NORTHAMPTON — Several dozen city educators and their supporters rallied on the steps of City Hall before the City Council meeting Thursday evening to support school staff amid contract negotiations.
Holding signs such as “Northampton is better than this” and “We won’t stand down,” they chanted and many marched in together to the meeting.
The Northampton Association of School Employees — the union that represents school employees including teachers, educational support professionals (ESPs), custodians and cafeteria workers — has been negotiating new contracts with the School Committee since February and reached an impasse earlier this week. In response, NASE announced that next week members would be working to rule, meaning they will stick only to their contractual obligations.
On the City Council’s meeting agenda was the presentation of the fiscal year 2020 budget, which NASE members have said does not allocate enough money to the schools. In his proposed budget, Narkewicz increased proposed funding to the schools by $301,137 — a 4.5 percent increase in the budget from the previous year — to support negotiations.
“We appreciate it,” NASE negotiating team member Andrea Egitto said of the addition in public comment at the meeting, “but it’s not enough to create our livable, fair wages for our employees.”
NASE members, along with parents and a high school student, spoke during public comment at the council meeting, urging pay raises for school teachers and staff.
Dinah Mack, JFK Middle School social studies teacher, said they felt working to rule was their only recourse.
“We love doing the events … We love volunteering our time,” she said.
In her view, she said, anyone who tries to take the place of teachers and staff for those volunteer duties is crossing the picket line.
“Work-to-rule is our picket line,” she said.
When teacher Susan Biggs told her Northampton High School chemistry class there would be no extra help after school starting next week, “My class was dead silent,” she said. “They were stunned.”
Sue Sullivan, an English language learning teacher, said some high school students who read at an elementary school level get extra help with her after school. As working to rule starts next week, she said, “I’m not going to be able to help them next week … It breaks my heart.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.