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Educators in Marblehead, Beverly, and Gloucester remained steadfast in their separate teachers strikes on Tuesday, despite Boston.com readers’ disapproval of the strikes.
The teachers unions are asking for higher wages for teachers and paraprofessionals, improved paid parental leave benefits, and other points like school safety and class sizes. The unions are slated to rally Tuesday at the State House in Boston.
All three unions – the Beverly Teachers Association, the Marblehead Education Association, and the Union of Gloucester Educators – belong to the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which has lobbied Beacon Hill for the right to strike. It is illegal for teachers to strike in Massachusetts, a measure that Boston.com readers support (albeit not by a large margin). A judge ordered the Gloucester and Beverly teachers’ unions to pay a $50,000 fine if the strike wasn’t called off. The fines go up by $10,000 each day the strike continues…