Watertown Teachers Union Says School Officials Have Negotiated the Teachers Contract in 'Bad Faith'

Negotiations on the Watertown teacher contract hit a major bump when the teachers union filed a complaint with the state charging school officials with negotiating in “bad faith.”

The Watertown Educators Association filed the complaint with the state Division of Labor Relations on June 1, and discussed it at a meeting with parents on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the School Committee had a meeting scheduled to vote on a contract in case one had been agreed upon by the district and the union negotiation teams. The meeting was called off Wednesday afternoon.

School Committee Chairman Tony Paolillo and School Committee Vice Chairman John Portz – who leads the negotiating team, did not return calls for comment on the teachers union’s complaint and the contract negotiations.

Paolillo told the Watertown Tab that the meeting was cancelled because no contract was on the table on which they could vote.

The union’s complaint stems from the School Committee’s vote to reject the preliminary contract agreement on April 4.

, with those voting against it saying that the Watertown schools could not afford to give the proposed 1.5 percent raise for next year – fiscal 2012 – because it would result in the layoff of many teachers. No other unions in town received raises in fiscal 2012.

WEA President Debra King said she believes the school district’s negotiating team approved a contract that did not have a realistic chance of being approved by the full School Committee.

“Either the five School Committee members who voted 'no' have no faith in the judgment of their own team or the School Committee negotiation team did not earnestly recommend ratification,” King said. “Given the comments of the school committee negotiation team at the ratification meeting, clearly it’s the latter.”

This is the heart of the union’s argument that Watertown school officials were negotiating in bad faith.

“The School Committee negotiation team members all but declared that they had blundered by agreeing to the memorandum of agreement,” King said. “By blatantly failing to support the agreement, the School Committee violated its legal obligation to bargain in good faith.”

Negotiations have not ended, Paolillo said. He told the Tab that the district’s negotiating team plans to continue contract talks through the summer.