Salem Teachers Union Rejects 1-Year Contract Offer

SALEM, MA — The Salem Teachers Union rejected a one-year contract offer it said would have provided most members with a 4.25 percent wage increase for next year, saying that the short-term deal would not solve "the problems facing our district and our members."

"The big issues that our union is fighting for need long-term solutions," the union said in a statement released on social media Monday night.

Salem teachers are one of several educator unions on the North Shore with contracts expiring at the end of this summer. While the Danvers teachers union reached a deal with the School Committee that includes a 13 percent raise over four years, collective bargaining agreements in most surrounding communities remain unsigned heading into the summer.

The STU said the next negotiating session is scheduled for July 9.

"The STU reiterated our demand that the School Committee offer the long-term wage increases that our members need," the STU statement said.

The union did say than an agreement was reached on a contract provision that would maintain and update job descriptions for all members.

Eighty-five Salem teachers attended the School Committee chambers as silent representatives on Monday a week after the final day of the 2023-24 school year.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)