Education

North Shore educator strikes drag on into new school week

While each community's union has its own negotiations, many of the issues overlap, including wages and parental leave

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Monday marks another day out of the classroom for students in three North Shore communities, as educators in Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead return to the picket line in an ongoing strike.

The teacher strikes are entering their second school week, amid ongoing negotiations.

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In Beverly, the teachers' union there is expected to be in court on Monday to potentially face additional fines for refusing to return to the classroom. Fines began last week.

Beverly educators are asking administrators for movement on a number of issues, including wage increases, more time for students' lunch and recess, the ability to use sick time to care for sick loved ones, among other topics.

Although some progress was said to have been made, there's yet to be an end of the strikes in any of the three communities.

According to the city's mayor, the school committee's current proposal would have increased teachers' salaries by nearly 30% and paraprofessionals by nearly 45%, but the union is asking for more.

In Gloucester and Marblehead, money continues to be the biggest hurdle. In both communities, the school committees say that in order to meet the unions' proposals, dozens of jobs would need to be cut.

The court hearing for Beverly's union is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday.

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