GLOUCESTER – A day of negotiations between the Gloucester teachers union and the school committee came to a halt Saturday.
It is not possible to reach a fair agreement
The union says it has submitted proposals to the committee but failed to reach a fair agreement.
“Tonight we are still on strike,” said Rachel Salvorex, co-president of the Gloucester Teachers Association. “We’re told the school committee doesn’t want to spend all night or tomorrow morning negotiating to get this deal signed.”
Teachers in Gloucester and Beverly have been on strike since then Thursday night. Marblehead teachers authorized a strike at the end of the school day on Friday. They hope to get a contract with a better salary, ten weeks of paid parental leave and more preparation time.
“Today, however, the union decided that we would not move forward with these issues and would instead focus on issues such as response time to emails and in-person days,” Gloucester School Committee Chairwoman Kathleen Clancy said.
Students in Gloucester, Marblehead and Beverly are still unable to attend school after the three-day weekend.
“Our goal is to get back to school and be with our kids as quickly as possible. They can get this deal done today,” said Andrea Sherman, co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association.
Negotiations will resume on Sunday
The teachers union says the committee is stuck. But the school committee says negotiations are ongoing. Both parties understand the stress parents may experience as a result of school closures.
“We love our students,” Salvorex said.
“We are deeply concerned about the situation they find themselves in,” Clancy said.
Negotiations will resume at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Educators say the goal is to reach a fair agreement that will allow students to return to school on Tuesday. But the union says if a fair contract is not reached they will continue to strike.
“Until they act with the same urgency as we do, we will hold the line,” Salvorex said.
Teachers strike illegally in Massachusetts
Teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts. The union could face fines, which would go to the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. The city or municipality is also possible burden the union for police data and overtime due to the strike.
