'We are the glue': Braintree teachers demand pay raise as they negotiate new contract

BRAINTREE − Teachers and other school staff members marched from the Hollis School to town hall Tuesday afternoon to deliver a message to Mayor Charles Kokoros that the time has come to settle their contract.

Leaders of the Braintree Education Association delivered a letter to Kokoros' office signed by nearly all of the union's 635 members calling for the town to settle the contract. The contract expired more than seven months ago, and the next negotiating session is scheduled for Thursday with a mediator.

"We're just looking for a fair contract that takes care of us so we can take care of the kids and families of Braintree," said Truong Dinh, Braintree Education Association's president and a teacher at Braintree High School.

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Braintree High teacher Molly Fitzgerald, the union vice president, said without teachers and other staffers, the school system is just a bunch of old and crumbling buildings with roofs that leak water onto students.

"We are the glue holding the schools together," Fitzgerald said.

The union is seeking raises totaling 10% over three years, going back to the start of the school year, he said. The town is offering 7% over the same period.

Quincy teachers recently agreed to a new three-year contract with base-pay increases of 3% in each year. Weymouth teachers agreed to a four-year contract with raises totaling 13.5%. Both agreements are retroactive to the start of the current school year.

Dinh said the Braintree union is also seeking "a big move towards a living wage" for paraprofessionals.

Many paraprofessionals work in the system's special education programs assisting students, and their pay tops out at about $23 per hour. Alexandra Ahearn, a paraprofessional at the Ross School, said she has a master's degree and is paid $21 per hour. She said she averages $35 an hour making food deliveries for DoorDash as her second job.

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Mary Hines, a paraprofessional at East Middle School, said her take-home pay after 23 years in the system is $440 a week.

"I can barely pay my rent," Hines said.

More than 100 union members gathered on the town hall mall for about a hour, holding signs reading "WTF: Where's the Funding," "Braintree Students Deserve a Teacher Who Only Works One Job" and "The Mayor Is Taking Us to the Cleaners," a reference to Kokoros' former occupation. Drivers sounded their horns in support.

Union members followed their leadership into the building and crowded into the first-floor lobby as the letter was delivered to the mayor's office upstairs.

They engaged in a familiar call-and-response chant.

"What do we want?" one shouted.

"Fair contract," the group replied.

"When do we want it?"

"Now."

Since January, the union has held standouts outside two school committee meetings, once before at town hall, and once at Braintree Five Corners.

Kokoros was holding a meeting at town hall when the teachers delivered the letter.

"We certainly want the contract resolved, and we'll keep working towards that," he said in an interview. "I look forward to a contract resolution. ... We've made a very generous offer, with the town's finances what they are, and I hope we can move forward."

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree teachers call on mayor, march to town hall demanding raise