GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - Teachers in several North Shore communities held a series of walk-ins Friday morning as they call for better contracts with their respective school districts.
The walk-ins happened at Beverly Middle School, West Parish Elementary School in Gloucester, and Rumney Marsh Academy in Revere.
The walk-ins followed recent votes by educator unions in Beverly, Gloucester, Marblehead, and Revere to begin “work-to-rule” protests, according to North Shore Educators United.
“The action is a protest to stalled contract negotiations and demonstrates how much educators routinely give beyond what is required of them,” North Shore Educators United said in a statement.
The work-to-rule votes mean teachers will not do any work beyond what is specified in their contract, such as providing after-school assistance, chaperoning field trips, writing newsletters, and serving on school committees.
Speaking with reporters, union representatives on Friday said they have been fighting for smaller class sizes, paid parental leave, and a living wage. Parties have met for negotiations. But union officials said talks have stalled.
“Educators do an immense amount of work beyond their contractual hours,” said Revere Teachers Association Co-President Jane Chapin outside Rumney Marsh Academy. “…We’re out here today to bring awareness to the amount of extra work that we do.”
In Revere, Chapin said schools are dealing with staffing issues, including classrooms without core content teachers.
“The school committee has the ability to solve these problems today,” Chapin said. “Our schools are in a crisis.”
North Shore Educators United said Marblehead educators started their work-to-rule action on Wednesday. Beverly, Gloucester, and Revere educators began work-to-rule on Friday.
“It feels good to be supported by all my colleagues and it feels really good that we’re all standing together and we’re all on the same page and we’re all willing to put in the work to get what we think that we deserve out of this contract,” said Rumney Marsh Academy teacher Shannon Lindlau.
Gloucester School Committee said it was ‘blindsided’ by work-to-rule
The Gloucester School Committee in a statement said it was aware of the work-to-rule plans.
The committee said it was “blindsided” by the move, as negotiations had been “proceeding at a pace similar to prior teacher contract negotiations.”
The school committee said the Gloucester Teachers Association presented a 29-page set of proposals at their most recent meeting with negotiating counterparts.
Though the school committee previously offered to continue talks over the summer, officials said the teachers association told them negotiators “were not available.”
“The School Committee team and the GTA negotiating team have been working through complex and challenging proposals brought by both sides,” the Gloucester School Committee said.
Among requests, the school committee said the teachers association recently asked for raises between 38% and 55%. The school committee offered raises between 15% and 25%.
“The School Committee team is committed to working with the GTA to come to agreement on important and complex issues such as increasing teacher salaries, expanding leave benefits, and ensuring we agree to a contract that helps improve student learning, engagement, and achievement,” the school committee said. “While engaging in a work to rule action is legal, these actions may not interfere with students’ and families’ arrival to school, school starting on time, or any school operations.”
The school committee said it disputes claims that negotiations stalled.
Beverly School Committee president addresses work-to-rule
In Beverly, School Committee President Rachael Abell sent a letter to school community members informing them of the work-to-rule protest.
“This will not impact your child’s regular school day,” Abell said.
“We understand the members who reached this decision believe this action will help raise awareness to their campaign,” Abell continued. “However, we also know that our educators remain committed to our students and school community.”
Abell said the School Committee “strongly believes there is a mutual desire for a new contract as soon as possible.”
“Our bargaining team continues to negotiate in good faith to reach a contract that is fair to all educators and staff, while working within the City’s budget parameters,” Abell said.
7NEWS reached out to officials in Revere and Marblehead for their response to recent work-to-rule votes. Officials did not respond as of around 9:45 a.m.
While protests move forward on the North Shore, they follow a string of labor actions by teachers unions across Massachusetts in recent years.
Contract disputes have escalated to strikes in communities including Newton, Malden, Haverhill, Woburn and Andover.
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