Members and supporters of the Chicopee Education Association gather on both sides of the street outside of City Hall to express their displeasure with the contract negotiations.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
CHICOPEE — On April 16, dissatisfaction with their contract negotiations forced members of the Chicopee Education Association and supporters to rally at City Hall before then participating in public comment at the School Committee meeting that night.
Members stood on both sides of the street outside City Hall with signs expressing their displeasure with the proposed contract negotiations. They also chanted, “What do we want? Fair contracts. When do we want it? Now,” and “We’ll never be divided, the union, united.”
In a press release sent out by CEA President Ben Eisen, he explained the reason for the rally and public outcry.
He said that the current pay rates for education support professionals are far below living wages and with the teachers’ “low salaries,” the district struggles to attract and retain highly qualified educators.
“The district’s wage proposals are unacceptable,” Eisen stated, “Our ESPs would need to work an additional 80,933 hours to achieve a living wage under the School Committee’s proposed 27-cent-per-hour wage hike.”
The letter further read that ESPs, who support students with legally mandated special education plans and ensure that school operations run smoothly, earn less than half of what is considered a living wage for the region.
“The CEA maintains that Chicopee has the financial capability to offer more realistic wage proposals, as state aid for education to the city has gone up dramatically since passage of the Student Opportunity Act in 2019,” Eisen stated.
He explained while state aid to Chicopee schools has increased by 57%, educator wages have only gone up by 18%.
Eisen talked further about fixing the problem and said, “The city can address this problem using existing money coming from the state. We are in a better position than many other communities that are trying to pass overrides to fund their schools.”
The CEA bargaining platform also calls for contractual health and safety language, paid family and medical leave for all CEA members, and caps on class sizes and caseloads.
Eisen concluded, “Chicopee can settle a contract that benefits our students and makes our district a more desirable place to work.”
Members of the CEA voiced their opinions at the School Committee meeting to express the urgency to settle a fair contract.
The meeting was standing room only as many held their signs inside and showed their support.
Nearly 20 educators, staff, parents and supporters of Chicopee Public Schools used public comment to share stories, express their concerns and vouch for a better contract.
Mayor John Vieau said the Open Meeting Laws prohibits Superintendent Marcus Ware, the School Committee and himself from participating in an open dialogue with the public comment speakers.
Vieau did submit a statement to Reminder Publishing on behalf of the School Committee.
He said, “The School Committee recognizes that our staff is the foundation of all we do in the Chicopee Public Schools, and we value their contributions. We are committed to working with the union leadership to negotiate contracts that are both fair to our staff and responsible to the community. We recognize that negotiations can be challenging, and we remain committed to doing the work necessary to find common ground so we can continue to provide our students with the excellent education that they deserve.”
The contract negotiations are still ongoing and will continue to be covered by Reminder Publishing.
