Woburn Teachers Association, School Committee Ink New Contract

WOBURN, MA—Nearly two years of work on an agreement between the Woburn Teachers Association and the Woburn School Committee came to a close Wednesday during the May 25 meeting of the School Committee when committee members voted to ratify a new two-year agreement valid through the 2017-2018 school year. 

The new agreement represents an overall 10.5 percent increase in salaries over four years, with retroactive two percent increases during both the previous and current school year, as well as a three percent salary increase during the upcoming school year and a 3.5 percent increase during the 2017-2018 school year. The agreement also represents a five percent increase in contributions towards health insurance. 

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"Negotiations were hard on both sides, and I appreciate the give and take on both sides," said Committee Member John Wells at the May 25 meeting."I just want to leave this meeting with the feeling that we did the best we could for both the citizens and the teachers and that we reached an agreement with what our joint interest is and that is the betterment of the students and their education."

When asked by Superintendent Mark Donovan if the new contracts would put an end to "work-to-rule," which refers to the practice of performing tasks only for which they were specifically compensated during contract negotiations, Locke stated that teachers would continue to work to the contract which was signed, but that the teacher's association preferred to refer to it as "working-to-contract." 

"We have a bit of a different mindset to it," Woburn Teachers' Association Co-President Barbara Locke said at the meeting."We feel it should be positive and cooperative. There was no vote take to stop work to rule. We don't like to call it that, we call it working to contract, and we signed a contract with the School Committee and we are going to work to that contract."

The school committee voted 6-0 in favor of the new deal. School Committee member Patricia Chisholm abstained. 

"We'll move forward and work hopefully together to build bridges and work together,"stated Locke.