Beverly Teachers Join Chorus For Paid Family Leave Benefits

BEVERLY, MA — More than 650 Beverly teachers and paraprofessionals on Wednesday joined the growing chorus of unions calling for paid family leave provisions in the next contracts that are equivalent to that afforded citizens in the state who work for private businesses.

Under the 2018 Massachusetts Paid Family Leave Act, public sector employees — including teachers — are exempt from the requirements of businesses to allow for extended family leave in the case of an immediate family illness or childbirth.

The issue has become a key rallying point for unions amid contract negotiations this spring and was one of those at the focus of the historically long Newton teachers' strike this winter.

(Also on Patch: North Shore Teachers Unite For Parental Leave Benefits)

"As we collectively take care of our community's babies, it's only fair that the Beverly Public Schools takes care of its educators as we navigate this life milestone," said Sydney Pomponi, an English as a Second Language teacher at Ayers Elementary School and expecting mother. "Balancing our own health needs and the necessity to be with our newborns is incredibly unfair. I’m fighting to ensure all future parents, whether in Beverly or beyond, are not in the same predicament as me."

The Beverly Teachers Association said that paid parental leave is one of "many proposals to make Beverly a competitive district" advanced during the early stages of negotiations in recent months.

"I could not believe that the School Committee rejected our parental leave proposal outright last week during negotiations," said Taylor Cross, a special education teacher at Beverly Middle School and expecting mother. "I believe my co-workers will not ratify a new contract that does not remedy the severe inequities in compensation and leave benefits. I've seen the negative impacts on our Beverly schools and students when we ignore these problems.

"Standing together with 5,000 other educators confirms that we are doing the right thing."

The union is asking supporters to make their voices heard on the issue at the School Committee public budget hearing on May 8 and to "advocate for fully funded schools."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)