Marblehead Teachers Strike: 'Enough Is Enough' As Impasse Costs 9th Day Of Classes

MARBLEHEAD, MA — The School Committee's rejection of what the Marblehead Education Association called "a major concession" in its contract offer Wednesday and the threat of legal action toward union leaders aimed at forcing teachers to end their "illegal strike" and return to school was not enough to open the doors to classrooms on Friday.

Marblehead Education Association co-President Jonathan Heller said in a Thursday night news conference that the union received no counter-proposals from the School Committee on Thursday and once again blamed Committee members for keeping the schools closed as the strike cost a ninth day of classes.

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"Their priority is to inflict financial pain upon our lowest-paid hourly workers and not to get our kids back in school," Heller said. "Rather than negotiate to reopen our schools, the School Committee was in court seeking an increase in fines against the MEA."

The union has been fined more than $400,000 since the start of the strike on Nov. 12. Heller said that the superior court judge in the case suspended the fines through the weekend in hopes it would help the sides settle the contract by Sunday night to return to school on Monday.

Public sector strikes are illegal in Massachusetts.

"The School Committee is not more willing to negotiate than they were two weeks ago when the educators in this town decided they could no longer tolerate the deteriorating conditions in our schools and the plummeting morale of our staff," Heller said. "Enough is enough."

The School Committee countered in a statement Thursday night, saying that: "It is not the lack of urgency or dedication that has kept the parties from reaching agreement. It is the MEA's demands for unaffordable wages that will require layoffs, larger class sizes, and cuts in programs for years to come that prevent agreement."

The School Committee also responded to an MEA proclamation of docked wages against paraprofessionals in their latest checks heading into the Thanksgiving week: "If employees do not work, they are not due a paycheck."

Superintendent John Robidoux said in a message to the community at about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday that school was canceled on Friday for the ninth straight day.

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: MEA Offer Rejected As 'Still Unaffordable'

The Marblehead School Committee said on Wednesday night that it had filed a petition with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations for a "strike investigation" against four members of the (MEA) in an effort to "issue orders for them to call off the strike and return to work."

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The MEA on Wednesday detailed what it called a "major concession" in its contract demands that would lower cost-of-living pay increases to 16 percent over four years and gradually increase paid
parental leave — public school teachers are exempt from the state law guaranteeing family leave — as a means to bridge the $5 million gap that the School Committee had said separates the union and district proposals.

• Marblehead Teachers Strike: School Vacation Days Set To Be Canceled

Yet, while the Marblehead School Committee said Wednesday night that the concessions are "a step in the right direction," it is "still unaffordable and unsustainable," and only reduces the proposal by $857,000.

"It would require a property tax override that would add hundreds of dollars to the average property tax bill," the Marblehead School Committee said. "This was not a 'grand gesture' as described by the Union."

"None of the 'gestures' are affordable, and all would result in layoffs of employees and cuts to programs," the School Committee said Thursday night.

Heller disputed the School Committee's figures, previously saying that the offer reduced the demand by $3 million.

(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.)