Agreement reached to end teacher strike in Haverhill; School open Friday
HAVERHILL - An agreement has been reached in Haverhill between the teachers union and school committee, ending a nearly weeklong strike.
Schools will be open on Friday, but there will be no bus service. The deal was reached late Thursday night.
"With this contract we won a financial package that represents a substantial investment in our public schools, closing a damaging wage gap between Haverhill educators and educators in other districts," said Haverhill Education Association President Tim Briggs.
The 8,000 students in the Haverhill Public School District missed four days of school this week.
"We are extremely excited to get our teachers back in the classroom, get our students back where they belong in the classrooms and let them do what they do best," said Scott Wood of the Haverhill School Committee.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh played a big role in the negotiations Thursday. He was on the phone with school committee members and the union helping them negotiate the final deal.
Wood signed the new contract on the steps of City Hall with Briggs just before 11 p.m. Thursday.
Hours earlier, Haverhill teachers swarmed City Hall as negotiations continued.
"We want it to happen," said teacher Lori Curry. "We want to be in school tomorrow, all of us have said we want to be in school tomorrow, and this is complete games they are playing with us."
As negotiations appeared to stall, the teachers didn't mince words for the school committee.
"This lawyer cares more about going to court, and getting teachers fined, and the unions fined, instead of staying there all day like Malden did and get the deal done," Curry said. "Thirty years I've been in this city. I've had it today with this."
The union was violating a court order by continuing to strike. An Essex Superior Court judge ordered the Haverhill Education Association to pay a fine of $50,000 Wednesday, while the Massachusetts Teachers Association faced a $250,000 fine. If the strike continued, it was an additional $10,000 per day.
"They have the money, we have the money, that's all set. It's the student safety issues," Haverhill High School counselor Sarah Gauvin told WBZ-TV.
"There's no issue with student safety and teacher safety, it's the approach to it is what we're fighting about. Under Massachusetts general law, it defines how we deal with those issues. They're trying to put it in this contract," said school committee member Paul Magliocchetti.
Briggs said the new agreement includes language that addresses student safety and developing a more diverse teaching force.
A statement from the Haverhill School Committee said:
"The Haverhill School Committee is pleased that a deal has been reached to bring striking teachers back to the classroom. The agreement includes increased pay for teachers, without placing an undue burden on taxpayers. It also addresses union concerns about classroom safety, while maintaining management rights and protecting student rights to privacy. Importantly, the union has agreed to reimburse the School Department for costs incurred during this strike. In addition, the union has agreed to fund a scholarship program for underprivileged students. Now, we look forward to putting this strike behind us and returning to the work of serving the children of our city."
Students will have to make up the missed days at the end of the year or they could be taken from school vacations.
Parents have been forced to turn to other sources, outside of schools for child care, including the YMCA.
"To be honest, I'm trying to like find who could take care of them. The first day I missed the sign-up to put them in, so imagine if I didn't have no one. I would have to miss work and I just started a new job, so it would have been horrible," parent Vanessa Romero told WBZ.
"Just give them what they want," said parent Stephanie Parkhurst. "They do a job I don't want to do."
Some parents were on the steps of City Hall Thursday night too, urging the people in the negotiating room to get the job done and get the kids back in the classroom.
"She loves her teachers," said parent Alicia Smolar. "She wants to see them treated fairly."
