The city and Boston Public Schools have reached a tentative three-year agreement with the Boston Teachers Union that includes pay hikes for all educators, according to an email sent by the mayor and two school officials.
Mayor Michelle Wu, Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper and School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson announced the tentative contractual agreement in a Tuesday night email to the BPS Community that was obtained by the Herald.
“We are very pleased to share that the Boston Public Schools, City of Boston and the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) reached a tentative agreement today on a three-year contract,” the joint email states. “The tentative agreement includes a raise in wages for all educators, with a particular focus on our lowest paid workers.
“We have engaged in a robust and productive process, and we look forward to our continued work with BPS educators and staff as BTU members review the agreement and prepare for their ratification vote,” the three officials wrote.
The Boston Teachers Union had been operating under an expired contract since the end of this past August, and according to the State House News Service, were initially planning to hold a rally outside MGM Music Hall during the mayor’s State of the City address on Wednesday “to escalate their campaign for a new contract.”
The union had been seeking a number of updates, including an increase in staff pay, particularly for paraprofessionals, along with an improvement in facilities and student support and a decrease in what they view as an excessive workload for teachers, according to State House News.
The Teachers Union confirmed the tentative agreement in a statement released Tuesday night.
In negotiations, the union and its community supporters prioritized making changes to the current “inclusion” model used by BPS, advocating for more resources in support of students with disabilities, the Teachers Union said.
“This tentative agreement includes important guarantees such as improved in-classroom staffing levels for students with disabilities, meaningful changes to wages especially for paraprofessionals, and other key improvements to learning and working conditions in the Boston Public Schools,” Erik Berg, president of the Boston Teachers Union, said in a statement.
The union mentioned its prior advocacy of “informational picket lines” and “walk-ins” that it says were held across the city during contract negotiations.
The Teachers Union said it has called off the planned State of the City rally, in light of the tentative agreement, “and will instead begin the process of informing members of the proposed settlement details” ahead of a potential ratification vote by membership.
The expired contract covers roughly 8,500 educators, the union said.
“We truly value our educators and their commitment to our students’ success,” Wu, Skipper and Robinson wrote. “More information about the tentative agreement will be posted on the BPS website as it becomes formalized.”