Beverly Teachers Strike: Picket Lines Close Schools On Friday
Updated 7:00 p.m.
BEVERLY, MA — Beverly teachers were set to be on picket lines instead of in the classrooms Friday morning after a Beverly Teachers Association vote on Thursday afternoon to authorize a strike more than two months after the staff collective-bargaining agreement expired.
All schools will be closed on Friday with box lunches available for students and families to pick up at Beverly High School between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
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The School Committee said Thursday night that — unlike in the Newton teachers’ strike earlier this year — it has permitted athletics, theater/band rehearsals, and field trips to continue during the work stoppage as long as coaches and/or advisors are there during the activity.
“We want to make it clear that the School Committee does not condone the illegal actions of the BTA,” School Committee Chair Rachael Abell said in a statement on Thursday night. “We will work with state officials to minimize the disruption to our students’ education and we urge all teachers and staff to return to school. We call on the BTA to end their illegal strike and join us in working with the (state) mediate to negotiate in good faith.
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“We understand that this is a severe disruption to the lives of our students and families.”
Teacher strikes are illegal in the state of Massachusetts and could incur the BTA fines and other penalties.
Gloucester teachers also voted to strike on Thursday.
The BTA said on Thursday that it has negotiated in good faith for more than a year and “now it has become crystal clear that the city is not willing to move on these issues” that the union said include competitive wages to prevent staff turnover, increased paraprofessional pay, paid family leave, longer lunch and recess for elementary students and more staff support for dysregulated students.
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Teachers said they plan to be on the picket lines at 8 a.m. on Friday.
“We are willing to do whatever it takes to fix the crisis in our schools,” BTA co-President Andrea Sherman said. “When I say ‘we’ I mean paraprofessionals, therapists, (speech-language pathologists), teachers, nurses — all of the adults in our school who work with students. We went into our jobs because we wanted to make a difference in the lives of children.
“We are fueled when we think of the possibilities ahead for them and we yearn for the beautiful moments that we see every day. Those ‘ah-ha’ moments when we know that we have gotten through and a child is learning. These possibilities are at stake. Without fundamental changes in our district, we will continue to be tasked with defensively managing dysregulation, overflowing classes, constantly training new staff to fill the holes of educators who leave the district, and regularly feel like we are robbing Peter to pay Paul when it comes to meeting students’ needs.”
She called the BTA asks “commonsense” that are being stymied by “drawn-out negotiations and political tactics.”
“Management is not listening,” she said. “If they were, they would be agreeing with us and this contract would be settled before school started.”
Mayor Michael Cahill in a letter to Patch this week urged against a proposed strike vote that he blamed on pressure from the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
“Please do not do this,” Cahill said. “Do not join with the (Massachusetts Teachers Association) in this illegal strike; it would be a big mistake, causing our children and community immeasurable damage.”
School Committee Chair Rachael Abell said in a statement this week that going on strike will not bring about the revenue required to fulfill the BTA’s demands.
“The reality of the situation remains that the city of Beverly does not have enough financial resources to be able to give our educators the compensation and parental leave increases they are demanding without having to make cuts to other critical programs,” she said.
Cahill insisted the city has bargained in good faith with the teachers with its current offer including $24.45 million in new spending over the three years of the proposed deal — a 25 percent increase in spending. He said the offer amounts to a 27.2 percent increase in wages for teachers (inclusive of steps) and a 42.8 percent increase for paraprofessionals.
Sherman said the BTA is ready to bargain “around the clock” through the weekend in hopes of reaching a deal “to fix the problems we all know are there.”
“We are imploring the School Committee and the mayor to do what’s right,” she said. “Trust our asks and end this crisis in our schools.
“The time is now.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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