Current:Home > Stocks2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom -Aspire Money Growth
2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:15:27
BOSTON (AP) — Two of the three striking teacher unions in Massachusetts have been fined for refusing to return to the classroom.
Judges on Tuesday imposed fines of $50,000 a day for the unions in Beverly and Gloucester that would rise by $10,000 a day as long as they remain on strike. The unions voted Nov. 7 to authorize a strike and schools were closed Friday. Schools remain closed in those districts.
A third district, Marblehead, voted to go on strike Tuesday. It was brought to court Wednesday and could also face similar fines.
Strikes by teachers are rare in Massachusetts, partly because state law bans public sector employees from striking.
The Beverly Teachers Association has said they were pushing for smaller class sizes in the 4,500-student district, 12 weeks of paid parental leave and a “living wage” for paraprofessionals or teachers assistant whose starting salary is $20,000.
In Gloucester, the union in the 2,800-student district has asked for eight weeks of fully paid parental leave, two weeks at 75% and two weeks at 50%. It also wants significant pay increases for paraprofessionals, safer conditions for students and more prep time for elementary school teachers.
The last time teachers went on strike was earlier this year in Newton, a Boston suburb where an 11-day strike ended after the two sides reached an agreement. The Newton strike was the sixth teachers strike in the state since 2022 and the longest.
A judge fined the teachers association in Newton more than $600,000 for violating the state’s ban on strikes by public workers and threatened to double daily fines to $100,000 if they failed to reach an agreement when they did. The union paid half of the fines to the city and half to the state.
The two sides in that strike agreed to a cost-of-living increase of about 13% over four years for teachers, pay hikes for classroom aides and 40 days of fully paid family leave.
veryGood! (7343)
Related
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- North Carolina man charged with animal cruelty for tossing puppy from car window: report
- A Tanzanian opposition leader was arrested briefly amid human rights concerns
- Grand Canyon hiker dies after trying to walk from rim to rim in a single day
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- A decision in Texas AG’s Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial could happen as soon as this week
- Evidence insufficient to charge BTK killer in Oklahoma cold case, prosecutor says
- Google’s dominance of internet search faces major challenge in legal showdown with U.S. regulators
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Grand Canyon hiker dies after trying to walk from rim to rim in a single day
Ranking
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Virginia police announce arrest in 1994 cold case using DNA evidence
- The search for Cyprus’ missing goes high-tech as time weighs on loved ones waiting for closure
- McCarthy juggles government shutdown and potential Biden impeachment inquiry as House returns
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- US moves to advance prisoner swap deal with Iran and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds
- US and UK holding UN screening of documentary on Russia’s siege of Ukrainian city of Mariupol
- Georgia counties are declared eligible for federal disaster aid after Hurricane Idalia
Recommendation
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
Dodgers embrace imperfections as another October nears: 'We'll do whatever it takes'
Blake Lively Makes Golden Appearance at Michael Kors' Star-Studded New York Fashion Week Show
One peril facing job-hunters? Being ghosted
Travis Hunter, the 2
Fighting intensifies in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp despite attempted truce talks
Apple event 2023: iPhone 15, AirPods, Apple Watch rumors ahead of Tuesday's event
AP PHOTOS: Blood, sweat and tears on the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup in France