Judge reduces fines on Newton’s striking teachers

A judge has temporarily reduced escalating fines against the Newton Teachers Association, which has been on strike since Jan. 19, closing schools for almost 12,000 students.

After a hearing Friday, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Christopher Barry-Smith said that a further escalation of fines for the striking union might “undermine effective and fair collective bargaining.”

The union has already been fined $375,000 for its strike, which is illegal under Massachusetts law. Judge Barry-Smith ruled that daily, $50,000 fines would resume Monday night at 8 p.m. until a deal is reached.

Newton’s is the longest educator strike thus far in a statewide wave that began in Malden and Haverhill in the fall of 2022.

The sense of delay has bred acrimony on both sides of the contract dispute.

In a statement sent Friday, members of Newton’s nine-member school committee accused the union of inflexibility. Committee members wrote that in recent days they have put forward new proposals on aides’ working hours and parental leave — but that leadership of the Newton Teachers Association, or NTA, “rejected this and failed to [make] a counteroffer.”

“We are asking the NTA to compromise and collaborate,” the committee members wrote. They said they would submit proof of their “good-faith participation in the mediation every day” to the Superior Court, while, they argued, “the NTA has not moved from its original positions on major issues.”

Union educators have made similar claims since the strike began last week, pointing out that the contract dispute dates back to October 2022. They also noted that the Newton district shared anti-union posts on social media before deleting them hours later.

While lawyers for the union were in court, Newton students led a rally in the rain Friday in support of their teachers, followed by a march to the Newton Education Center, where negotiations are taking place.

After sitting in on what he called “frustrating” negotiations Thursday night, David Bedar — a history teacher at Newton North High School and union spokesman — went to bed “livid.” But Friday’s rally was uplifting.

Citing the “overwhelming” support of families and neighbors, Bedar said, “Nothing is going to stop us from doing what’s right for the students and educators of Newton, and doing what it takes to settle a fair contract.”

As public-sector employees, public school teachers are barred from striking under Massachusetts law. As such, the current work stoppage in Newton has persisted in the face of staggering fines, which climbed to $200,000 per day as of 8 p.m. Thursday night.

Those funds – totaling $375,000 after Friday’s closure – are being assessed against the roughly 1,700-member Newton Teachers Association.

According to the latest available federal tax filings from the union, it held roughly $750,000 in assets as of 2022.

Union president Michael Zilles said as early as Wednesday that “the plan of the judge is to exhaust our reserves by the end of the week, on Friday.”

At that same appearance, Zilles pledged to continue the stoppage in spite of the mounting fines. “We are out on strike until we get a contract that our members will feel, our community will feel, was worth it,” he said.

Those words appeared again Friday in an affidavit filed with Middlesex Superior Court by Anna Nolin, the superintendent of the Newton Public Schools.

Nolin wrote that those six days will have to be made up, especially for students with disabilities entitled to a set amount of learning time. She noted that a week of “compensatory services” could cost the district over $270,000.

“The biggest sticking point is that the Newton School Committee refuses to bargain with us,” Zilles added at a press conference Thursday night. “This is an exercise in trying to beat the proud members of the Newton Teachers Association into the ground.”

Wednesday was the only day that the union and the school committee reported any progress in negotiations —  on what Zilles called a “more modern and humane” parental-leave policy for educators. Those discussions involved the union’s request to increase the cost of living adjustment. But progress seemed to stall again as of Thursday.

Some elected officials have shown support for the striking teachers, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who visited the district Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has called for an end to the labor action.

On WBUR’s Radio Boston Friday, Healey said she’d “like to see them back in the classroom, even while they’re negotiating, because, honestly, our kids are suffering — families are suffering.”

Healey also repeated her support for the existing state law that bars public-sector strikes. Teachers’ unions, including the NTA, often argue that strikes are the only way to force districts to bargain in good faith, sometimes months or years after a prior contract has expired.

The union has scheduled its latest solidarity rally for 1 p.m. Saturday, while negotiations will continue through the weekend, at a fevered pitch.

Kelly Henderson, who teaches English at Newton South High School, said Friday night that “in the next 48 hours, there are no minutes that your educators are going to spend doing anything other than getting kids back in the classroom on Monday.”