BUFFALO, N.Y. — Dozens of teacher aides and assistants working in Buffalo Public Schools showed up for Wednesday night's school board meeting.
They're putting pressure on the board to negotiate their first contract in nearly eight years.
The Buffalo Educational Support team says they will be showing up at every meeting until a deal is reached.
"The majority of our teacher aides and teacher assistants have families, you know they're taking care of their children and stuff," said JoAnn Sweat, the president of the Buffalo Educational Support Team. "And this is the 21st century. You should be able to work one job and be able to maintain your household. This is not what's happening with our unit."
Added Nathaniel Kuzma, general counsel Buffalo Public Schools: "Our board will support a contract that is fair, equitable, and also takes into account where the marketplace is in terms of issues like health insurance."
Both sides plan to meet several times in the coming weeks.