Teachers go on strike on Massachusetts' North Shore

Schools in Gloucester and Beverly did not open on Friday as teachers walked off the job.

The teachers' union in each city voted to strike Thursday night. Both are advocating for better wages for paraprofessionals, parental leave benefits and smaller class sizes.

On Friday afternoon, the Marblehead Educator Association also initiated a strike, according to a statement from the district. Schools, as well as extracurricular activities, in the town will be closed starting Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Matthew Lewis, vice president Union of Gloucester Educators and an eighth grade civics teacher at O'Maley Middle School, said the union is fighting for 52-and-a-half days of paid parental leave and competitive wages for educators and paraprofessionals.

"We are really focused on our paraprofessionals earning a living wage," Lewis said. "One of our dear paraprofessionals on the bargaining team has been working for 24 years and only earns $25,000 a year."

Lewis said paraprofessionals have been working without a contract for over two years and have met with the Gloucester School Committee for negotiations 22 times. And, the teachers' contract expired on Aug. 31. Lewis said the union has been at the bargaining table with the school committee a dozen times.

"We have been told the same things: 'We hear you, we value you'." said Lewis. "And then they reject proposals about protecting our most vulnerable students, about ensuring paraprofessionals have a living wage."

Teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts. Newton's teachers union racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for a two-week strike in early 2024. The strikes in Beverly and Gloucester are the first in the state since Newton's action in January.

The Gloucester School Committee called the union's strike "deeply harmful" for students and families.

"Instead of working to find common ground with the School Committee at the negotiating table, the GTA has chosen to put political grandstanding ahead of our district’s students, their learning and their safety," said the committee in a statement.

Lewis said that the union has "not taken this decision lightly."

"We have taken every possible avenue to avoid this, but time and time again, the school committee drags their feet and it's far more willing to not negotiate than to negotiate," said Lewis.

In Beverly, the teachers union is similarly advocating for better wages for paraprofessionals, parental leave benefits, smaller class sizes and dedicated planning time for teachers. The union said they've met with the school committee for over 30 hours of negotiation sessions.

"Beverly educators want nothing more than to be in our buildings teaching our students," wrote the Beverly Teachers Association in a message posted online. "But we can no longer tolerate the School Committee’s inaction on important issues that threaten to undermine the quality of Beverly Public Schools and our ability to meet the needs of our students."

In a statement, Rachael Abell, chair of the Beverly School Committee, said the strike is disruptive and unfair to students. Abell said the committee filed a motion with the Department of Labor Relations this week to deter teachers from striking.

"We will work with state officials to minimize the disruption to our students’ education and we urge all teachers and staff to return to school," Abell wrote. "We call on the BTA to end their illegal strike and join us in working with the mediator to negotiate in good faith.

The school committee voted to allow extracurriculars like athletics and theater rehearsals to continue during the strike as long as a coach or advisor is present. The school committee said they will provide boxed lunches for students to pick up during the strike.

On Friday morning, Gov. Maura Healey said the Beverly and Gloucester strikes are hard on students and families.

“We have been in touch with all involved in this and both sides and just have strongly encouraged people to work to resolve this as quickly as possible so that our young people can be back in school.”

Following the Newton strike in early 2024, Healey said she is opposed to legalizing teachers strikes.

With reporting from WBUR's Katie Cole, Fausto Menard and Emily Piper-Vallillo