BFS Union
Support the workers at Brooklyn Friends School
The following letter was sent by the BFS Union to the Board of Trustees on Thursday, October 10, 2024:
Dear Brooklyn Friends School Board of Trustees:
We write to you as the colleagues of the BFS Union to express our increasing concern about the status of negotiations for our next Collective Bargaining Agreement. We are currently operating under the terms of our outdated contract, previously extended by mutual agreement through September 30, 2024. This was a stop-gap extension, not a long-term solution. All colleagues in the bargaining unit are currently working without the expected cost-of-living increase or other raises for the 2024-25 school year, and are waiting for clarity on a number of issues ranging from appropriate class sizes, work-day breaks, and leave time that will affect us all for years to come.
We understand the nature of negotiations as that of coming to agreement through the exchange of proposals by both labor and management. For months, our democratically elected negotiating committee has engaged in good-faith bargaining, striving to reach a contract that is fair and addresses the vital concerns of our membership while adapting to the counter-proposals of the administration. Unfortunately, these efforts have been met with intransigence and disregard for the fundamental Quaker principles of our mission. The BFS negotiating team has consistently refused to engage on a number of our proposals, including creation of a Labor-Management Committee and improvement of family leave. At this point, the School leadership has stopped making movement towards an agreement and continues to reject our ideas for amicable resolution. We are disheartened that the School has not adequately addressed issues raised in our proposals, economic and otherwise, in a substantial and sustainable way that supports our colleague body.
The impact of these negotiations extends beyond the immediate concerns of wages and benefits; it reflects on the very culture of our school. As colleagues who teach, support, and care for the wellbeing and education of two-year-olds through twelfth-graders, we know the vital role that we occupy in the lives of children and families who are entrusted to us. That the terms of our employment, wages, and benefits are not yet afforded the seriousness and dignity which we seek is not only disheartening and demoralizing, but also contradicts the very integrity of the stated Quaker values of Brooklyn Friends School’s mission and its stated goal to “Be the Light.”
In the spirit of harmonious partnership, we urge you to guide BFS leadership to come to the bargaining table with proposals that actually address the economic and other needs of workers living in New York City in 2024 and beyond. We deserve a fair contract and we deserve it now!