Marblehead School Custodian Contract Talks Hit Dead End: MEA

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The ongoing strife between the Marblehead Education Association and the School Committee over new school faculty and staff contracts may have hit a dead end with one union group on Tuesday after the MEA accused the School Committee of threatening to "unilaterally walk away from the bargaining table with our hardworking custodians."

The union said the School Committee at its Tuesday negotiation threatened to request mediation from a state-appointed mediator following the second negotiation session since the custodian contract expired at the end of the previous school year.

"Rather than listening and joining us in facing these challenges together, the School Committee would rather divide us by devaluing essential workers in our schools," MEA Co-President Jonathan Heller said. "Rather than collaborating to find solutions to the problems we are facing, it appears they are intent on educators joining the custodians and returning to school this fall with an expired contract."

Patch reached out to School Committee Chair Jennifer Schaeffner for comment on the MEA assertion but did not immediately receive a response as of early Wednesday afternoon.

The MEA said that while the unions negotiate different collective-bargaining agreements that the proposals to one unit impact other bargaining units and there are "common proposals (that) relate to staff and student safety, employee rights, and equitable benefits shared among all MEA bargaining units."

"It’s really unbelievable," said James Douglass, a maintenance worker in Marblehead and Chair of the Custodial Bargaining Unit in a statement issued Tuesday night. "They're refusing to budge on basic things like guaranteeing custodians Christmas Eve off, and with no clear explanation as to why. Other town departments get this day off.

"We work hard and all we want is to be treated fairly."

A request for state mediation would go to the Department of Labor Relations, which would determine whether the mediator needs to be appointed in the case of an impasse.

"They are devaluing us in order to divide us," said Samantha Rosato, a tutor at Glover School and member of the MEA Bargaining Team. "The truth is they depend on us, and families in Marblehead depend on our schools."

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m. and will focus on Unit A, which includes teachers and other related service providers.

Marblehead teacher contracts expire in the upcoming weeks at the start of the next academic year.

(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.)