Hosted by the WMALF on May 1, the rally highlighted the Holyoke Teachers Association
During the afternoon of Friday, May 1, local unions, community organizations, and community members gathered at Heritage State Park in Holyoke to celebrate International Workers’ Day. The focus of the rally was the Holyoke Teachers Association (HTA) who have been without a contract for over 300 days. The rally ended outside of city hall, with speakers emphasizing the duty of Mayor Joshua Garcia to bargain with the teachers union as they pursue a fair contract.
Members of HTA and other unions spoke to the crowd of a few hundred, mentioning the conditions that Holyoke teachers are fighting against during this recent protracted bargaining. Low staff retention rates, low pay, poorly resourced classrooms, and health and safety concerns were all brought up in comments made by HTA member Peter Duffy as he addressed the rally participants. “Students deal with the sick teacher who couldn’t take a day off, an inexperienced teacher who didn’t get any prep time, a classroom with no heat, spotty Wi‑Fi, and no pencils because the ones I bought last week already ran out.”
Union president Nick Cream said that he was appreciative of the support that the teachers received from the community who attended the rally. The union returns to bargaining on Wednesday May 6 and encourages its members to attend the session as silent representatives. So far, topics of bargaining such as wages have come “pretty close in terms of numbers,” according to Cream.