GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — The deadline has come and now Grosse Pointe teachers are working without a contract. The current two-year contract ended Tuesday, with no agreement reached.
Both sides spent the day bargaining with a mediator from the State of Michigan, ending negotiations at 4:00 pm.
“I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, frustrated,” said Jackie Shelson, Co-President of the Grosse Pointe Education Association. "How long can people work here if we’re not getting paid a competitive rate?”
Shelson has been a teacher in the district for 17 years and said her fellow teachers are leaving the district at an alarming rate. She says 35 teachers have now left the district, not including retirements, mainly leaving for other districts offering better pay and benefits.
“It impacts students when there’s resignations," Shelson said. "Do they know if their favorite teacher is going to be in the district this year? I don't know.”
Negotiations have been ongoing for months with teachers showing up to school board meetings throughout the summer in support of each other.
“We are talking and trying to get closer, but we're not close enough yet,” Shelson said.
The district says earlier this summer, 4 other unions and non-affiliated employees reached new agreements with the district which included step advancement and 2% wage increases for top salaries. They say the same increases were proposed to teachers.
“We don't want to be the average district, I want to be the best," said Grosse Pointe North teacher Brian Stackpoole. "Grosse Pointe is the best and should always be the best, and that’s what I'm here fighting for.”
The statement from the school district concluded by saying "Today and Wednesday the GPPSS and GPEA bargaining teams will be bargaining with the assistance of a mediator from the State of Michigan. GPPSS is confident that this bargaining will result in a successor agreement with our valued teachers."
