BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - School teachers in Brookline could soon walk off the job after the town’s Educators Union voted to authorize a strike beginning as soon as Monday if a deal on a new contract is not reached with the School Committee this weekend.
“The members of the Brookline Educators Union overwhelmingly voted on Thursday evening to authorize a strike to begin Monday, May 16, should the Brookline School Committee and the BEU bargaining team fail to reach an agreement this weekend,” Union officials said in a statement.
The Educators Union says its members have been working for nearly three years without a contract that addresses fair and reasonable compensation, as well as working conditions that meet the realities of a modern, comprehensive education.
“We will no longer stand for the disrespect displayed in the approach to bargaining nor stand by while the School Committee persists in gutting a school system that many have considered to be not only among the best in the state but the best in the country,” Union officials added.
School Committee members say they met for several hours in executive session to discuss the Union’s counteroffer received Tuesday and are now working on a counterproposal.
“We learned that the BEU has voted to strike on Monday,” the School Committee said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we will reach an agreement before then.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Linus Guillory says plans are being made to deliver education to students in the event teachers opt to strike.
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