by Irina Park
Teachers in several towns and cities in Massachusetts went on strike on Friday after spending months in negotiations. On Thursday, teachers voted to authorize the strike in two cities, Beverly and Gloucester. The Beverly Teachers Association (BTA) and the Union of Gloucester Educators reported that 99% and 98% of educators, respectfully, voted to go on strike. Teachers in the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts voted to go on strike Friday afternoon following “months of unproductive negotiations”, according to the Marblehead Education Association (MEA), who said 99% of its members voted in favor of going on strike.
Striking teachers were on the picket line on Tuesday in all three North Shore districts. Nearly 10,000 students in these districts did not attend school on Tuesday as teachers’ unions continue to negotiate contracts.
Educators across the districts share similar grievances and demands. In Beverly, the union is fighting for better teacher pay, pay above minimum wage for paraprofessional—whose starting salary is $20,000—12 weeks paid parental leave, and smaller class sizes.
In Gloucester, educators have worked roughly 70 days without a contract despite having dozens of bargaining sessions, while paraprofessionals endured nearly 500 days without a contract despite 22 negotiation meetings with the Gloucester School Committee. Gloucester teachers are fighting for better pay, a living wage for paraprofessionals, 12 weeks of paid parental leave and more prep time. The mayor of Gloucester says a budget deficit of four to seven million dollars has complicated negotiations over better pay.
As of November 10, negotiations between the Gloucester teachers union and the school committee ended in a standstill. Gloucester has a court order to force teachers back into the classroom on Tuesday.
The MEA is seeking fair wages, paid family leave, safe schools, and adequate lunch and recess time for elementary school students. Negotiations were set to resume Sunday morning that would allow students to be with their teachers again, so long as a fair contract is reached. The Marblehead School Committee called the MEA’s latest contract proposal “unaffordable” on Monday, as Marblehead would need a $7.5 million tax override, or it will have to layoff 75 employees if the override is not approved in a vote. Teachers in Marblehead filed a suit with Massachusetts’ Department of Labor Relations and all sides engaged in a state-mandated mediation on Monday. Marblehead schools remained closed on Tuesday.
Teachers strikes are illegal in Massachusetts, meaning the unions involved could face fines, which would go to the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. The unions had until Monday morning to publicly end their strikes and were required to submit a report of compliance by Tuesday or they could be found in contempt.
Earlier this year, teachers in the Boston suburb of Newton went on a 15-day strike, ending after reaching an agreement of a 13% cost-of-living increase over four years, pay increases for classroom aides, and 40 days of paid family leave. It was the sixth strike in Massachusetts since 2022 and the longest.
Photo: Beverly Teachers Association rallies for a fair contract. Retrieved from BTA.
