After 11 days of no school, the contentious Newton teachers’ strike is over.
The union had already said they were “extremely close” to coming to an end on Friday, while a judge threatened higher fines for the union if the two sides didn’t reach a deal by the end of the weekend.
Minutes before the deal was revealed, union members were singing and shouting, “When we fight, we win!”
The deal was announced just after 9 p.m. Friday with “concessions” for higher pay for aides, more parental and family leave, mental health counseling for students, and a cost-of-living raise for teachers.
The union was seeking a 20% hike in pay, but they negotiated 12% over four years — that will equal 13.5% “compounded” over the life of the deal, Talia Gallagher, of the Newton Teachers Association, told the Herald late Friday night.
“A lot of healing has to happen,” a union spokesman said at the rally, admitting the strike has made a mark.
Newton Teachers Association president Mike Zilles said he’s had enough of “righteous outrage.” He went on to say the 11 missed days will be made up and “a deal has been reached” on the fines the union accrued.
The school board will vote on the deal Saturday, he added.
The Newton School Committee stressed that they were confident students would finally return to the classroom on Monday — after kids and teachers missed two weeks and as the union racked up more than $600,000 in fines.
The School Committee and Newton Teachers Association negotiated from Thursday night all the way until 6 a.m. on Friday, but they did not strike an agreement, so they kept at it.
“The School Committee and NTA bargaining teams are extremely close to settling a contract,” the committee posted on Friday. “Although negotiations persisted throughout the night and did not pause until 6:00 AM this morning, the parties have not yet reached agreement. We remain optimistic about the progress we’ve made towards a return to school on Monday.”
As of Thursday, the teachers union and School Committee were apart by about $1,000 to $3,000 when it comes to annual salaries — and about $4 million apart over the duration of the contract.
But the financial proposals from both sides were in line after the overnight negotiations.
“Both sides have been working extremely hard to get our kids and educators back in school,” the committee posted. “The parties have agreed to COLA increases for all members that honor our educators and paraprofessionals and are sustainable over the life of the contract. The remaining contractual issues to resolve are related to flexibility the district seeks for its leadership to manage the structure of the school day and best serve students.”
The two sides also needed to agree on a “Return to Work” agreement. Since the strike started, the district has incurred more than $1 million in costs related to compensatory services and court fees, according to the committee.
The union was blaming the district for not reaching a deal before Friday morning.
“Why aren’t kids and educators in school today?” the Newton Teachers Association posted. “The NTA bargaining team was there all night ready to sign a deal, but are now being a held up by a ‘Return to Work Agreement’ asking educators to pay more than one million dollars in damages to the city. This money is in addition to the more than $600,000 in fines.”
The union also reported that the committee tried to weaken the agreements on social workers, and change other agreements affecting educators’ working conditions and students’ learning conditions.
Meanwhile in Middlesex Superior Court on Friday, a judge threatened that the daily fines of $50,000 for the union would jump to $100,000 if the strike doesn’t end by Sunday night.
Ahead of Friday, Gov. Maura Healey jumped into the middle of the strike, warning that a court may order a binding resolution if the union and School Committee didn’t reach a deal by the end of Friday. But the two sides pushed back against that outcome in court.
The anger was building, though, with the union facing blowback even as the new deal was being announced online.
