BOSTON — Teachers from across the state will be rallying at the State House Tuesday morning as union leaders will be meeting with Governor Maura Healey to discuss the ongoing strikes in Marblehead and Beverly.
This marks another day of no school for hundreds of students on the North Shore because of the ongoing teacher strikes. As teachers in Marblehead and Beverly hit the picket lines again—the kids will stay home for another day.
Today makes is the 11th day that Marblehead students will not be in school. With a half day scheduled for tomorrow before the Thanksgiving break, it seems unlikely a deal will be done before the holiday.
Teachers continued to rally Monday outside a Marblehead School Committee news conference. It was held on private property for safety concerns because they claim they’re being harassed. The union is demanding better pay and benefits. But the negotiating has paused—as the Marblehead School Committee is following a court order to begin a fact-finding process through the state.
“If the teachers want to come back to school, the doors are open, they can come back tomorrow, we ask them to come back and we will continue to negotiate with them through whatever means will work best for us,” said Jenn Schaeffner of the Marblehead School Committee.
“Now they have asked for fact-finding, we disagree with it, we would like to keep negotiating but if there’s a fact finder that’s fine, let that person do his or her work, while we continue to negotiate,” said Connor Ryan, a Marblehead teacher.
Meantime, in Beverly, today marks 12 days students will not be going to class because of the ongoing strike there.
The Beverly School Committee is no longer at the bargaining table and instead is following a state-mandated fact-finding process that could take more than a week to complete. Also starting this week, striking teachers won’t get paid. A Beverly city councilor tried to drum up support for a resolution for pay increases for teachers, but it failed.
“A formal city council resolution declaring that would undermine the ongoing work of the school committee and it would commit the city council even if indirectly to appropriating additional funding without regard for whether the city has the means to do so,” said Brendan Sweeney, a
As the number of days teachers are on strike add up, so do the fines. The Boston Globe is reporting as of Monday afternoon, the Essex superior court has levied$450,000 in fines against the Marblehead Education Association and $560,000 in fines against the Beverly Teachers Association. Even though the union reports its bankrupt, the strike will continue on today.
If no deal is reached by either district, the state mediator will come back with recommendations on what to do next on December 4th.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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