Tewksbury High Students Walk Out In Support Of Teachers' Contract

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury Memorial High School students walked out of school Friday over the ongoing contract negotiations between the teachers union and the district, chanting "figure it out" and carrying signs asking, "What about us?" according to a video shared on social media.

Students on social media explained that they organized the walkout in support of the teachers. The walkout comes two days after the School Committee expelled the union president and other members and supporters from a meeting when the president tried to speak outside of the Citizen's Forum section.

"This past week has been an amazing showcase of all the support Tewksbury teachers & aides have from parents, students, and community stakeholders," Tewksbury Teachers AssociationPresident Conner Bourgoin said in a statement. "I speak for the TTA when I say we are eternally grateful for everyone who's stepped up for us."

The union has been working under an expired contract since the beginning of the school year. Negotiations are currently before a state mediator, at the request of the School Committee.

A senior speaking to WHDH noted that students have been affected by the teachers' ongoing "work to rule" process, where they "follow official working rules and hours exactly in order to reduce output and efficiency." The student notice that means no letters of recommendation or senior project advisors.

"This work to rule initiative has been tough on teachers & students alike; while we continue to carry out essential duties to help our students, we want to be able to return to normal," Bourgoin said. "However, we cannot do that until we are shown respect by the School Committee: this involves going back to direct bargaining and bargaining in good faith to reach a fair contract. As one can see by the proposals still on the table, teachers & aides truly care about student learning, and more importantly the individuals themselves. Clearly from today's student-initiated action, they care about us too."

More than 100 students walked out and several hundred more protested inside the school Friday, WHDH reported.

Sticking points in the ongoing negotiations include lunch duty for elementary school teachers and salary increases for long-tenured teachers and extra-curricular positions.

"This work to rule initiative has been tough on teachers & students alike; while we continue to carry out essential duties to help our students, we want to be able to return to normal," Bourgoin said. "However, we cannot do that until we are shown respect by the School Committee: this involves going back to direct bargaining and bargaining in good faith to reach a fair contract. As one can see by the proposals still on the table, teachers & aides truly care about student learning, and more importantly the individuals themselves. Clearly from today's student-initiated action, they care about us too."

Patch has reached out to School Committee Chair Keith Sullivan for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.