North Shore Teachers Unite For Parental Leave Benefits
As several unions face contract negotiations, there is a growing push for parental leave policies more in line with the private sector. As several North teachers' unions enter negotiations for new collective bargaining agreements, there is a growing push for local governments to adopt parental leave policies similar to those in the state's Paid Medical Family Leave Act. Educators and municipal employees are exempt from the Paid Family Medical Leave program as it does not cover municipal workers, including public school teachers. The Massachusetts Teachers Association announced that educators from 11 North Shore school districts, including Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead and Salem, will coordinate demonstrations across the region next week to raise awareness of public educators' lack of paid family leave. This issue was a key issue during a teachers' strike in Newton, which resulted in concessions on extending family leave leave. The MTA said over 5,000 educators will participate in the demonstrations.
Diterbitkan : sebulan yang lalu oleh Scott Souza di dalam Health
BEVERLY, MA — As several North teachers' unions enter negotiations for new collective bargaining agreements this spring, there is a growing push across the state for cities and towns to adopt parental leave policies that more closely resemble those in the the state's Paid Medical Family Leave Act.
Educators and municipal employees are exempt from the state's Paid Family Medical Leave program because it doesn't cover municipal workers, including public school teachers. This issue became a sticking point in the historically long Newton teachers' strike this winter that lasted for parts of three weeks and led to concessions from the city when it came to extending family leave. The Massachusetts Teachers Association on Thursday said that educators from 11 North Shore school districts, including Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead and Salem, will coordinate demonstrations across the region next week to raise awareness of public educators' lack of paid family leave.
Educators in these districts explained why they support the initiative in a statement to Patch on Thursday: "Educators in Beverly keep giving and giving to make sure our students have everything they need to be successful," said Allison Nichols, a seventh-grade Spanish teacher and expectant mother at Beverly Middle School. "It is so disheartening that our district, in negotiations, makes us feel unworthy of having a benefit all other workers in Massachusetts have access to by law."
"Every day, teachers come to work and must navigate under-resourced and under-appreciated classrooms," added Siobhan Keplin, the music teacher and parent of two at Garfield Elementary School in Revere. "Despite working for a community that I have loved for 16 years, I experienced two largely unpaid maternity leaves that my family is still recovering from, and I am far from the only one to go through this. My colleagues and I are walking in to raise awareness of this injustice,
and in hopes that with a fair contract, no future expectant parent needs to go through what I went through." Teachers generally have to use accrued sick leave and limited vacation days to make up for the relative lack of paid family leave, with many younger teachers not having accrued the time necessary for what they consider to be adequate time off in the event of a family illness or child's birth.
"We are now seeking the same basic rights and dignity," said Kathryn Anderson, president of the Chelsea Teachers Union. "This will make us better educators. And being able to offer paid family leave will make it easier to retain staff and to fill job openings at a time when most schools hare scrambling to fill vacancies." The MTA said more than 5,000 educators will participate in the standouts that include the O'Maley Innovation Middle School in Gloucester on Tuesday at 7 a.m., Beverly Middle School on Wednesday at 7:45 a.m. and Garfield Elementary School in Revere on Wednesday at 8 a.m.