You can donate to the Newton Teachers Association here. If you're a Massachusetts resident or a fellow union worker, you can send an email directly to Newton on behalf of the union here
(📸 sourced from the NTA Facebook page)
In technical contravention of Massachusetts law—and after a year of unsuccessful negotiations, including six months without a contract according to Boston.com—the teachers of Newton, MA are on strike as of this morning. This was voted on, and 98% of members were in favor. It's the latest in a series of education strikes that have taken place in Massachusetts over the past few years; at least four other towns saw such strikes in 2022 and 2023.
In Newton, educators are demanding:
- support for student mental health and special education services, including the stationing of social workers in all of the district's elementary schools;
- better daily instruction;
- better wages from the school committee, including equitable cost of living adjustments; and
- better benefits, including what they call “humane and modern paid family leave” for all educators.
A slightly more fleshed out summary of the demands can be found here, while a more lengthy exposition of how the NTA feels can be found in this open letter, released Wednesday. The union notes that they're facing opposition from virtually the entirety of the city council as well as the school committee; they charge in particular that the school committee has refused to bargain in good faith with them. An NLRB unfair labor practice charge has been filed accordingly, although we'll see what comes of that.
