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NEW BEDFORD — The local teachers union voted last week to ratify a new contract agreement with the public school district, winning two weeks of paid family leave and salary increases that district officials described as “competitive” in a press release.
Most teachers will see raises of 2.25% in year one of the contract and 2.5% in years two and three. Other adjustments include pay increases of 3% for the most experienced teachers and paid incentives for teacher attendance.
The president of the New Bedford Educators Association, Thomas Nickerson, did not respond to multiple emails requesting comment. Nor did union representatives return multiple phone calls seeking further details on the agreement, which will govern the pay for roughly 1,300 teachers, nurses, and other educators until 2028.
The two weeks of paid parental leave is the latest win for Massachusetts teachers who have sought this benefit in recent years — often through teacher strikes that New Bedford was able to avoid. The two weeks of paid parental leave are less than striking teachers won in Beverly (six weeks), Marblehead (15 days), and Gloucester (seven weeks) last year.
Fall River teachers also won the rights to four weeks of paid parental leave in a newly ratified contract this year, according to the Herald News. Teachers there did not resort to strikes either.
“Educators in our classrooms make the difference,” said New Bedford Superintendent Andrew O’Leary in a press release from the district. “I am pleased to state emphatically that New Bedford’s educators’ new contracts are now more competitive than our peer districts.”
O’Leary said that the new contracts make many New Bedford teachers better paid than their counterparts in Fall River.
The paraprofessionals union also reached an agreement last week for its 300 members, including classroom teaching assistants, special education professionals, and cafeteria staff.
Jill Zangao, president of the paraprofessionals union, said her members secured a $1.50 hourly raise, plus 2.5% and 3% increases in their second and third years. All paraprofessionals will also receive a small bonus based on their years of service, Zangao said.
“I’m very happy with all the hard work the negotiations team put in,” Zangao said. “Our paras are amazing and deserve the best.”
Paraprofessionals reached an agreement before their contract expired — avoiding the 10-month, two-year, and seven-year-long standoffs that plagued previous rounds of negotiations. “I was extremely happy that this time around we didn’t have to organize rallies,” Zangao said. “But if we needed to, we were ready.”
The paraprofessionals’ contract will last three years, through the 2027-2028 school year.
“This is a good deal for New Bedford students,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said, referring to both the teachers’ and paraprofessionals’ contracts. “This agreement cements New Bedford as a school district educators want to make a career in, and that ultimately benefits our students. I’m happy to support this agreement.”
During the negotiations process, teachers and their supporters demonstrated at a School Committee meeting about the importance of increased salary and paid parental benefits.
“We shouldn’t have to choose between our dreams of being teachers and having a family,” said Erika Dwyer, a third grade teacher at Hayden-McFadden, during a public comment in May.
Nickerson, the union president, also testified in May, saying that, “Experienced and newer members alike have left us for districts with stronger offerings.”
The average teacher salary in New Bedford was lower than in some other Massachusetts cities during New Bedford’s previous teacher contract, according to data from the state department of education.
Teachers and district officials have also spoken publicly about the need to attract and maintain more teachers in New Bedford — especially teachers from more diverse backgrounds that resemble the mix of students in New Bedford.
The district pointed out in its press release that the teacher retention rate in New Bedford of 86% compares favorably to peer districts, and it highlighted cities such as Brockton (88.5%), Springfield (81.9%), Worcester (85.5%), and Fall River (78.9%).
The news about contracts comes just after New Bedford schools began their summer vacations, on June 20. The new agreements will officially begin for teachers on July 1 and for paraprofessionals on Aug. 1.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
I think that’s a great idea
Want, want, want, if the academics supported the performance of the teachers I’d say well deserved. It’s not about the kids anymore, it’s what are they going to get. It’s about time the academic gets out of the C level. It’s shameful.