BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Teachers Federation held a protest on Wednesday to demand negotiations for a new contract.
The teachers say the school board has had months negotiate a new contract and that not doing so impacts the teachers and their students.
The teachers 2 On Your Side spoke with said Wednesday afternoon protest is the culmination of months of frustration and lack of communication from the school board.
When 2 On Your Side spoke with the president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, he said he initially spoke with members of the school board back in April but the school board never agreed to a day to sit and continue contract negotiations.
He also said that he recognized the school board wanted to address their own needs wit the salary increases and he wants them to show the same considerations for the educators in the district.
"They want to have salaries and benefits commensurate with other districts, well so do we," Phil Rumore of Buffalo Teachers Federation said. "But we also want smaller class sizes, we want more school counselors. We more school attendance teachers, we want more English language learner teachers. Those things could be in place right now. They're not."
However, Buffalo Public Schools says the claims by the Buffalo Teachers Federation is "premature" because there are five dates set for contract negotiations starting on September 25 and going through the first week of October.
"We look forward to getting to the table and having tough, spirited negotiations with the federation with the intention of reaching an agreement," Buffalo Public Schools General Counsel Nathaniel Kuzma said over the phone on Wednesday night.
Kuzma said the district tried to have negotiations with BTF in April, but members of the union walked out of the session. He says that district looks forward to sitting down with the union next week.
Rumore said he planned to address all of his concerns with the school board. He told 2 On Your Side that teachers will continue to protest until the school board agrees to dates for future negotiations.