MARBLEHEAD — Members of the Marblehead Education Association (MEA) could potentially face legal action due to the ongoing strike across Marblehead public schools.
A press release sent out by the MEA at noon on Wednesday stated that after the MEA shared its new proposal package with the School Committee, it responded with a notice of legal action towards specific educators.
The MEA was extremely hopeful about the new proposal they constructed on Tuesday as it had come closer to a middle ground between the two parties. The intention was to come to an agreement on Wednesday and have schools up and running on Thursday.
According to an MEA press release, MEA Co-Presidents Sally Shevory and Jonathan Heller and bargaining team Co-Chairs Hannah Hood and Alison Carey are the MEA members facing potential legal action.
Carey took to Facebook Wednesday morning to address the actions placed upon them. Carey posted a statement, “[we] were notified of the Department of Labor Relations’ intent to investigate us as individuals for inciting a strike.”
The MEA believes this investigation has been requested at the hands of School Committee members Sarah Fox, Jenn Schaeffner, and Thatcher Kezer.
A hearing was held at 4 p.m. Wednesday regarding this legal action.
The proposal package the MEA prepared contained adjustments to previous proposals that bring both parties closer to a middle ground.
The package included a 16% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase over the course of four years with an additional 4% increase if an override is passed. This reduced the previous package by more than $3 million, which would make the wage difference only $2.3 million over four years.
In regard to the paid parental leave, the MEA offered 20 days paid leave by the employer in the first year, 30 days in the second year, and 40 days in the third year.
The MEA has also eliminated their proposal for smaller class sizes due to continuous denied proposals over a nine month period. They have removed numerous proposals, focusing only on the most important issues to educators in order to come to an agreement.
The negotiations on Wednesday as of 5:30 p.m. had not been too progressive. Heller said the School Committee had only adjusted the wage proposals by 1% for the top step teachers.
Negotiations were still ongoing for Wednesday night, but the MEA chose to end their night on a high note after the vigil held outside of Marblehead High School. Teachers, students, and community members shared stories and high praise for the teachers of Marblehead.
Superintendent John Robidoux sent out an email around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday alerting families that there would be no school Thursday. Negotiations will continue at the usual time of 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.
