Wilmington Teachers To Rally For Contract Wednesday

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington Teachers Association plans to rally Wednesday as negotiations over a new contract drag on.

The union has been working under an expired contract since the beginning of the school year, after the previous contract's term ended in August.

The union and supporters plan to rally at the Town Common at 3 p.m. Wednesday "to demand a fair contract," the union said in a news release.

“The members of the Wilmington Teachers Association are proud of the work that we do and the quality of the education that we provide to our students," the union said in a statement. "Our public schools are a community asset, and the town must make fair and sufficient investments in the schools to maintain their quality."

The union and the School Committee are at odds over pay increases, according to the statement.

"With the previous contract between the WTA and the school committee, the town did the right thing in updating a woefully inadequate salary schedule for educators," the union said. "But it would be a step backwards to not sustain the investment with reasonable and equitable wage adjustments now. Wilmington made a necessary down payment on the work of bringing its schools up to par, and now we must maintain the work of retaining skilled veteran educators, supporting mid-career educators, and attracting talented young educators.”

The previous contract, agreed to in late 2017, included 2 percent annual cost of living adjustments plus roughly 1 percent annual "market rate adjustments."

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