NTA eBulletin: May 3, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

It has been a while. The last time I sent out an eBulletin was April 12th. 

As we enter into the home stretch of the year, I ask that you please answer the question of the day!

The MailChimp platform has a number of ways for us to track how many people open the emails and click on links, but how many people answer the question of the day is our best barometer of how many people are engaging with the newsletter. And, to be honest, the low number of people who currently answer the question means the data is of limited validity and reliability. 

I also ask those of you who are reading now, please, encourage your colleagues to read it as well and to answer the question of the day.

Finally, please encourage Newton residents you know to sign up for the newsletter. Let's encourage the community to tune in to the NTA's perspective! Here is a link to sign up.

To put a spotlight on the importance of these requests, please bear in mind (1) that Mayor Laredo sends out a newsletter to a large segment of the Newton public every week; (2) that Anna Nolin and the school committee can reach every single parent/guardian who enrolls their children in the Newton Public Schools--and they do so regularly; (3) Anna Nolin and the School Committee can also reach every employee who works in the Newton Public Schools--and they do so regularly; (4) school committee and city council meetings are taped and available to the all who want to watch them.

This newsletter is currently our primary source of communication with the membership of the NTA.

There is no doubt that we need to build and strengthen other forms of communication, Most buildings hold monthly ten minute meetings; contract action team captains have built communication chains in most of our buildings; we communicate regularly through social media. Nonetheless, right now this newsletter remains our primary way of communicating the same message to all of our members. 

We must reach and be read by as many of you as possible. As we enter into a new round of negotiations for a contract, this becomes especially important. 

Question of the Week

Last week's question: Have you participated in a negotiations focus group yet?

This week's question: Three weeks later, I am going to ask this question again: Have you participated in a negotiations focus group yet?

YES

NO

Sick Leave Bank Access Arbitration Ruling

On April 17, the NTA suffered a setback in an arbitration decision. 

Short version: The arbitrator ruled that the Sick Leave Bank Committee can consider prior use of personal sick days and sick leave bank days when deciding whether to grant days from the sick leave bank. Nor is how the committee weighs past usage tethered to past practice, but is left to the discernment of the committee. And should the two members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee from the administration vote no, and the two members from the NTA vote yes, the application is denied. 

Details: In the fall of 2024, The Sick Leave Bank Committee, comprising, at the time, Joany Santa and Liam Hurley for the administration and Mike Zilles and Chris Walsh for the NTA, denied a member access to the sick leave bank. In a 2-2 vote, with the two NTA members voting yes, and the two administrative members voting no, Joany Santa claimed that access to the sick leave bank was denied. 

Our contract states that the decision by the Sick Leave Bank Committee cannot be appealed. However, the NTA grieved the the fact that administrative members of the committee did not follow the correct criteria when making their decisions. 

The arbitrator ruled that the administrative members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee did introduce criteria not permissible under the contract (cost of a substitute, budgetary constraints of the district) and required that the Sick Leave Bank Committee meet again to reconsider its decision. But that is where the good news ends.

The arbitrator also ruled that members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee "may consider the employee’s prior use of all forms of sick leave available under the agreement, including prior grants from the sick leave bank itself."

The arbitrator also ruled that, in the absence of a majority, the application for sick leave days should be considered denied. 

In other words, the arbitrator ruled that, if the administrative members of the Sick Leave Bank decide that a person's prior use of sick leave days is excessive, they can deny access to the sick leave bank unilaterally.

Each of us contributes one of our own sick leave bank days in each September to support members stricken by serious illness. At the end of every year, any days remaining in the sick leave bank are returned to the district. To my knowledge, we have never used up all the days in the sick leave bank; some days have been returned to the district every year.

The days in the sick leave bank are our days. However, this arbitrator denied the NTA of a full voice in determining how they are used, which could essentially change how the Sick Leave Bank Committee has operated since it was created in 1970. 

UNUM Disability Insurance Open Enrollment Period (revised)

Open Enrollment dates: March 24, 2026 – May 22, 2026

In light of the sick leave bank decision summarized above, I have a heightened sense of urgency that members sign up for long-term disability insurance. In fact, the member who was the subject of the arbitration discussed above reached out to me and asked me to urge members to sign up for long term disability insurance. Without the insurance, the member told me, she would be destitute. 

So during this open enrollment period, I urge you to consider long-term disability insurance through UNUM, a group policy offered by MTA Benefits.

To learn more, click here.

To speak with an UNUM representative, click here.

To enroll online, click here.

GLP-1 Medications (new)

The NTA has filed an unfair labor charge against the City of Newton and the Newton Public Schools for unilaterally dropping GLP-1 coverage for weight loss from our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans.

The charge reads:

On or about February 23, 2026, the City of Newton announced in an email to all Newton Teacher Association (NTA) members who participate in the Blue Cross Blue Shield healthcare plans that, after August 1, 2026, the City would no longer cover GLP-1 medication for patients without diabetes in any of its health insurance plans. GLP-1 medications for weight loss had previously been covered under the health insurance plan as Tier 3 medications with a $55 co-pay. When the City announced this significant change to the existing health insurance policy, impacting the terms and conditions of NTA members and presented it as a fait accompli, it failed to give advance notice of a change to a mandatory subject of bargaining and ignored its duty to bargain on a proposed change in violation of Section 10(a)(5)of the law and, derivatively, Section 10(a)(1).

Elementary Schedule Change for 2026-2027 School Year (new)

Reminder: I sent the email below (slightly revised) to elementary school educators on Friday. 

NTA leadership has scheduled a meeting at the NTA office from 3:30 until 5:30 on Tuesday, May 5th for you to share your feedback on the proposed elementary school schedule. Our office is located at 29 Crafts Street, Suite 470. We are accessible.

As you know, the district has proposed changes to the 2026-2027 elementary schedule. The NTA will negotiate with the SC regarding the proposed changes the week of May 11, and the schedule will be finalized after negotiations conclude. Once we reach an agreement, it will be shared with elementary educators for ratification.

Following the meeting, we will also circulate a survey with elementary educators.

We need your feedback on these proposed changes!

I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday afternoon.

Know Your Contract: Workers' Compensation Insurance

As you are probably aware, the City of Newton and the Newton Public Schools do not provide workers' compensation insurance for members of Units A - E. However, the NTA has won contract language that protects members in the event of an injury on the job. 

These are your contractual protections:

If you are injured on the job, any days you must be absent due to the injury are covered through sick leave bank days, not personal sick leave days, for a period up to two and one half years. Any out-of-pocket medical expenses you incur are reimbursed by the NPS.

Your contractual benefits actually have advantages over workers' compensation insurance.

• If you miss days due to your injury, workers' compensation insurance pays 60% of your salary; our contractual benefit pays 100%.

• If you miss more than one month due to on-the-job injury, the time you are absent and receiving workers' compensation benefits does not count as creditable service towards your retirement. Time you are out under our contractual benefit do.

There are disadvantages too. The largest?

• Members who work during the school year and then work in ESY are not covered during their employment in the summer.

This is a problem we have been trying to solve in "Labor Relations" meetings all year. To date, we have not reached a resolution. It appears now that the path to a fair resolution will be to negotiate this issue with the school committee when we begin negotiating a new contract. (FYI, members have raised concerns about this issue in a number of bargaining focus groups.)

To access your benefits, follow these steps:

1. File an incident report as soon after the accident as possible.

2. Download this letter and bring it with you when you visit your medical provider. 

• Your provider will assume that if you are injured on the job, your medical bills will be paid through workers' compensation insurance, making you ineligible to use your own health insurance. You submit this letter so that your medical provider will bill your personal health insurance.

3. If your injury causes you to miss work, follow up with an email to HRSupport@newton.k12.ma.us letting them know your were injured on the job, and asking them to use days from the sick leave bank to cover any days you are out of work

4. Save all receipts for any out-of-pocket medical expenses you incur due to your injury. Submit these to HRSupport@newton.k12.ma.us when your treatment has ended.

If you treatment extends beyond three months, at three months you may submit any medical bills you have for a partial reimbursement.

ESY Workers' Compensation Protections (new)

FYI, district administration shared with the NTA a proposed policy to protect members who are injured on the job if working in the ESY program. 

The policy proposal would provide pay for anyone injured on the job for any time they lost while working at ESY. This would apply to employees are covered by the Unit C Collective Bargaining Agreement during the school year and those who only work for NPS for the ESY program. 

The policy would also cover some of the injured employee's out of pocket medical expenses.

While this is certainly a step forward, the policy is inadequate for the following reasons:

• For one it is a policy, not part of the Unit C Collective Bargaining Unit, and, as such, is essentially unenforceable. The district reserves for itself the sole authority to administer the policy.

• It does not cover those circumstances where a NPS school year employee has ongoing needs when the next school year opens in September: no coverage of further out-of-pocket medical expenses, no automatic access to the sick leave bank should the member need to remain out on leave.

The NTA believes that if you work in Newton during the school year and then work in ESY during the summer, you should have the same rights and benefits during the summer that you have during the school year. This is a bargaining goal.

That said, the need for the contractual protections of the contract in case of a summer injury on the job is necessary and should be honored for this coming summer and retroactively for last summer.

Negotiations Focus Groups

Our next cycle of contract negotiations is rapidly approaching!

Before the NTA’s negotiations team sits down with the school committee’s, we need to understand better the priorities of our members - what are we looking for in a fair compensation package? What do we want to see changed about our working conditions? Where can our leave policies be improved? Once we have the answers to these questions, we can craft a bargaining platform that will be the team’s north star as they navigate negotiations.

And that’s where you come in!

Over the next few weeks each building’s NTA building representatives and contract action team captains will be holding members-only focus groups to gather input.

Please make every effort to attend. While there will be a forthcoming bargaining survey, and our team will always seek member input, these focus groups are pivotal in creating our platform. They’re some of the best opportunities you’ll have to ensure that your voice is heard and incorporated into the foundation of our negotiations.

NTA Office Relocation

The Newton Teachers Association Office has moved. We are now located at 29 Crafts Street, Suite 470. Our new office is handicapped accessible. We invite you to stop in and see our -- your -- relocated NTA office. 

Sharing the eBulletin with the Larger Community

We currently publish every eBulletin on our website here. We will also now allow community members to sign up and receive the eBulletin in their inbox. 

Please share this link with members of the community whom you think would appreciate receiving the eBulletin.

In solidarity,

Mike Zilles, President

Newton Teachers Association