It’s back to class in Gloucester Monday, after 10 days of no school due to the teachers’ strike there. But educators in Beverly and Marblehead remain on strike.
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There's no deal — and no class — once again in two North Shore school districts on Monday as an increasingly contentious round of educator strikes drag on into another week.
Students in Beverly and Marblehead missed another day of school Monday. In Gloucester, the third community that teachers have been striking in, class was back in session after a deal was reached on Friday.
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“Oh it’s great, my kids need school," Gloucester parent Sara Ferrara said. "They’ve been suffering, you know, getting bored. They miss all their friends, so we’re really happy that everybody’s back."
“We have a ways to go in terms of how we fund education just in general, but I think it’s a good start and I’m just glad that it’s done and we’re going back,” added Allegra Holland, a Gloucester teacher and parent.
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But teachers in Beverly and Marblehead are still walking the picket lines.
A 6 p.m. Sunday deadline to reach a deal came and went, and now the Department of Labor Relations will begin a state-imposed fact-finding process in both districts. It’s a process Beverly’s union has vowed not to participate in.
“A factfinder could come in and say, you know what, the union’s right and these things are fair and reasonable and management could still say no, so for our purposes, we’re not interested in dragging this out any longer – we’re ready to get it done,” said Lydia Ames, a Beverly 8th grade Spanish teacher.
Teachers planned to instead attend the mediator’s session, which was set for 1 p.m. on Monday.
The school committee in Beverly voted to begin withholding pay from striking educators for the days not worked.
Beverly School Committee Chair Rachael Abell issued a statement Monday afternoon calling on the teachers union to return to work on Tuesday so bargaining can resume.
"We need the strike to end," Abell's statement said. "Our students never should have been out of school in the first place and they certainly should not be out of school today. As a result of the BTA’s continued and relentless demands, the School Committee yesterday informed the union that we will cease mediation while educators remain on strike and comply with the fact-finding process mandated by the courts. We hope that the BTA will reverse their decision to flout the law and will end its strike so that we can reopen our schools with a fair deal."
She said if teachers return to school on Tuesday, the district has offered to find substitute teachers for all members of the union's negotiating team so they may prepare to begin meeting with the school committee's negotiators.
Marblehead is one day behind Beverly and will reach the same state-imposed deadline Monday night.
Other state officials have weighed in on the strikes as they keep students out of class.
"In Massachusetts, students have a right to public education, yet this strike has kept thousands of young people out of the classroom for over two weeks," Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell wrote in a media statement Monday. "With each passing day, more harm is done to our students, their learning and development, parents, and families. This is especially true for our most vulnerable student population. I think the parties can reach an agreement, but in the meantime, we need the schools to open, so young people can return to the classroom while negotiations continue.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey spoke out over the weekend, calling for an end to the strikes.
Leaders of teachers unions from across Massachusetts are scheduled to gather at the State House at 9 a.m. Tuesday to demand a meeting with Healey to discuss the ongoing strike actions in Beverly and Marblehead.
”Governor Healey campaigned as a strong supporter of public education, organized labor, and working people. Yet, she is now falling short in her commitment to these values, complicit in the ongoing dismantling of both public education and organized labor in Massachusetts," the union heads said in a joint statement.
