School cancelled in Haverhill Thursday as teacher strike enters 4th day
HAVERHILL - Haverhill schools will be closed for a fourth day on Thursday as teachers continue to strike. Public school teachers in the city did not return to school Wednesday morning, violating a court order to end their strike.
The Haverhill Education Association said Wednesday night was the closest they've been to a deal, with a tentative agreement on money.
"While the district came forth with money that we were ready to tentatively agree to, a lot of our proposals on language didn't come through," said HEA President Tim Briggs.
WBZ learned the agreement almost reached between the school committee and the union totals roughly $25 million.
"We believe this contract will put the Haverhill teachers on par with teachers in similar urban school districts," said Scott Wood of the school committee.
The hang up is contract language, that the HEA says would protect students and they're not budging on it.
"What we're doing to keep students safe and put some systems in place is the right thing to do," Briggs said.
An Essex Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday ordering striking teachers to cease and desist and get back to class by 9 a.m. Wednesday. The judge said if they continue, they will be held in contempt of court and could face fines or jail time.
The judge ordered that the Haverhill Education Association pay a fine of $50,000 Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Massachusetts Teachers Association faces a $250,000 fine. If the strike continues, the unions will be fined an additional $10,000 per day.
"We've been preparing for this for 20 years. Our reserves for this and any strike fines are not phasing us at all. We are ready for the long haul," Haverhill teacher Ted Kempinski told WBZ-TV.
"We don't care. The union leadership has been working on this for decades. We don't care about the fines. Can I say it again? We don't care about the fines. We're not scared about it. Bring it on!"
The preliminary injunction issued by Justice James Lang noted that "the students of the Haverhill School system would suffer irreparable harm" if the temporary restraining order to end the strike was not issued.
The missed days will be added on to the end of the school year, and potentially school vacations depending on how long the strike goes.
