Woburn schools closed Tuesday as teachers strike continues
WOBURN - Schools will be closed in Woburn again on Tuesday, because the teachers are on strike. They hit the picket line at every school in the city on Monday.
Negotiations for a new contract are still taking place, but the union says Mayor Scott Galvin and the School Committee are using delay tactics.
"They decided to quit," Woburn Teachers Association President Barbara Locke said Monday night. "They're home right now, having their dinners and doing what they need to do, and we're here, all of us still at this bargaining table."
The district filed an injunction to stop the strike. A judge agreed Monday night and ordered teachers back to the classroom.
School will be canceled on Tuesday and the union could face fines if the strike continues.
"It's children being deprived of their education, and it's been going on now for two days and again we're not at all happy about it and I don't know how anybody in the city can be happy about it and we're working hard," Mayor Galvin said.
The union is asking for higher pay with a focus on paraprofessional wages and smaller class sizes.
"I started at $20,000, seven years ago. I now make $28,000 a year. I work two jobs. I am the sole income in my family. My husband passed away and I'm a widow. I can't live off this," said Karen Agostinelli, a paraprofessional at the high school.
According to Mayor Galvin, the average salary for a teacher in Woburn is $85,000 a year. He said the city is offering a raise of about 10 percent, but the union wants 14 percent .
"The reason we rejected it – it would have terrible consequences for the school budget. It would cause funding problems going forward. It would be a bad deal for our taxpayers," Galvin said. "We have been clear with them - their illegal strike is not going to be used as a bargaining chip and they are not going to use it to hijack negotiations."
"We want to be in school. All of these people want to be in their classrooms, but the reason why we're not there today is because of Scott Galvin," Locke told reporters earlier on Monday. "The narrative is going to change now. The narrative is going to be that he can't use bullying and fear tactics to all of his unions."
The Woburn Boys and Girls Club is opening up its doors from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with meals on Tuesday. More than 100 kids are expected Tuesday morning, double what they typically have.
Negotiations will resume Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
