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Contract Highlights:
Provisional Teachers
Caren Carew and Carol Pacheco
August, 2004
An Open Letter to All New Provisionals
Dear Provisional Teacher, Nurse, and other Bargaining Unit Members,
Welcome to the Boston Public Schools. We have written this memo to acquaint you with some of the major benefits and rights that all members of the teacher bargaining unit enjoy. Enclosed also is a synopsis of your contractual benefits under the current collective bargaining agreement. (When there is a new collective bargaining agreement, this letter will be updated as necessary.)
Salary Step Placement
Teachers* are entitled to receive salary credit for up to three years of teaching experience outside the Boston system. The service must have been under contract, full-time (not substitute), and for 160 days or more in the given school year(s) you must have taught under a Mass. Teaching Certificate or equivalent.
You must apply for salary credit by providing documentation of the above on official stationery with letterhead from the school district. Your documentation MUST be accompanied by a "PSO-3" form requesting the new salary step. Do not wait to file these forms, as credit is retroactive under only certain conditions. (Do NOT assume that the recruitment office or anyone else who may have your credentials on file has forwarded any of your credentials to the proper authority for processing. You have to follow up on this yourself.) As always, feel free to call one of us for a full explanation.
All credentials and applications must be filed with the Office of Human Resources directly, preferably in person. Do not rely on your building administrator to do this for you. For all important personnel submissions to Court St., the following is STRONGLY advised: Do not mail, either by interdepartmental mail or by U.S. mail.
Instead, hand-deliver two copies of each document
to the Office of Human Resources, which is on the 3rd floor. Have all
copies date-stamped, and retain one of each copy.
Teachers are additionally eligible for up to
three years' credit for service inside the Boston system. Eligible service
includes substitute service (as long as you worked 120 days or more in
a given school year), provisional service, and prior permanent service.
Teachers who were paraprofessionals can get salary credit for time worked as a paraprofessional on a 1 to 3 basis, that is one year of teacher salary credit for every three years worked as a paraprofessional. (Similarly, teachers who were paraprofessionals can get on a one-to-one basis creditable time towards career award service based on their paraprofessional service.) To obtain credit in either of these cases, a PSO-3 form should be filed with the Office of Human Resources. Using that form, state specifically what you are seeking, based on what service. The Office of Human Resources will verify your claim.
Academic Lane Placements
Provisional Teachers are also eligible for academic lane advancement, with increments provided for Bachelors + 15, (Graduate or In-Service credits), Masters, Masters + 15, Masters + 30, Masters + 45, Masters + 60, and Doctorate. YOU MUST FILE A PSO-3 APPLICATION TO ADVANCE LANES. (As stated above, do not rely on anyone else to do this for you; and, further, do not assume that your credentials are on file with the Office of Human Resources unless you have a date-stamped copy to prove it. N.B. Make sure all supporting documentation is attached to any application requiring same. As above, keep date-stamped copies of all material. When filling out the PSO-3 form, only your signature is required.
As above with applications for salary step credit, file all documents yourself as soon as possible directly with the Office of Human Resources. Incidentally, you should save all paystubs to confirm salary amounts/changes, etc. Should you not see a deserved payroll change within three paycheck cycles, you should call one of us.
Vocational teachers may be eligible for salary lane adjustment. Please consult the Contract pages (116-119) for more information.
HINT: SAVE YOUR PAYSTUBS and MONITOR ANY PAYROLL ADJUSTMENTS
It is good practice for you to retain all paystubs and to at least twice yearly review your paystub for accuracy of deductions and correct lane and step placement . Further, it is good practice to review carefully your paystub after any salary change request to insure proper payment.)
Sick and Personal Days
You are entitled each year to l5 sick days and 4 personal days. Unused sick (12 if hired between 10/1 and 1/1) and personal days accumulate year to year. You may use personal day(s) for any reason with notice to the building administrator. You need not give a reason for requesting a personal day, and you may take the day(s) anytime you wish. (There are a few minor contractual restrictions regarding use of personal leave. Consult your building representative for a full explanation.) Also, days are given for bereavement. For a complete list of allowed leave, please consult the BTU contract, page 133 through 140.
Health and Welfare Benefits
Provisionals are eligible to partake in benefits provided by the Health and Welfare Fund. Major benefits include a dental plan, a pre-paid legal plan, and an eye care center. For enrollment in the plan, call the Health and Welfare Office (located at Union headquarters) at 617-288-0500. Ask for a brochure which gives a detailed explanation of all benefits.
Health Insurance
Health insurance is provided to provisionals through the City's Group Insurance Office at #617-635-4570. Call that number for more information or visit at Boston City Hall. You have only 60 calendar days from your first day of service to register. **. See below ***
Direct Deposit of Paychecks
Provisional employees are now eligible to have their paychecks directly deposited into their bank. The Direct Deposit plan has been overwhelmingly successful. A full explanation can be found in a Superintendent's Circular at your school site.
Joining the BTU
All of the above benefits have come as a result of collective bargaining between the BTU and the Boston School Committee.
As exclusive bargaining agent, the BTU negotiates the contract, enforces the contract, and promotes the general welfare of the membership.
As a member of the BTU, you'll also belong to the Greater Boston Labor Council, the Mass Federation of Teachers (MFT), the Mass. AFL-CIO, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). You will begin to receive monthly mailings from the BTU, MFT, and the AFT.
Joining with nearly 9,000 others makes us a stronger union, better able to represent all of us. We encourage you to join. If you haven't already filled out a membership application, please ask your union Building Representative for one.
Credit Union
Provisionals are also eligible to join the Credit Union (no relation to the BTU) with offices located at BTU headquarters and also at 333 Longwood Avenue, Boston,
1 Herald Square , Boston , 91 Montvale Avenue , Stoneham , 137 South Street , Boston and the Braintree Executive Park , 150 Grossman Drive , Braintree , MA 02184 . Through the Credit Union, you may authorize payroll deductions for savings and checking, arrange for a loan, and take care of many other banking needs. For more information, call 1-781-843-5626.
Union Operations
Our membership meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday
of each month at 4:00 PM at the Union headquarters, Bayside Mall in Dorchester.
(On occasion, because of the schedule of events at Bayside like the Flower
Show, the membership meeting date has to be changed; notice is amply given.)
Each school has Union Building Representatives, elected to serve the staff
in the building in dealings with the administration. The Building Representative
is also the first line of communications between the building staff and
the Union Office. Many questions can be easily and quickly answered at
the building level by asking the building representative.
The Union employs seven full-time officers and staff to serve the membership. Office hours are 9:00AM - 5:00PM; the office is open all week days including school vacations, but is closed on state, local, and national holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Good Friday. The office number is 617-288-2000. A taped message, which gives information on current issues, can be heard 24 hours at 617-288-2463. The Boston Teachers Union provides a variety of services; we encourage you to take advantage of them. If you have any questions or need any other information, please call either one of us.
* The Word "Teachers" in this document is a generic term for all provisionals. Nurses, and others, too, are eligible for salary credit, but the criteria for creditable service varies. Please call the Union office for information.
** Please note that this 60-day time limit for registering for medical insurance is firm . If you miss your particular deadline, you'll not be able to register for insurance until the spring of 2005 for insurance to take effect July 1, 2005.
To see a summary of important contract benefits and provisions for new hires, click here.