BOSTON — Striking teachers in three North Shore cities are back at work, ending two and half weeks of walkouts involving over 1,400 workers. Substantial gains were won in pay and parental leave by the three unions. To do so, they had to disregard an anti-labor state law that makes strikes by public employees illegal.
The Marblehead Education Association and Beverly Teachers Association signed new contracts Nov. 26 after over two weeks on strike. The Union of Gloucester Educators ended their 15-day strike Nov. 22. Collectively the unions were fined over $1.5 million by the state.
“The costs of our victories should not be so high,” the Newton Teachers Association said in a statement Nov. 24. “We must gain the legal right to go on strike when negotiations fail.” The NTA had won a new contract with a solid strike at the beginning of the year and was fined $625,000 for its 15-day walkout. The union encouraged its members to join the pickets and contribute financially to the North Shore unions that, they explained, faced disproportionate financial penalties on their smaller memberships.
“This was a monster contract for us,” Lydia Ames, a Beverly Middle School teacher and union leader, told this Militant worker-correspondent. “Not only in terms of pay for both teachers and paraprofessionals, and parental leave,” but in other gains, including less onerous requirements for scheduling time off.
“This has been an awakening for me,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much agency I had, and our union had, in determining our future. I considered myself a ‘sleepy teacher,’ but no longer. I’ll never feel that way again.”
“I’m very disappointed in Gov. [Maura] Healy. She said we should return to work even without a contract. That’s union busting!” Ames said. “We need a labor party.”
All three unions put a priority on winning significant raises for paraprofessionals, who are essential in the classroom as teachers’ aides and instructional assistants, but are severely underpaid. Because they are public employees, these workers are exempted from the state minimum wage law. In Marblehead, for example, their wages started at only $11.93 an hour under the old contract. Now that goes up to $17.07 by the 2027-28 school year. Similar increases were won in the other school districts.
Teachers at the top of the scale won raises of 15% to 17% over their three- and four-year contracts. Raises for all teachers puts them closer to teachers’ salaries in other area districts. And winning decent parental leave was a big goal for each of the unions.
“Our contracts are more humane, they reduce the divisions between the teachers and paraprofessional units, but we still have quite a way to go,” Starsha Berchoff, a paraprofessional at North Beverly Elementary School, told the Militant. “The fight was worth it, our union is so much stronger. This experience brought us all together, and will benefit us in future contracts.”
Teachers pointed to solidarity from fellow area teachers, parents and students, and the Teamsters union, whose members drove by the picket lines many times in a large truck with a pro-union banner.
Ames described the reception teachers got at the Dec. 1 holiday parade in Beverly, where thousands of spectators and marchers turned out.
“Our union decided to have a float this year to show our gratitude to the community,” she said. “Our signs said, ‘Thank you Beverly.’ We received nothing but cheers and shouts of ‘We’re proud of you!’ Only Santa got more cheers than we did.
“Meanwhile, the elected officials, who marched together, were booed the entire route of the parade.”