Message from the President

Need Assistance from the NTU?

The Nashua Teachers’ Union is a strong organization because of the many members who work tirelessly on behalf of their colleagues. Much of this work is done by volunteers who serve as union representatives, participate on labor-management committees and negotiating teams, attend School Board meetings, or simply help educate their colleagues about their contractual rights.

When members contact me for assistance, I often connect them with another union member who has the experience or role best suited to help with their particular issue. The NTU has a large network of knowledgeable members who are available to answer questions, provide guidance, and help advocate for their colleagues.

If you need assistance, here is a quick guide to whom you should contact:

General union questions, building-specific concerns, or questions about your contract, please contact one of the union representatives for your building or bargaining unit:

2026-2027 Board of Directors

Potential contract violations, issues that could affect your employment, or other serious workplace concerns, including significant changes to your working conditions, please contact an NTU officer or grievance chair.

Grievance Chairs and Officers

Questions about NTU benefits, services, events, or opportunities to serve on a committee, please contact me directly:

nashuatu@nashuatu.org

NTU Committees

One of the ways the Nashua Teachers’ Union serves its members is through its committees. Some are joint labor-management committees that bring NTU representatives and District administration together to address issues and improve our schools. Others help the NTU conduct its own operations and serve our membership.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to highlight several of these committees and explain the important work they do. Some also have opportunities for members to get involved. Serving on a committee is a great way for rank-and-file members to become more active in the NTU and help represent the interests of their colleagues.

The first committee I want to highlight is one of our most important: Education Council.

Education Council was established through Article X of our teacher contract decades ago. The Council consists of six members: the Superintendent, two members of the School Board, and three NTU members—one representing the high school level, one representing the middle school level, and one representing the elementary/preschool level.

What makes Education Council unique is that it is the only contractual committee where School Board members, the Superintendent, and NTU representatives regularly sit down together to discuss issues affecting our schools.

Under the teacher contract, Education Council is charged with recommending to the School Board “practices and policies pertinent to the District.” By majority vote, the Council may also form subcommittees to study specific issues and prepare reports and recommendations for consideration by the School Board.

The most recent Education Council study presented to the School Board examined the changes made to Nashua’s middle schools for the 2024–2025 school year. The report was presented to the School Board last October, and I had the privilege of presenting the findings alongside School Board member Shewanda Lewis.

If you are curious about the type of work Education Council does, you can read that study here:

Education Council Report to the Board of Education on 2024-2025 Middle School Changes  

In addition to recommending policies and practices to the School Board, Education Council provides an important forum for the School Board and Superintendent to hear directly about issues affecting our schools. Rank-and-file members can share concerns, ideas, and information with their Education Council representatives, who can then bring those issues forward for discussion. Representatives also report relevant information from Education Council back to members at the elementary/preschool, middle school, and high school levels.

Education Council also oversees $10,000 provided annually by the School Board to support teachers in obtaining new and innovative instructional materials. For the past several years, the Council has voted to use these funds through the DonorsChoose program, which gives teachers the opportunity to identify and request materials that directly meet the needs of their students and classrooms.

Education Council’s first meeting of the 2026–2027 school year will be October 14, 2026. If you have an issue, concern, idea, or other information that you would like shared with the School Board and Superintendent, please reach out to your Education Council representative.

Their contact information is below:

High School
Wendy Dufoe
dufoew@nashua.edu

Middle School
Jon-Michael Pearson
pearsonj@nashua.edu

Elementary/Preschool
Wendy Stough
stoughw@nashua.edu 

Food Service Negotiations

The Food Service contract expires on August 31, 2027. Therefore, we'll begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement this winter. If you are a food service worker and are interested in serving on the negotiations team, please email me at nashuatu@nashuatu.org. Here is a copy of the current Food Service contract for you to review:

Food Service Contract

Payroll Issues: Update

I am sure many of you are as frustrated as I am regarding the many payroll issues affected not just the members of the Nashua Teachers' Union but other city employees as well. As I stated earlier, the main culprit is City Hall since they process your pay and benefits, not the District's Human Resources Department. I spoke with the mayor last week and urged him to do everything possible to fix these issues immediately. The mayor was understanding, apologetic and promised to take action. On Friday, he informed me that most of the problems have been resolved, and that an email will be going out to the affected members on Monday informing them that their issue has been fixed.

I sincerely hope that all of these issues will be fixed by the next time you receive your next check. However, hope is not a strategy, so I at our Board of Directors meeting this Tuesday, I will be asking the Board to give me the authority to pursue further actions in case these payroll issues are not resolved by the pay period.

If you are still experiencing an issue with your paycheck and have not reported it to the NTU yet, please fill out this form:

Report a Payroll Issue to the NTU

Embrace Home Loans

Thinking about buying a home in the near future? Your union provides exclusive benefits to prospective homebuyers through Embrace Home Loans. The NTU is hosting a virtual seminar for those who members who would like to know more on October 15 at 4 pm. For more information and sign-up details, click the link below:

Embrace Home Loans

Health Insurance Opt-Out Benefit

For the first time ever, new hires and NTU members who have been enrolled in NSD health insurance for the previous three plan years can opt-out of City of Nashua health insurance and get paid. The main thing you have to do is upload proof of your non-City of Nashua coverage onto the mybenefits portal and you'll receive the following amounts each year you opt-out of City of Nashua medical insurance:

Single: $1250
Two-Person: $2500
Family: $5000

Here is the full policy and some of the other rules that apply (ignore that is says unaffiliated):

Employee Medical Coverage Opt-out Policy
Medical Coverage Opt-Out FAQs

I hope that someday we'll be able to extend this benefit to NTU members who have opted out of medical insurance for years but cannot benefit from this opt-out policy, but it is a start. 

Questions? Comments? Need Assistance?  Contact a member of the Executive Board

Trying to email Gary? Make sure to use president@nashuatu.org