Dear Members of the WPS Community:
We are writing to inform you that the Wellesley School Committee has filed a strike petition with the Department of Labor Relations this evening to prevent the Wellesley Educators Association from engaging in an illegal strike.
We voted to take this extraordinary action after collecting significant evidence that the union leadership was laying the groundwork for an illegal strike vote to happen this Friday night, with a strike to begin Monday, May 15.
Going into this past Monday’s negotiating session, the School Committee’s bargaining team was eager to present what we believed was a comprehensive offer that met and in many ways exceeded the WEA’s desired compensation for paraprofessionals and teaching assistants. Unfortunately, the union leadership has not accepted this offer and instead has focused its efforts on planning for an illegal strike.
We understand the effect that the prolonged negotiations have had on educators, staff, students and members of our Wellesley community, and are very concerned about the impacts of a strike on our students’ learning.
This filing by the School Committee does not preclude future negotiations in any way. The Committee is hopeful that we will soon be able to reach agreement with all units of the WEA, and continues to work toward that end. We will provide further updates to the community as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
The Wellesley School Committee
Leda Eizenberg, MAT, Chair
Linda Chow, Vice Chair
Craig E. Mack, Ed.D., Secretary
Christina Horner, M.Ed., Member
Catherine Mirick, Member