Hundreds rally at Seaside Park: union will join Beverly and Gloucester Tuesday

Grace Calandrella

November 8, 2024 by Grace Calandrella

MARBLEHEAD —The teachers have put their foot down and drawn a line in the sand. Beverly and Gloucester teachers went on strike on Friday, Nov 8, while the Marblehead teachers announced on Friday afternoon that they would also be going on strike. 

This comes after all three districts have been held for months without a new contract for their educators. Despite all negotiation efforts by both the School Committees and Associations, the educators remain unsatisfied. 

On Friday, Nov. 8, the Marblehead Education Association (MEA) held an emergency press conference after their meeting, where they held a vote to strike. The vote landed 99% in favor of joining Beverly and Gloucester schools in a strike. They plan to have it begin on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

During their press conference, multiple teachers and faculty expressed their disappointment in the School Committee for their lack of effort in reaching an agreement. They also said they were willing to come to the bargaining table within a thirty-minute notice if the School Committee was able. 

“It’s up to the School Committee,” MEA president Jonathan Heller said. 

The various teachers and faculty mentioned that they don’t want to have to do this and don’t want to halt all education and school-related activities, but they have done so. After the press conference was adjourned, the superintendent of Marblehead Public Schools called all parents and faculty to alert them that there would be no school or extracurricular activities on Tuesday. 

The School Committee held an open meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night after the press conference to address the “illegal strike.” Over one hundred people attended the Zoom meeting to anticipate what the committee would say in response to the strike announcement. 

They announced they will be declaring Tuesday as a professional development day. Typically, this is a day the faculty uses to coordinate with one another on teaching plans and other developmental plans used throughout the school year. This day will not have to be made up, but any other day following Tuesday will have to be made up by students and faculty. 

The School Committee co-chair Sarah Fox mentioned during the meeting that the MEA had not given the School Committee a notice for the action of the strike until 6:00 p.m., roughly two hours after the strike was officially announced. 

Unless there is an opportunity to go into mediation this coming weekend, the next bargaining meeting will be as scheduled on Tuesday, Nov. 12. 

President Jonathan Heller mentioned that there was no time frame for how long this strike could go. 

Not only is it against the law for public employees to strike, according to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but it leaves students without education for days and possibly weeks. There are over 9,500 students across all three districts. This is a detriment to those students, some at home without a guardian and others without warm meals. 

As many parents and faculty expressed during the press conference, this is an unfortunate situation for Marblehead Public Schools that is hoped to be resolved soon.