Tensions are still running high along the North Shores as two teachers unions there remain at odds with their school committees over contract negotiations.
The labor disputes are turning into the longest teacher strikes in Massachusetts' modern history, and it still looks like there's no solution in sight for educators in Beverly and Marblehead.
Educators from around the state rallied on Tuesday morning at the State House, encouraging Gov. Maura Healey to address the ongoing strikes.
"I went in wanting to make it clear that this is a power issue at this point. Many of us are understanding these strikes as a lockout," said Andover teacher Holly Currier. "School committee members are understanding these as an attempt to break the union and are speaking out as such, and we wanted to convey to the governor that without right-to-strike legislation there will be more strikes.”
Healey issued a statement after meeting with the teachers union representatives, urging all parties in Beverly and Marblehead to reach agreements immediately.
"The parties need to finish these agreements now," she said. "And I believe the teachers should get back into school while the final details are worked out. Our young people need to be back in school – it's time to get this done."
In Beverly, the strike entered its twelfth day on Tuesday, making it the longest educator strike in modern state history. The school committee there is now refusing to negotiate because neither district made a court-ordered deadline.
A fact finding process is underway in both districts, and a hearing is scheduled for next week. Unfortunately, that means thousands of students who have already missed roughly two weeks of school could lose more. That's as teachers in these districts continue to have their pay docked.
"Cutting off pay right before Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays is clearly a tactic to bully educators and force the BTA back to work without a living wage for paras," co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association Julia Brotherton said.
City officials said they were left with no choice.
"Nobody here for a second wants to withhold a bit of anyone's pay, but we're stuck," Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said.
Meanwhile, in Marblehead, the strike has reached 11 days, but things are just as heated. In fact, on Sunday, two school committee members were actually chased to their cars by angry parents and teachers.
