Beverly
Teachers working at Beverly schools went on strike Friday November 8th, after negotiations with the Beverly school committee hit a standstill. 99% of the 650 professionals and teachers voted that this strike was the right choice.
Since the end of last school year, Beverly teachers have been working 40+ without a contract and the teachers are paid 15% less than districts surrounding them.
Rachael Abell, the Beverly School Committee chair said that this strike “unfairly disrupts the education of our students”. The school committee doesn’t condone the illegal actions of teachers striking and are trying their best to keep the disruption to the students to a low.
The Flying Onion was able to get an interview with Beverly middle school Spanish teacher, Lydia Ames, about the strike. According to Ames, some of the things teachers are asking for are:
- Paraprofessionals making a living wage
- Twelve weeks of paid parental leave- a benefit that is given to all Massachusetts workers except municipal employees
- Increased support in classrooms for safer schools
- A teacher salary that is competitive to those in surrounding districts
“When teachers choose to strike, students and community members should know that it’s an incredibly difficult decision that we wouldn’t make if we believed there was any other way for our students to get the schools they deserve,” said Ames in our interview.
Co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association, Julia Brotherton has spoken publicly about students’ behavioral issues, saying “not a day goes by when one of us isn’t being hit, kicked, threatened or disrespected by one of our students” and that “those students need help”.
On the first day of the strike, a judge ordered the Beverly Teachers’ Association (BTA) to stop its strike as teacher strikes in Massachusetts are illegal. Since then, Superior Judge Janice Howe ruled the teachers union will be fined $50,000 on Wednesday and that fine will increase by $10,000 with every school day the strike continues. In addition, the School Committee (as of last Friday) has responded to the strike with potential “punitive” measures, including possibly revoking teachers’ rights to family medical leave, according to the Salem News.
In the meantime, the BTA held press conference on the night of Wednesday November 13th, claiming school officials might have been using cameras to spy on teachers during negotiations. The teachers were meeting separately (called a “caucus”) in McKeown School’s cafeteria. There were cameras in the cafeteria, which they assumed had been turned off. But shortly after a teacher placed a piece of tape over the camera, a police officer had come in and told them to remove it. Julia Brotherton says this “meant that they had been watching and they knew (the camera) had been covered up”. The teachers informed the mediator, who then immediately moved the negotiations to another school, the Hannah School.
The vast majority of parents are very supportive, showing love on the Beverly Teachers Association page on Facebook. Every day, parents drop off homemade food, treats, and coffee and the PTO’s have gotten donations so the teachers can get meals delivered to the school buildings where they are standing outside all day. There have also been multiple rallies where both parents and students have written speeches supporting the BTA.
Gloucester
Last Thursday afternoon, Gloucester educators announced that they will be performing an illegal strike during a press conference in city hall. Due to this strike, over thousands of children were left without school on Friday, November eighth, and until further notice. Schools are said to make up for these missing days at the end of the school year or during February vacation.
Similar to Beverly, Gloucester teachers are seeking paid parental leave and competitive wages for their teachers and paraprofessionals.
The state law of Massachusetts boldly states that it’s illegal for any public employee to strike. The school community of Gloucester wants to make it known that what they are doing is illegal and are planning to file and sign a petition for an investigation. They plan to have the Department of Labor Relations come down on Tuesday and “step in and stop this illegal strike”, possibly even send teachers to court due to this act.
Because schools are not open, the town of Gloucester has been providing free breakfasts and lunches (students would usually get in school) that they can pick up at O’Malley Middle School or East Veterans Elementary School for those who may need it.
Gloucester teachers have been posting on various social media apps such as, tiktok, instagram, or facebook, talking about this ongoing strike and trying to get as much help and attention as possible.
Marblehead
On Tuesday, November 12th, Marblehead teachers also decided to strike, now leaving three towns with their schools closed. But, since Monday was Veteran’s Day and teachers were scheduled for a professional development day on Tuesday, students only began missing school on Wednesday, and they have not returned since, as of November 15th. The main issues for Marblehead teachers are increasing wages within the context of parental and sick leave. The Marblehead Education Association (MEA), had initially announced the strike would start on Friday 8th if there was not a compromise reached with the school committee over the weekend.
The weekend passed, and as no full compromise was reached, teachers began their strike on November 13th. But the teachers are not alone in their protests, as Marblehead students have been showing support for their teachers’ cause, many students showing up to the school holding signs.
The school committee proposed a plan to resolve the issue with teachers, and a plan for how to hold the school together while negotiations were being held. In this plan, Marblehead would keep its doors open to students. Classes would be taught by substitute teachers, and the teachers would take part in negotiations while on paid leave.
This plan, however, was denied, and no learning time has taken place in schools since the strike began.
Despite the strike, the Marblehead Superintendent John Robidoux originally announced that Marblehead’s football team would attend their upcoming playoff games, a decision he later reversed, choosing instead to hold the games by “utilizing non-teacher, non-union personnel to support these activities.”
*All information updated as of Friday morning, 11/15/24
