Marblehead Teachers To March, Rally At Planned Negotiating Session

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Marblehead teachers are planning a standout, march and rally outside of what may be the final negotiating session before the Marblehead Education Association contract expires on Aug. 31.

The MEA said it plans to hold a stand out on Tuesday at Marblehead High School at 3 p.m., then a march on Pleasant Street at 3:30 pm. and a rally at 3:45 p.m. at Brown School.

"The MEA has been bargaining with the Marblehead School Committee since March and has yet to reach a settlement on the five bargaining units represented by the MEA," the union said Monday in a news release to Patch. "The Marblehead School Committee has rejected or made minor counter-proposals to the more than 25 proposals made by the union.

"Over the weekend, management unilaterally changed the location of the negotiation sessions, prompting the MEA to add a march to precede its planned rally."

The session could be the last before the contract is set to expire after School Committee Chair Sarah Fox said in a statement following the last negotiating session on June 3 that the subcommittee was "surprised to be told by the Marblehead Education Association today during our fifth bargaining session that the Union will not meet to bargain again until September following the June scheduled session."

Fox said that night that the bargaining subcommittee had made multiple offers of more than a dozen additional negotiating sessions but that they were "all rejected by the Union."

"The School Committee Bargaining team looks forward to another negotiating session in hopes of agreeing to contracts that meet the needs of our staff, town and most importantly students," Fox said in an email to Patch Monday night. "We will continue to offer additional dates to the MEA in an effort to keep the process moving and get ratified contracts in place prior to their dates of expiration."

The MEA said in its statement that night that it asked the School Committee to enter open bargaining in an effort "to invite the community to be part of the bargaining process" but that the School Committee declined.

The previous session came to an end after Fox said a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association hurled an obscenity toward School Committee members and shouting ensued.

"The subcommittee continues to be open to scheduling more dates in hopes of coming to an agreement for all employees," Fox said that night.

(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.)