Judge Pauses Newton Teacher Fines As Strike Enters To Second Week

NEWTON, MA — A weekend reprieve from harsh, escalating fines imposed on the Newton Teachers Association amid when Massachusetts state law considers an illegal strike is designed to give both sides of the contract impasse a "breather" while negotiations continue.

The Newton Teachers Association has already been subjected to $375,000 in fines since 98 percent of its members voted to go on strike starting last Friday. Newton Public Schools have been closed for the six school days since with all school-related activities — including sports, arts, after-school care and community education programs — canceled.

(More on Patch: 'Major Step Backward': Newton Teachers Strike Update)

A Middlesex Superior Court judge last Friday said that the NTA would be fined $25,000 starting last Sunday night with fines doubling each day that they remained off the job. Those fines culminated at $200,000 on Friday when the NTA and city attorneys were called back to the Woburn courtroom to discuss the next steps.

Judge Christopher Barry-Smith said on Friday that fines would be eased for the weekend and then started back up again on Monday morning at $50,000 should a resolution not be reached by Sunday night.

"I am going to go one day at a time for this," Barry-Smith. "I really hope this does not continue into another week. (If it does) I'll consider anew the concept that these fines need to be more."

Public sector union strikes are illegal in Massachusetts.

The NTA has vowed not to be deterred by the fines and with leaders saying that teachers will not return to the classroom without a new contract.

The NTA termed the latest attempts at agreeing on a new deal "a major step backward" as its members headed back to the picket lines on Friday.

The two sides spent about 10 hours negotiating on Thursday with the NTA also rallying at both City Hall and the State House to gain support for its push to reverse what it called the "chronic underfunding in public education occurring at both the local and state level."

All school days missed due to the strike will have to be made up at some point during this academic year.