Teachers in Malden, Massachusetts, ended their strike when their union reached a tentative deal with school committee members Monday. Meanwhile, in Haverhill, a court has ordered striking teachers to go back to work.
Classes were canceled Monday for students in both communities, where teachers began strikes after failing to come to agreements during contract negotiations over the weekend.
Malden educators announced their tentative agreement Monday night.
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"We are a union that bargains for the common good, and we're pleased with the tentative agreement and what it will mean for members, and also what it will mean for our students," said Deb Gesualdo, president of the Malden Education Association.
"We've made great strides, not just in negotiations, but in communication, as well," said Jennifer Spadafora of the Malden School Committee.
A settlement reached on the issue of wages Monday night was the last hurdle, but it's not yet clear what teacher pay will look like under the new agreement.
"As soon as we all have everything typed up, written out, communicated to the people it needs to be, then we will make it public," Gesualdo said.
Negotiations in Haverhill took a step back Monday, with school district officials saying the proposed contract from the teachers union would mean layoffs. Classes were canceled Tuesday after talks between the school committee and the Haverhill Education Association and Massachusetts Teachers Association ended without resolution.
The school committee in Haverhill turned to the courts for help. Monday, a court ordered that the employees immediately "cease and desist from engaging in a strike or work stoppage." The order will remain in effect pending the results of a hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Despite the order, teachers told NBC10 Boston they'll keep picketing until an agreement is reached.
"These people have come to work, have been abused by administration, have been abused by a mayor, have been abused by a school committee," said Barry Davis, vice president of the Haverhill Education Association.
The unions in both districts have been without a contract since school started. In Malden, the contract expired Aug. 31, while in Haverhill, educators have been trying to hammer out a deal since the end of June.
Haverhill school committee members and their attorney spoke Monday morning, ahead of negotiations that were expected to resume later in the day.
Malden's school committee walked away from negotiations, calling instead for mediation going forward.
Teachers were on the picket line until around 2 p.m. on Monday. In both districts wages and inflation are key issues. In Haverhill, the school committee said it's offered more than $20 million in raises over three years. The teachers said that amounts to less than 3% a year after seven years of no raises.
"The ball is really in their court. We've moved considerably from where we were initially and considering the city's budget we're not sure how much more we can do," Paul Magliocchetti, a member of the Haverhill School Committee, said Monday.
The teachers got some support from students at a rally in front of city hall with one saying the math doesn’t work.
"The cost of living increase is over 8% and we’re offering 2.5%. How does that make sense?” Haverhill High School student Ricardo Galloway said.
Some 200 high school students walked out last week in a show of support.
"We’re not doing this just to skip class. We’re not doing this to get a day off. We care about what’s going on and we’re here to support our teachers," Sheeba Nabiryo, another Haverhill high student said.
In Malden the School Committee ended negotiations after an 11 hour bargaining session, saying its time to go to mediation.
"No students should be warehoused in a big study because we can’t fill their schedule," one member of Malden’s Education Association said to a round of cheering.
School committees in both communities have argued that these strikes are illegal according to state law. But teachers in both Haverhill and Malden said over the weekend they’ve come to the point where they have no choice. Stuck in the middle of these stalled negotiations are about 8,000 students in Haverhill and about 6,000 students in Malden, all of whom have no school Monday.
Educators in both districts say the school committees are missing the bigger picture — the districts aren’t paying enough to retain their staff.
“We know that we cannot continue going on in the way that we have been," Malden Education Association President Deb Gesualdo said. "Because if we continue this way, we will continue to just hemorrhage educators and our students will continue to lose out — our students today and our students for years to come."
The school committees and their representatives argue that it’s not that simple, and they don’t have unlimited budgets.
"We went higher than we were authorized to go because it’s the right thing to do," Malden School Committee Member Adam Weldai said. "But there’s only so much that we could do with good faith, if it’s not there, we don’t see it."
Both districts requested that staff show up Monday, despite the strikes. Teachers picketed instead.
