College students will probably be out of the classroom in two Massachusetts faculty districts on Friday after academics in a pair of North Shore communities voted to go on strike.
Instructor unions in Beverly and Gloucester voted overwhelmingly Thursday to authorize a strike amid ongoing contract negotiations with their respective faculty committees.
The Beverly Faculty Committee is permitting athletics, theater and band rehearsals, and area journeys to proceed for so long as the dispute persists, whereas all school-related actions in Gloucester will probably be shut down, per district officers.
“None of us wants to do this, but at this point, we have no choice,” Beverly Academics Affiliation co-president Julia Brotherton mentioned at a press convention Thursday night. “Beverly schools are in crisis. Critical paraprofessional positions regularly go unfilled because the city pays only poverty wages.”
The Beverly Faculty Committee filed a petition with the state Division of Labor Relations earlier this week “to dissuade educators from a strike vote,” Chairwoman Rachael Abell wrote in a letter to the group.
“We want to make it clear that the School Committee does not condone the illegal actions of the BTA,” Abell wrote. “We will work with state officials to minimize the disruption to our students’ education and we urge all teachers and staff to return to school. We call on the BTA to end their illegal strike and join us in working with the mediator to negotiate in good faith.”
Gloucester Excessive Faculty college students walked out of sophistication Thursday “to demonstrate support for their educators,” the coed newspaper, The Gillnetter, reported. Roughly 98% of educators voted to go on strike, the union said.
Gloucester Faculty Committee Chairwoman Kathleen Clancy additionally slammed academics in her district for deciding to skip class for the picket line, saying the committee has requested the state Division of Labor Relations to halt the strike.
“Teachers are essential employees who our children depend on for learning and safety during the school day,” Clancy wrote. “An illegal labor action will cause direct harm to students by forcing many to stay home without a parent or guardian able to care for them, removing access to mental health service options, and limiting students’ abilities to secure warm meals.”
