North Shore teachers continue their strike as a deal has yet to be reached

By Olivia Peters

Teachers on the North Shore of Massachusetts continued their strike this weekend after not reaching a deal after a week of strikes.

The unions are primarily focused on issues of pay for teachers and paraprofessionals as well as parietal leave.

The strikes have resulted in students missing a week of school and concerns were raised over students’ ability to continue participating in extracurricular activities.

Student-athletes and parents in Marblehead were thankful that their school’s varsity team was allowed to play their game against the Grafton Gators despite the strike.

On Friday, the Gloucester School Committee followed suit and announced they would also allow high school sports and extracurricular activities to continue during the strike.

The committee stated in a message to the Gloucester School Community this Saturday that they were happy to be making continued, “important progress” with the Gloucester Association of Educational Paraprofessionals.

They announced that several proposals were agreed upon this Saturday. “Our proposals to the GAEP have offered significant wage increases over the course of the three-year contract, and
today, we presented a package proposal that adds a fourth-year salary increase to the contract,” the committee explained.

The Gloucester School Committee said they will remain focused on finding solutions to better student learning while remaining “financially responsible for the city.”

In Massachusetts, it is illegal for public employees, such as teachers, to go on strike. As a result, the unions striking will face fines.