MARBLEHEAD, Mass. — A new $50,000 fine isn’t stopping the strike for Marblehead teachers, and each day the strike continues, that fine goes up by $10,000.
“We will not settle contracts that pay any staff 16 dollars an hour, which is a current offer on the table,” said Samantha Rosato, a paraprofessional representative in Marblehead.
As of Thursday night, the Marblehead Education Association says they’re not making progress with the school committee.
“They have given us no counter proposals today, they have not given a single piece of paper to us today,” said Hannah Hood, with the MEA.
But the Marblehead School Committee says they haven’t received counter-proposals from the union either.
“They continue to demand an all-or-none solution. That’s not feasible. It’s really not helpful to spend more time posturing every day in the media and rallying on town commons than negotiating. They seem to be intentionally dragging this out,” said Marblehead School Committee Chair Jennifer Schaeffner in a statement Thursday.
While the back and forth continues, parents and students are just happy they can play sports again in Marblehead.
“I think the superintendent made a huge stride forward today in allowing the kids to play, but we’ve only gotten halfway there,” said Jon Wales, a father whose two sons play football.
The superintendent had canceled all extracurricular activities last week when the strike started, but he decided Thursday to allow those activities to go on with non-union personnel running those events, practices, and a big playoff football game Friday.
It’s a relief to many student-athletes, but they still won’t have their coaches, who are on strike.
“These are the main reasons why the kids got to where they are, so they’re taking away the coaches and they’re replacing them with gracious volunteers who greatly appreciate their time, but make no mistake they’re not their coaches,” said Wales, who also brought this issue to court this week.
The Marblehead Education Association is also planning a rally on Friday at 1 PM at Salem State University.
Schools will remain closed Friday in Marblehead, Beverly, and Gloucester as this strike continues
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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