After more than a year of negotiations, Worcester’s school committee and the local teachers union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract through August 2026, according to a Worcester Public Schools news release.
The district said the agreement includes “a comprehensive wage package with longevity benefits that places Worcester teacher salaries ahead of those of nearby districts and would be retroactive for the first year.” The new contract also features incentives for teachers to further their education and professional development through tuition reimbursement and other items.
Members of the union, the Educational Association of Worcester, now will review the contract and decide whether to accept it. If approval happens, the contract will go to the school committee for ratification.
“I am pleased that the Worcester Public Schools, Worcester School Committee, and EAW were able to find common ground and reach a tentative agreement for our educators,” said Mayor Joseph Petty, who chairs the school committee. “Our teachers will receive a contract that reflects their tireless work and professionalism to benefit our students.”
Members of the union for the state's second largest school district have been working under the terms of an expired contract since September 2022. The tentative agreement follows months of bargaining, during which the EAW has called for increased wages and improved working conditions like more lesson planning time.
Earlier in May, the union passed a vote of no confidence in the school committee after the committee announced that negotiations were at a stalemate and it would seek a state-appointed mediator to help settle the dispute.
At the time, the union had rejected the school committee’s latest offer, which the district said would provide educators an average 18.3% salary increase over the next four years. EAW officials argued that number was misleading and complained that the contract proposal forced new educators to contribute 1% of their earnings to a city trust fund to address the city’s growing cost of supporting retiree health insurance.
Details of the new tentative contract agreement were not immediately released. But in a statement, EAW President Melissa Verdier said the union has “reached a place where we feel confident that our members will be satisfied with the terms of this tentative agreement.”
