NTA eBulletin: September 6, 2026
- Mike Zilles and Ryan Normandin
- 8 hours ago
- 9 min read
Question of the Week (new)
This week's question: Do you agree with the following statement: I believe that if we come together and do all we can to support our negotiations team, we can win a fair contract before the current contract expires?
Negotiations Update (updated)
This year we begin bargaining in earnest.
The NTA's Negotiations Committee exchanged ground rules proposals with the school committee over the summer.
Our team will have our first meeting of the year in September (see below).
We hope to be ready to exchange contract proposals by October.
As nearly every union in the City of Newton will begin bargaining new contracts this fall, the City has invited union leadership from across newton to meet with Mayor Laredo, City of Newton CFO Maureen Lemieux, and members of the City’s bargaining team on September 16, 2026.
Your NTA bargaining team will be meeting next on September 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 in the NTA office, 29 Crafts Street, Suite 470, Newton, MA. Our primary topic will be ground rules. We have exchanged proposals with the school committee, and the NTA Negotiations Team must consider our response to the committee's counter-proposal.
Here is what you can do to support your team!
Please complete this bargaining survey asap.
You can join the the NTA Negotiations Team as a silent observer; please respond to this email to let us know in advance that you plan on attending.
And please begin to wear your t-shirts in October (6th and 7th)
High Schools: T-Shirt Tuesdays
PreK, Elementary, & Middle Schools: Wear'em Wednesdays
Reach out to your Building Rep or Contract Action Team (CAT) Captain to see how you can support the NTA campaign in your building.
Please bear in mind: Giving the negotiations process a chance to work collaboratively and participating in a campaign to support your team are not antithetical.
On the contrary, building solidarity around a contract campaign will make all the work we do go more smoothly.
Update on GLP-1 Negotiations (new)
Ryan Normandin and Mike Zilles
Member Survey
During the summer, we shared a Google Form so you could let us know what you were doing in the wake of the loss of insurance coverage.
But we neglected to ask your permission to share your stories, and when we read them, we knew they had to be shared! This time, we specifically ask each of you permission to share your feedback anonymously. We will share feedback only from members who give us permission.
So please fill out the Google form again (or, if you didn't fill it out the first time, fill it out now!).
Background
We have been trying to negotiate a solution to the removal of GLP-1s for weight loss to the Blue Cross Blue Shield formulary with the City since the spring.
In a letter sent out to participants in the Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans last spring, the NPS and the City claimed that BCBS would no longer be covering GLP-1's. This is not entirely accurate. In fact, BCBS is leaving the decision to individual districts as to whether they would like to continue covering GLP-1's - at a higher cost than the base rate, using what is called a "rider."
Newton chose not to cover these drugs for weight loss. But it is simply not true that the city and schools are being forced not to cover them by BCBS. By choosing to not cover these medications, they chose to eliminate a benefit that provides our members with essential medical care they need, and the City and NPS saved themselves millions of dollars.
We demanded they bargain this change. And we filed a charge with the Department of Labor Relations alleging that the City and Schools failed in its obligation to bargain this issue before making this change unilaterally.
When the City and NPS agreed to meet, in a spirit of collaboration, we proposed what we believed would be a win-win-win for the NPS, the City of Newton, and our members: a reimbursement structure to cover the cost of GLP-1 medications that would allow members to pay out of pocket to purchase these medications through their pharmacies and then submit for reimbursement to the City. This proposal would have made it possible for our members to continue purchasing these essential medications, while the City would not have needed to raise premium rates. The cost of reimbursements would have been much less than the savings the city and schools had realized by eliminating the medications altogether.
In short, by discontinuing access to GLP-1 medications for weight loss, the city saved a significant amount in prescription costs. Our proposal would have had the district share some of these savings through these reimbursements.
This structure for reimbursement looked very promising, but we discovered that the manufacturers have, in their fine print, specifically disallowed that type of arrangement.
This was disheartening: Why did the pharmaceutical companies add this fine print: They are in a power struggle with the health insurance industry, and ouru members, who need these medications, are caught in the middle.
We need our partners in the City and NPS to work with us to support them.
Current State of Negotiations
In spite of this temporary setback, we continue to explore other possibilities.
During our last negotiation session, the city agreed to ask the Blue Cross Blue Shield team that they work with to come in and answer our questions. We have a lot of questions around costs and what assumptions are underlying some of the city's numbers, and we're hopeful that meeting with BCBS will allow us to get some answers and then move forward more productively.
We're hoping to have this meeting within the next three weeks; we're just waiting to hear back from the city on which date works.
We are really sorry that our members are being put through this. It's not right, and I wish the city shared our urgency in trying to fix this.
Again, you can support our efforts by filling out a brief survey on how you are managing the loss of insurance coverage.
Preparation Time - First Two Teacher Days (revised)
During the first two days--Monday and Tuesday--before students return, you were contractually entitled to six hours of unscheduled time to prepare. (Anna Nolin cited the contract on this at the end of her opening days schedule.)
I know it is now after the fact, but help us make sure that you get this time every year! If you haven't already, please use this Google Form to record the how much prep time you actually had.
Preparation Time - Elementary (revised)
All elementary educators are contractually guaranteed 225 minutes of prep time per week. All elementary educators are also contractually guaranteed an additional three hours of prep time per month as follows:
Classroom teachers are guaranteed an additional "three (3) hours of personal planning time per month (four (4) hours in a month that has five (5) weekly short days), one (1) hour on each early release Wednesday when there is not a staff meeting."
"Specialists, Special Educators, and ELL teacher schedules shall include the equivalent of the additional weekly short day personal planning time (180 minutes of planning time per month; 240 minutes in a month with five (5) weekly short days). Such time for specialists and ELL teachers may occur on weekly short day afternoons and/or during the regular school day."
I want to highlight the second bullet: if you are a special subject teacher, a special educator, or an ELL teacher (this includes mental health professionals such as psychologists and social workers, as well as related service providers), you have a right to those additional three hours of prep time per month. If you don't get it during Wednesday afternoons because, for example, you're running PLC's, you must include it in your schedule.
And please, do not neglect to include lunch in your schedules!
It is on all of us to ensure that our hard-won contract is appropriately enacted. If you have any questions, reach out to a building rep.
SECOND REMINDER!
First Annual Book Block Party!
Hosted by the NTA
Save the Date: Sunday, September 27th 2-5pm (Revised)
Thanks to all who brought books to Convocation on September 1! Your donations are much appreciated!
We're excited to share that the NTA will be hosting its first ever Book Block Party, an opportunity for families and community members to come together and celebrate the return to school with free books, free ice cream, and free activities!We still need more volunteers!
Use the Volunteer Form to sign up to help set up or run the NTA Book Block Party!
· Planning Committee
· Set-Up Help – Saturday 9/26 or Sunday 9/27
· Run a Station – Sunday 9/27
· Scoop Ice Cream – Sunday 9/27
· Circulate and Host – Sunday 9/27
· Clean Up – Sunday 9/27
· Anything else that you'd like to contribute!
We hope you'll join us in contributing however you can to a fun, family-friendly event.
Know your Contract: New FMLA leave benefit
Beginning this fall, a new leave benefit we negotiated in our last contract comes into effect. Here is the relevant language in our contracts (Units A, B and E, Article 5, section 3; Unit C, Article 8, Section 3)
Effective September 1, 2026, employees eligible and approved for leave pursuant to the FMLA may use up to fifteen (15) days to be deducted from the employee's accrued sick leave for FMLA qualifying circumstances requiring the Employee to attend an ill spouse, child, or parent, per FMLA definition of said, provided that the Employee has first exhausted their 14 annual sick days and their 2 personal days.
New Benefit, explained:
Members of Units A, B, C and E can currently use up to 14 of their own personal illness days to care for a relative who is ill. Employees are allowed up to sixty (60) days of FMLA per year, that is, leave protected by the federal Family Medical Leave Act. However, the FMLA leave benefit only provides for unpaid leave. This new benefit allows a member to use up to fifteen (15) more of their personal illness days for paid leave to care for their spouse, child, or parent if they qualify for FMLA leave, provided they have already used fourteen (14) personal illness days to care for a relative and have used their two personal days. This brings the total number of days a person can be on paid leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent to 31. Employees cannot access the sick leave bank to cover these days.
Q & A
1. How much notice do I need to give before taking this leave?
If it is a leave to care for a family member who is ill, there is no exact amount of notice you are required to give. If you can give a longer notice, you should. But sometimes you can only give as much notice as you can.
2. How many of my sick days can I use to care for my (parent) (spouse) (child)?
You have 14 days that you can use from your personal illness days to care for your relative.
Beginning this year, you can use up to fifteen additional personal illness days to care for your relatives if they have a FMLA qualifying condition that requires you to care for them.
You must have your relative’s medical provider fill out the FMLA paperwork that the district sends you when you request the leave.
In order to qualify for these additional 15 paid days, you must first use the 14 days I mentioned above and use your two personal days.
After these paid days are exhausted, you can remain out for a total of 60 days on FMLA leave per year, with the last 29 unpaid. However, during this period of unpaid FMLA leave, the district will continue to contribute its share towards your health insurance.
After that, historically the district has been very generous about allowing members to remain on leave to care for their relatives, but the leave will be unpaid, and you must cover the full cost of your health insurance.
3. Do I lose credit towards my retirement when I am out on leave?
Paid sick days count towards creditable service, so the 31 days you are out on leave count as creditable service towards your retirement.
Historically, the MTRS has allowed members to be out for up to one month unpaid and still count the remaining part of the year as a full year of creditable service.
Retirement Plus Update
Both the Massachusetts Senate and House have passed versions of a bill that will allow members who did not previously select Retirement Plus to join now. The bills are currently in a conference committee, which must complete its work by January 5th. The two versions of the bill differ on how much they require members to pay to select Retirement Plus more.
In solidarity,
Mike Zilles, President
Newton Teachers Association
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