New Bedford paras union: district has chance to stop diapering lawsuit

NEW BEDFORD — New Bedford Public Schools paraprofessionals and the district have reportedly begun working out a potential compromise on one set of differences, but not on another. President of the paraprofessionals union Jill Zangao said that on Friday of last week, members of AFT Local 2378 began discussing an agreement that could stop a lawsuit relative to student diapering requirements from moving forward. Regular negotiations for a new three-year collective bargaining contract, on the other hand, have hit the end of their road, prompting Local 2378 to engage the district in a formal fact-finding process overseen by the state, Zangao said.

According to Zangao, union members met with New Bedford Public Schools administration on Jan. 13 to discuss paraprofessionals' complaints over what some have publicly suggested are inappropriate practices requiring paras to diaper some of the district's eldest disabled students, including some who are of adult age. Now, the clock is ticking on a 30-day window that was set to finalize an agreement before the lawsuit, filed in November with the Mass. Department of Labor Relations, moves to court.

Zangao told The Standard-Times progress was made during the meeting after union members were able to clarify a misunderstanding between themselves and NBPS Executive Director of Human Capital Services Heather Emsley over proposed terms of resolution.

"She was under the impression we wanted to create five new positions, but with 88 vacancies we would just ask to make five of them CNA," Zangao said, noting that prior to this school year, student diapering was typically performed by staff with CNA backgrounds. "We're not looking for monetary increases or stipends."

What will it take to quell lawsuit?

While union members had originally hoped for two CNA paraprofessional staff at the high school and one at each of the three middle schools, Zangao reports that the talk ended with the district agreeing to hire one CNA staff member at the high school. "I ... need to reach out to the paras at the middle school and see what kind of support they need there," she said Wednesday, noting union members may call for the district to add to its offer based on that feedback.

Zangao said there would also need to be discussion around language included in paraprofessional job descriptions before the matter can be considered resolved. "They unilaterally added bathroom and diapering duties. We just want to talk about it like we should have done in the beginning," she said. "If we cannot come to a resolution, it (the lawsuit) goes to the court system and could take two years."

Get the background:New Bedford paraprofessionals file complaint over diaper-changing of older students

The legal document filed on Nov. 7 states: "This school year (2022-2023) the New Bedford Public Schools unilaterally added a duty to the paraprofessionals in the Transitional Resource (TR) rooms by requiring them to [perform] diapering duties of middle school and high school students in the program. This work had previously been performed by Certified Nurse Assistants (which are also in the bargaining unit) or the school nurse." The document goes on to state the union's intent to "Restore the status quo of having this work performed by CNA and nurses and bargain in good faith."

Zangao said Wednesday that union members were in the process of setting up a date to address the job description aspect.

Union leader: paraprofessionals, district set to enter fact-finding process

When it comes to mediation sessions aimed at achieving a collective bargaining agreement between the paras union and district, Zangao said a last attempt on Jan. 4 proved unsuccessful. According to Zangao, the union's final proposal came within $240,000 of the district's offer for Year 1, but remained "over a million" apart on years 2 and 3. "They offered a one-time payment of $300," which union negotiators deemed an insufficient substitute for other increases, Zangao said,

After that session, Zangao says the union filed to engage the district in the formal process of fact-finding with the state Department of Labor Relations, and that the action has since gained approval to commence. According to Zangao, union members have received information estimating a cost of $5,000-$6,000 to both parties respectively, and the district cannot refuse to partake. Zangao said the in-depth investigatory process will be aimed essentially at making a determination on what would be "reasonable" relative to contract terms, however, even that finding will be "just a suggestion."

"The district can take that suggestion and say OK, we're going to work with you, or they can say no, we're sticking to our final offer," she said.

Still need catching up?:New Bedford paraprofessionals say the city is violating special education mandates

An informational outline of the fact-finding process found on Mass.gov states: "If the parties are unable to reach agreement after the fact-finder issues his/her report, the DLR (Department of Labor Relations) mediator contacts the parties and schedules additional mediation to assist them in resolving the dispute. The mediator notifies the Director within 30 days whether any additional mediation is likely to resolve the impasse. If the Director believes that no additional mediation will resolve the impasse, the mediator no longer works with the parties on impasse."

If the involved parties are still unable to reach an agreement within 10 days of receiving the finished fact-finding report, according to Mass.gov, the findings are made public.

To New Bedford paraprofessionals, time is of the essence

While optimistic about potential benefits of the fact-finding process to New Bedford Public Schools' paraprofessionals, Zangao says one disadvantage is time. "Fact-finding takes more time and I really want to make sure we get this done before the budget closes in June because a lot of times they won’t give us retro for more than one year," she said. "So if we do not get this settled there's possibility people will not get retro who should have moved up a step."

Zangao told The Standard-Times in October that the previous three-year contract with paraprofessionals expired July 31, and that negotiations on a new one had been ongoing for nearly a year at that point.

While the union has already received a list of individuals who may be selected to fact-find, Zangao said she's heard it can take about two months before one is confirmed. Other than that, she said union members know very little about what the process will look like. "Fact-finding is something that has never been done with our membership," she said. "Elaine Safioleas, my AFT consultant, she was there at the inception (of Local 2378), and she said it's never been done here before. They were always able to work something out."

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Though Zangao says she's disappointed things have gotten to this point, union members are confident that the facts will reflect their sentiments, and they're hopeful it will lead to some reconsideration on the district's part.

"I do feel like if the fact-finder finds in our favor, that'll give us leverage with the community to say, listen — these paras have proven ... that you have the money, and that they deserve what they're asking for. Why aren't you guys doing it?," Zangao said.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford paras, district begin talks on diapering, related issues