By Adam Swift
Revere teachers and the school committee reached a tentative, four-year contract agreement following a marathon bargaining session on Monday night. The proposed union contract includes an increase in wages for all teachers districtwide, paid parental leave, and school safety initiatives. The Revere Teachers’ Association had gone 120 days without a contract. The agreement came following a RTA rally outside city hall along with parents and community members on Monday afternoon.
“This proposed contract speaks to the power of listening to one another, and mutual respect for each other’s roles,” said Mayor Patrick Keefe. “I take pride in the strength of our ongoing relationship with the Revere Teachers Association, as we navigated an effective deal that both parties ensured the quality of education the City of Revere is known for was never compromised.” RTA representatives said educators and district representatives made agreements on several key issues including competitive wage increases to attract and retain the best educators for our students and to make it possible for educators to live and work in Revere, as well as humane parental and family leave policies that allow paid days without the use of sick time so that Revere Educators may care for their children just as they care for the children of Revere each day.
“We remain incredibly grateful for the hard work our teachers and all of our staff members do every day,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly. “I think we all know that teachers are the backbone of our public school systems and our schools can only thrive when the relationships between staff and district leadership are thriving. I am thankful to the RTA leadership and to the Revere School Committee for supporting the district through these negotiations and for centering the needs of children as we found our common ground.”
RTA leaders said the contract also prioritizes safe and healthy public schools that offer adequate classroom support, workplace dignity and respect language, a standardized incident reporting form, and the establishment of a health and safety committee including RTA members to work together to address ongoing safety issues in the schools.
“This agreement represents a meaningful step in the right direction for our students and educators,” stated RTA co-presidents Jane Chapin and Michelle Ervin “It addresses critical issues such as competitive wages to attract and retain educators, paid parental leave, and safe and healthy schools. We believe this contract helps us find proactive solutions to the serious problems facing our schools, and we are excited to refocus our energy on what matters most: educating Revere’s students.” In addition, the contract calls for a joint labor management to study increasing lunch and recess to provide students adequate time to eat lunch and release energy supporting students’ ability to focus on learning when back in the classroom, as well as multilingual and dual licensure incentives to enhance and support educators from diverse backgrounds.
“For the past 9 months, the RTA has brought forward reasonable contract proposals to address the serious problems in our schools,” read an official statement from the RTA on the contract agreement. “We have been advocating for issues like paid parental leave, healthy and safe schools, longer lunch and recess for students and competitive wages to attract and retain educators since last spring. These are issues we know are important to both our members and to the community.” Like many gateway communities, the RTA said Revere is currently experiencing a retention crisis and that it hopes the contract will make meaningful strides at making the district competitive. Since June we have seen close to 80 teachers leave the district,” the RTA statement continued.
“The impact of this high level of turnover is largely felt by students, and staff who are asked to fill in the gaps. We believe this contract helps us find proactive solutions to attract the best, most qualified teachers to Revere, and ensure that they have the resources and support they need to be able to stay in our community long term. “Although these negotiations have been trying at times, we appreciate the willingness by the School Committee, administration, and the Mayor to work with us to reach a deal.” RTA leaders said they were also astounded and amazed by the outpouring of community support and grateful for the parents and students who stood with them and made their voices heard throughout this process. “This agreement represents a meaningful shift in the right direction for our schools,” the RTA stated. “After 13 bargaining sessions, rallies, marches, and numerous collective actions, we finally feel heard by this School Committee and are excited to focus on the most important job: educating our kids.”
The contract agreement comes at a time when teachers in several other North Shore communities have gone on strike over stalled contract negotiations. The negotiation team included Keefe; Kelly; Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Danielle Mokaba; School Committee Chair Jacqueline Monterroso; School Committee Member Anthony Caggiano; Revere Teachers Association Co-President Jane Chapin; as well as RTA members Jennifer Jones, Christopher Kingston, Gary Palmieri, Karen Suttle, and Michelle D’Alessandro.
