After 14 Months, Tentative Agreement Reached for Canton Public Schools and Canton Teachers Association

Following an "intense" 14-month negotiation process and three mediations in Canton, Canton Public Schools has reached a tentative agreement with the Canton Teachers Association (CTA) Bargaining Units A and E, according to an announcement by the Canton School Committee and Superintendent Derek Folan on January 31, 2023.

"We greatly appreciate the diligence and hard work put forward by our Canton Public Schools negotiating committee and the Canton Teachers Association leadership," Superintendent Folan said. "Our common goal was to create a sustainable contract that benefits our students, teachers, Education Support Professionals, and the Canton community. I am very pleased that we have come to terms on contracts Unit A and E."

On January 24th, before the time the third mediation session was held, CTA had organized a standout for an hour in the late afternoon at 960 Washington Street in Canton. On behalf of its members, CTA was advocating for a livable wage for education support professionals, competitive wages and benefits to allow for staff retention, ability to take time off, and freedom for discretion. That standout followed a standout on January 14th at which Massachusetts Teachers Association has noted that several hundred teachers attended.

The next steps include presenting contracts by CTA leadership to the bargaining units for ratification by unit members and then ratification by the School Committee. The School Committee is hoping to complete the process by February 16th.

"This has been a long and thorough process, but ultimately it is clear we all had the same goal: To put forward labor agreements that allow the Canton Public Schools to move forward and continue to provide the best possible education for the children of our community," said School Committee Chair Kristian Darigan Merenda. "I want to thank the negotiation teams on both sides of the table for finding common ground and reaching consensus."

Sources: (1) Press Release, Canton Public Schools and (2) Canton Teachers Association