. From there, they will start negotiating the nurses, ESPs, and secretaries. Contracts expire for all four units represented by the Winthrop Teachers Association on June 30, 2019. The WTA supports the Fund our Future https://massteacher.org/current-initiatives/fund-our-future campaign of the MTA which provides support for the Promise Act and the Cherish Act, and a change in the Chapter 70  funding formula. Winthrop would receive an additional $1.7 million.

The Winthrop police union and the Department of Public Works union recently inked a one-year contract with a 1.5 percent increase.