Boston Teachers Union calling for protest as they fight for new contract

BOSTON — The Boston Teachers Union is calling for a protest as they continue to fight for a new contract.

According to the Boston Herald, the union is asking for equal pay for staffers at autonomous schools, more support for inclusion classes, smaller class sizes and paid paternity leave for provisional teachers, or those who have had the position for less than three years.

The city says they've been negotiating with the union since their contract expired in August. The Boston Herald reports that Boston Public Schools proposed a program that would give teachers without permanent positions a $40,000-a-year paraprofessional role if they failed to find a teaching position within two years. The city also reportedly proposed a program that would extend six weeks of parental leave to provisional teachers, but would mean supervisors could question sick calls and ask for a second medical opinion.

The union is now calling for its members to attend next week's committee meeting on March 22. They say it may help pressure the city to speed up negotiations.

>> Want morning headlines delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter here

Cox Media Group