GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Editor's Note: The above video features previous reporting on the negotiations in Garfield Heights.
After nearly seven months of contentious negotiations, the Garfield Heights Teachers' Association (GHTA) has announced that it has ratified the tentative agreement on a new contract with the Garfield Heights School District.
The new contract impacts GHTA teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, speech and hearing therapists, and psychologists.
“This agreement would not have been possible without the unwavering support of parents, community members, and partners such as the Black Women Committee of Cuyahoga County, the North Shore Federation of Labor, Northeast Ohio Education Association, Maple Organization Support Team, Ohio Education Association active and retired, and local businesses in Garfield Heights,” said Garfield Heights Teachers Association spokesperson Susan Hart. “We would also like to lift up all of the hard work and dedication of our teachers in supporting our negotiating team to ensure that we have the very best learning conditions for our students. At the end of the day, this is about having the tools we need to serve our students in the best way that we possibly can. Everything we did at the bargaining table, in the school buildings, and in the community was done with that goal in the forefront.”
According to the GHTA, one of the most critical components of the tentative agreement is the establishment of a joint safety committee in each school building in which teachers and administrators can work together to develop real-time solutions to the ongoing safety issues occurring in the district.
The union adds that limits on the growing amount of non-voluntary duties assigned to teachers were established so that more of their time can be devoted to developing quality lessons for students. The GHTA says that the negotiated wage increases in the tentative agreement "are a first step in an attempt to ensure that Garfield Heights teachers are no longer the lowest paid teachers in Cuyahoga County."
The tentative agreement between the two sides was reached on Friday after almost nine hours of negotiations on that day. Hart says that a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, LaTwana Williams, worked to bring representatives from the Garfield Heights City School District back to the bargaining table to help hammer out a deal.
Garfield Heights teachers had been working without a contract since their previous collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30. GHTA issued a 10-day strike notice on October 18 with a tentative strike date set for Monday, Oct 31.
GHTA had previously issued a 10-day strike notice in September following five months of negotiations before the two sides met with a federal mediator to assist in efforts to work out a deal and avoid the strike.
The below video features previous coverage of the negotiations:
Previous Reporting: