Illegal teachers’ union strikes in Massachusetts nears third week, amasses thousands in fines 

Three Massachusetts teachers’ unions are continuing their illegal strike, forcing 10,000 students out of school.  

The Beverly Teachers Association (BTA), the Union of Gloucester Educators (UCE), and the Marblehead Education Association (MEA) are on strike in their respective school districts, even though public union walkouts are outlawed in Massachusetts. The districts are in the Greater Boston area. 

BTA and UCE began their strike on Nov. 7 and were joined by MEA on Nov. 12. 

City and district leadership kept families updated on the frustrating situation.  

“We have worked through the weekend in hopes of finding common ground with the union leadership,” said Gloucester Superintendent Ben Lummis, “but unfortunately the two sides continue to remain apart on key issues like wages.”  

Gloucester school board chair Kathleen Clancy said they’d offer the union “the largest salary increases ever” in the district’s history but needed to make sure the city “does not overstrain its finances or be forced to make service and personnel cuts.”  

Beverly leadership also made generous offers to increase teacher salaries by nearly 30% and paraprofessional wages by nearly 45%.  

But the unions still aren’t satisfied, even though they’re running up against legal ramifications.  

A judge told the MEA to end their strike by Nov. 14 or else face a $50,000 fine, with an additional $10,000 for every day the strike continues.  

BTA and UCE are compounding similar fines, though their penalties started on Nov. 12. NBC10 reported the BTA is scheduled to appear in court next Monday.  

Daniel Suhr, an attorney who represents families in lawsuits against teachers’ unions, previously explained to The Lion why states take such a hard line against strikes.    

“Multiple academic studies demonstrate that they negatively impact students’ learning and social/emotional well-being,” Suhr said. “They also leave parents scrambling as schools shut down, sometimes for weeks, causing anxiety and disruption across an entire community. 

“Parents saw first-hand what happened when COVID shut down their schools, and they do not want to live through that again because unions are willing to break the law in their quest for higher salaries or so-called ‘social justice’ agendas.”  

Even when unions face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for defying the law, it can still be financially worthwhile to strike.   

“The price of an illegal strike to a union is often negated by the financial gains these unions will see by taking a percentage of increased teacher wages,” Ashley Varner, vice president of Communication and Federal Affairs at the Freedom Foundation, previously told The Lion. “Strikes like this show exactly why unions got into this business to begin with.   

“It isn’t to improve education or to help children. It’s money.”