Marblehead Teachers To Suspend 'Voluntary Work' Amid Contract Impasse
MARBLEHEAD, MA — Marblehead teachers will work only contractually obligated hours and responsibilities — ceasing activities such as chaperoning, after-school help and serving on committees on certain days — effective immediately in a move the Marblehead Education Association said Tuesday night was in response to stalled negotiations on a new collective-bargaining agreement.
The decision comes after the latest negotiating session in which the Marblehead School Committee rejected MEA wage proposals in a way the MEA said left negotiators and silent representatives “frustrated and angry.”
Under the “work to rule” conditions, the MEA said members will end all voluntary work on certain school days, will enter their schools in unison at the contractual start of their day, and hold informational pickets outside of school.
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“We know this will be disruptive, and the last thing we want is to further burden students and families,” MEA co-President Jonathan Heller said in a statement to Patch on Tuesday night. “So, starting (Wednesday) all schools in Marblehead will engage in work-to-rule one day per week and rotate buildings affected by the action.
“The School Committee wants to intimidate the community into believing that what we’re fighting for is unreasonable, or impossible. What’s truly unreasonable is their attempt to hide their own financial malfeasance and mismanagement in not advocating for the funding our schools deserve. We will continue to present them with solutions to the problems in our schools.
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“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
School Committee members Jennifer Schaeffner and Sarah Fox issued a response Tuesday night, saying the MEA’s proposal would cost taxpayers an additional $9.6 million over four years and “would result in either significant staff reductions or a tax override in excess of 9 percent over current property taxes.” The response said that increase would only cover professional staff pay increases and would not account for increases for the other four bargaining units.
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Marblehead teachers have been working without a contract since the previous collective-bargaining agreement expired on Aug. 31.
“The School Committee and its attorney continue to drag out bargaining and employ stall tactics we have seen in other communities where bargaining could not reach a fair contract in a timely manner,” Heller said. “They continue to demonstrate a lack of will to address the problems in our schools. We have no choice but to escalate our protest to their intransigence and demand the Committee bargain in good faith and start prioritizing the educators and students in this town.”
MEA co-President Sally Shevory added: “Unfortunately, the School Committee has not made a sincere effort to address issues we have repeatedly raised regarding the quality of our public schools. Committee members must bargain with a sense of urgency and take seriously our concerns about school safety and attracting and retaining staff.”
The School Committee members said the MEA cut off negotiations for the night with the next scheduled negotiation session on Oct. 8.
“The sub-Committee was hopeful both parties would be able to reach an agreement tonight and continues to work towards this goal, maintaining their position that Marblehead Public Schools is an attractive employer as evidenced by our new administrations ability to quickly fill the majority of recent vacancies,” the School Committee statement said.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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