Malden Educators, School Committee Eye Talks Amid Contract Negotiation

MALDEN, MA — The Malden Education Association (MEA) and the Negotiations Subcommittee of the Malden School Committee will return to the bargaining table on Wednesday for a new round of negotiations after previous negotiations failed to yield new contracts.

The meeting this week will now take place in open session, allowing members of the general public to watch negotiations.

“I have faith in both negotiating teams from the School Committee and the MEA that they will center the needs of our students and come to a consensus,” Malden Mayor and School Committee Chair Gary Christenson said in a statement to Patch late last month.

Malden Education Association President Deb Gesualdo said in separate comments around the first day of school that union members want to engage in good faith in the negotiation process with the district.

She voiced frustrations, though, over the process to date.

“We ask questions,” she said. “We want to engage in discussion. And we're not really feeling that from (the school district’s negotiating team).”

“There's not a lot of actual negotiating happening,” Gesualdo continued.

Malden union educators all saw their contracts expire last month. While educators are still getting paid, the lack of a new contract leaves Malden personnel without some protections that they would otherwise receive, Gesualdo said.

Beyond those issues, Gesualdo said the dispute had already an impact on district personnel as of last month in the form of stress and uncertainty.

“It just adds another layer because you don't know how long it's going to go on,” Gesualdo said. “You don't know how much we are going to have to escalate our actions.”

“There's all these sorts of questions looming over everyone's heads, and we don't know the answers to all of that right now,” she continued. “So, it's just really stressful.”

Malden educators have gathered for multiple rallies and other events in recent weeks, circulating a petition and highlighting key asks for a future contract.

Those include wage increases for education support professionals, salary increases for teachers and administrators, class size caps and committed efforts to end homelessness among Malden Public Schools families, among other things.

Educators have also highlighted a number of currently vacant positions in schools, calling for full staffing as they negotiate with the district.

A district update last Thursday indeed showed more than 70 open positions in the Malden Public Schools. The district said it was in the final stages of hiring for at least nine of those positions, while the rest remained unfilled.

Overall, Malden educators have seen contract disputes in the past. Just this year, they’re also one of several unions in the region handling various disputes, with educators in Melrose and Medford all beginning the school year without active contracts.

Despite that, Gesualdo said that “it’s been a while” since negotiations in Malden were as difficult as they’ve been this year.

READ: Melrose Educators Hold March, Note Goals For New Contract: Photos

New bargaining is approaching, with Malden union leaders working in recent weeks to gather members as "silent representatives" for this week’s meeting.

Eyeing that next step, Gesualdo said last month that education association members aren’t looking for a protracted dispute.

“We don't want this to be contentious,” she said. “That's not what we want because we know that engaging and having conversations and asking questions is what gets this done.”

“However long this goes on, however much we have to escalate the actions we take, this isn't just about teachers,” she added. “It's not just about school employees. This is about making sure that we bargain strong contracts that also protect our students and that also uplift labor standards for everyone.”

Union representatives and the School Committee Negotiations Subcommittee will hold their bargaining on Tuesday in the City Council chambers at Malden City Hall. The meeting is set for 3:30 p.m.