(WESTLAND, MICH.) Feb. 8, 2025 –
Teachers at Wayne-Westland Community Schools stay working without a contract as negotiations between the teachers union and the school district continue to press on.
Negotiations have reached no avail since their start last March, and both parties failed to reach an agreement following a meeting as reported by CBS Detroit mid-December.
“The district and the teachers’ union have been working collaboratively through contract negotiations for the past several months,” read a letter from Wayne-Westland Community Schools Interim Superintendent Jen Curry. The letter included a list of agreed-upon dates through January of this year.
Though being without a new contract since August, teachers have been returning to work. Teachers will and have continued under previous contract precedent since August, which means no wage changes so far this academic year.
Currently avoiding any teachers strikes, the period has become the longest amount of time without a contract by Wayne-Westland Community Schools since a 4-day strike happened in 2008. This was one of the first to happen in Michigan since the state outlawed teacher strikes in 1992.
Looming amongst this lack of wages lies an insurance premium increase, with health insurance asking for increased rates averaging at over 11%, which came into effect starting last month.
The district published a statement last year, reading: “Wayne Westland Community Schools is dedicated to being fiscally sound while creating an environment where our students and staff can thrive…The District is dedicated to this process and to working together with our teachers’ union to reach a mutually beneficial contract agreement.”
