Woburn Contract Dispute Continues As Educators Launch ‘Work-To-Rule’ Action

WOBURN, MA — Contract negotiations between the Woburn School Committee and the Woburn Teachers Association have continued recently, coinciding with increasingly public protests from educators and their supporters as well as public discussion from city officials.

Still short of a new contract agreement, Woburn educators ramped up their demonstrations this week with a rally on Monday to kick off “work-to-rule” action in local schools.

Such action generally involves union workers fulfilling duties to the letter of their contract, avoiding any other, non-contracted tasks. Other area educators unions have recently used the work-to-rule tactic in their own disputes.

“We fight for a fair contract and will continue to fight for our schools, our working conditions, our paraprofessionals, and our students,” the Woburn Teachers Association wrote in a statement on social media Monday night.

The last three-year contract between the Woburn Public Schools and its educators expired in 2020. Parties signed a one year agreement for the 2021-2022 school year, though that deal has since expired. Negotiations have proceeded over the past year, according to a joint statement earlier this month from the Woburn School Committee and Mayor Scott Galvin.

Officials on Dec. 1 said they were actively negotiating “in good faith” with the Woburn Teachers Association, adding that they are “committed to working toward a resolution” on current contract concerns.

The Teachers Association, three days later, similarly said it “remains committed to resolving the contract dispute as soon as possible.”

Both city and union leaders, nevertheless, have noted hurdles in contract talks.

The School Committee and the Mayor in their statement this month said the city reached an agreement with the Woburn Teachers Association on Oct. 26. But Teachers Association’s members then rejected the deal when it came up for a ratification vote, according to city officials.

The Teachers Association discussed its vote in its own statement on Nov. 2, describing a 98% consensus against what it described as “an unreasonable contract proposal.”

Union leaders detailed key contract goals, including increased time on learning, educator-led professional development opportunities and higher pay, among other things.

“We need a fair contract that helps us support our students,” the union said.

Parties kept meeting throughout November after the Nov. 2 Teachers Association vote, according to Woburn city officials.

The School Committee and Galvin said this month that they had agreed to changes on three out of five provisions that union negotiators flagged as problematic in the previous contract proposal.

“The Committee has also agreed to provide updated language related to the two remaining contractual items, which we believe will alleviate their concerns,” officials said.

City officials continued, describing a new financial offer on Nov. 28 they said would have included 10% raises for educators over three years.

“Also included in this offer was a previously agreed upon increase to the membership’s yearly 403b contribution, as well as a significant increase in tuition reimbursement,” officials said.

The proposal continued, according to officials, adding five additional professional development days before the start of each school year aimed at helping faculty and students by creating space for teacher collaboration and “choice-based teacher and trainer-led professional development.”

The Teachers Association rejected this new offer, officials said.

The Teachers Association separately shared its side of this latest round of negotiations in a statement on Dec. 3.

“The WTA was encouraged to see that many of the issues causing contention had been rectified,” the Teachers Association said. “We felt strongly that we were close to resolving the contract dispute and were eager to engage in bargaining with the School Committee and Mayor to settle the remaining issues.”

“In an unexpected turn, however, the offer insisted on the addition of unpaid days to the school year,” the union continued. “Unfortunately, the Mayor and School Committee refused further discussion on the proposal and abruptly ended the meeting.”

The Woburn Teachers Association announced its planned work-to-rule kickoff last Thursday after weeks of picketing and standout demonstrations outside Woburn schools.

The union’s president and negotiation team later declined to comment when asked about the decision to escalate to work-to-rule action.

Patch has reached out to Galvin’s office for comment following the work-to-rule kickoff on Monday.

The Woburn Teachers Association previously called on the School Committee and the Mayor "to do what’s best for Woburn schools by reconsidering their offer and ending this contract dispute so that teachers can move forward doing what is best for Woburn’s students.”

City officials also continued in their joint statement on Dec. 1.

“Labor negotiations are a long and deliberative process, but this process is necessary to reach common ground and shared goals,” officials said. “The Committee respects the tremendous effort, talent and dedication of our faculty and all they do for our students. We remain firmly committed to working toward a resolution so that all parties may continue their steadfast work of providing the best possible educational experience to Woburn Public School students.”

Negotiations in Woburn come in a larger landscape of tense contract disputes elsewhere in the region.

Malden and Haverhill educators went on strike in October over frustrations with their contract negotiations.

In Melrose, educators have implemented their own work-to-rule action after several marches and rallies alongside negotiations and tense rounds of public comment to the City Council and the School Committee.