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Newton teachers continue to strike as fines kick in
The Newton Teachers Association is facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines that are set to increase every day the strike continues this week.
Classes were canceled in Newton Tuesday for the third straight school day as teachers continue to strike. Members of the Newton Teachers Association say they are resolved to keep fighting for a new contract that meets their demands, even as tens of thousands of dollars in court-ordered fines stack up.
A $25,000 fine was levied on the NTA for failing to comply with a court order and end its strike by 8 p.m. Monday. That fine will double each day this week if the strike extends past nightly 8 p.m. deadlines, according to Chris Brezski of the Newton School Committee. The fine could grow to $200,000 by the end of the week.
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If no resolution is reached by Friday, a hearing will take place that day to “discuss a more meaningful approach to ensuring compliance with the law,” according to a letter from Mayor Ruthanne Fuller.
“There is a reason that teachers strikes are illegal in Massachusetts. Being out of school really hurts children. Schools provide routine and consistency for students. Kids learn in school, have fun with friends. Students receive needed support from trusted and outstanding educators and staff,” Fuller wrote on Monday.
Public employees including teachers are prohibited from striking in Massachusetts, but that has not prevented a wave of teachers unions across the state from initiating work stoppages amid contract negotiations in recent years.
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Members of the NTA say they have been working without a contract since August. Their stated goals are to win better wages for instructional aides and behavior therapists, place social workers in every elementary school, get “humane and modern paid family leave” for all educators, and negotiate fair cost-of-living adjustments for teachers.
The court orders and fines that came with this fight were expected. They are comparable to those levied on other striking teachers unions in the past.
“We knew there would be ramifications, including fines, when we took the vote to strike,” a NTA spokesperson said in a statement to Boston.com Tuesday. “We are as committed as ever to securing a contract that provides Newton students and teachers the instructional and learning conditions that they need and deserve.”
The two sides are scheduled to resume negotiations around midday Tuesday, according to the NTA. Two negotiation sessions occurred Monday, NTA member Ryan Normandin said at a press conference.
Some marginal progress may have been made Monday, Normandin said. The School Committee asked NTA negotiators questions about their proposals, who had the chance to explain them in return, he added.
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“That was more of a conversation than had been happening previously,” he said.
But Normandin said members of the NTA are still disappointed with the results of the sessions.
“While there was minimal face-to-face bargaining on Monday, the NTA believes that it has placed the School Committee and Mayor Fuller in a position to swiftly reach an agreement with educators. They have a clear, clean and transparent document of every proposal. We look forward to a day of proactive bargaining with the goal of reopening schools once a fair contract is settled,” the NTA said in a statement Tuesday morning.
The School Committee said Monday that it had asked the NTA to continue negotiations but to end the strike, a request the union refused. School Committee members said that they agree with the NTA that class sizes need to be reduced and that mental health supports and social work services need to be increased. These issues were being addressed before the strike, the School Committee said, calling the work stoppage “unnecessary.” The committee said it has offered a compensation package to the NTA that is competitive with comparable districts in Massachusetts.
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“However, if we met all the current demands of the union, we would not be able to reduce our high school class sizes or add social workers in our elementary schools. Not only would the demands of the union consume our ability to improve programs or services, we believe we would have to lay off approximately 60 educators within a year and an equal amount over the following five years,” the School Committee said in Fuller’s letter.
The NTA is focusing on Fuller in many of its public comments about the strike.
“They say they don’t have the money. They say that if they give our students and our educators what they need, they’ll have to cut programs. Mayor Fuller has already cut programs for years. It’s not our fault that Mayor Fuller does not know how to budget,” Normandin said.
Negotiations have been ongoing since October 2022. Details of how momentum for the strike grew and how district officials came to know about it were contained in a ruling and order issued by the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board in response to a petition the School Committee filed with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations.
The NTA is soliciting donations, and members are continuing to demonstrate Tuesday in locations around the city. A large rally is set to take place outside the Newton Education Center on Walnut Street. Members of the city’s faith community will speak at the rally. They expressed their support for the NTA in an open letter.
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