Beverly Teachers Strike: 'It Fills Me With Anger' As Schools For 5th Day

BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly Teachers Association faced the second day of escalating court fines as union leaders pledged "there is not going back" to classrooms without the wage increases and staffing changes they have demand as the strike extended into a full week.

BTA leaders said Thursday night they made what they thought were concessions on Thursday but the response from the School Committee included "regressive" responses that included removing the progress they thought had already been made.

"We are going back on strike and we are going to keep fighting," BTA co-President Julia Brotherton said. "But we are at a loss at their thinking and why they don't seem to understand that we're on strike because we want to fix the crisis in our schools and that we're not going back until we get significant movement from them."

Brotherton said the state-appointed mediator released the sides from negotiations for the night before 9 p.m.

"This is incredibly difficult for us," BTA co-President Andrea Sherman said. "We're feeling unheard and disrespected. And we are feeling that our School Committee doesn't want to open schools. We are deeply saddened by that because we want to be in school with our kids.

"We miss them all."

An Essex County Superior Court ordered the BTA to pay a $50,000 fine on Wednesday with the fines escalating by $10,000 each day the strike continues. They are similar to fines levied against striking teachers in Marblehead and Gloucester.

• Beverly Teachers Strike: Union Files Lawsuit Over 'Bad Faith' Tactics

Public union sector strikes are illegal in Massachusetts.

"While some progress has been made, the BTA has remained uncompromising in its financial demands and it is clear that the BTA's strike is not working as a means for the parties to reach an agreement," School Committee Chair Rachael Abell said in the latest community update. "Should BTA members choose to return to the classroom tomorrow we would continue negotiations every afternoon this week with a mutually agreed upon schedule."

"It fills me with anger," Beverly civics teacher and BTA leader Casey Fiore responded during a midday rally. "I am not angry about being charged with contempt because I knew that was coming. I am not angry about the fines because I knew those were coming.

"What I am angry about is the little part at the end of the update where we were addressed like petulant children."

• Beverly Teachers Strike: Teachers Make Plea To City Council, Mayor Cahill

He said the harsh fines will not be enough to force teachers back to the classrooms without a new deal.

"They have no idea how much frustration and disappointment it took us to get to this point," he said at the rally. "And they don't understand there is no going back. This strike has changed things and we will not go back under the same conditions we were working in."

Abell said in a previous update that the sides were about $14.4 million apart on wages and costs involved with the union demands.

• Beverly Teachers Strike: 'We Know Our Community Is Hurting'

She said on Wednesday that "some progress has been made" and that the School Committee remains committed to "finalizing a fair contract for educators."

"The strike has caused enough harm," Abell said. "It is time to get our students and our staff back in their learning environments while we work together to finalize the contract our hardworking educators deserve."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)