Malden Educators Ratify New Contract After Strike

MALDEN, MA — Educators in Malden voted to ratify a new contract on Wednesday, according to the Malden Education Association.

Accepted by what union officials described as an “overwhelming” margin, the contract came after negotiators announced a tentative agreement with the Malden Public Schools on Monday night to end a one-day teachers strike that began on Monday morning.

“This contract is a testament to the MEA’s solidarity,” Malden Education Association President Deb Gesualdo said in a statement following the union's latest vote.

READ: Malden Schools To Reopen Tuesday After One-Day Teachers Strike

The three-year contract still needs to be ratified by the School Committee before taking effect. If approved, the deal will run retroactively from the date on which the Malden Education Association’s previous contract expired.

Though details of the agreement are yet to be released, Gesualdo said on Wednesday that the contract “recommits our school community to ensuring that housing insecurity is not a barrier to our students’ academic success.” She said it provides competitive and fair wages for educators while ensuring that “our students’ education is not dependent on their ZIP code.”

Malden educators began the school year this fall on an expired contract after their previous agreement expired.

Earlier negotiations failed to produce a deal, with the union calling for contract elements including higher wages and salaries, housing insecurity commitments and new safety measures, among other things.

Educators protested the state of contract negotiations through the first few weeks of the 2022-2023 school year before going on strike on Monday after last minute weekend negotiations broke down on Sunday.

Negotiators from the Malden Education Association and the Malden School Committee returned to the bargaining table on Monday, where they hammered out the framework for a deal.

Educators then returned to work on Tuesday, allowing schools to reopen after closures on Monday.

Malden Public Schools officials celebrated Monday’s tentative agreement, saying at the time that they were eager to move forward after difficult contract talks in recent months.

Neither the Malden Public Schools nor the Malden Education Association have gone into detail on their agreement to date, with the district saying on Monday that it would wait to share such details until after a review by the School Committee.

While Malden schools have reopened for classes, schools in Haverhill were closed for a third straight day on Wednesday as a teachers strike there continued.

Calling for some of the same promises that the Malden Education Association sought, Haverhill union negotiators have butted heads with city and school district counterparts, leading to a simultaneous court battle as the Haverhill Public Schools seek to force educators to end the strike.

WBZNews Radio reported on Wednesday afternoon that a judge had found striking Haverhill teachers in civil contempt after they defied a previous order to return to work. The finding could now mean major fines for the Haverhill Education Association, its leaders and the state teachers association if Haverhill teachers opt to continue striking, according to the station.