Photo: Courtesy of the Newton Teachers Association
NEWTON, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — After 14 days on strike, the Newton Teachers Association is facing a hearing on Friday after the Newton School Committee filed an emergency motion for reconsideration of sanctions and an immediate hearing.
The Motion Hearing for Reconsideration will be held on Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. at the Middlesex County Superior Court.
On Thursday, the School Committee asked the court for the hearing in order to increase the fines against the NTA, saying that last week’s fine reduction did not have the effects they wanted nor did it encourage the NTA to end the strike.
The court imposed the initial injunction against the NTA on the first day of their strike on Jan. 19, saying that they were striking illegally.
On Jan. 22, the court held a contempt hearing because the NTA had not ended their labor strike, and the court imposed escalating daily fines on the NTA starting at $25,000. The daily fines made against the teacher labor union were decreased on the eighth day of their strike.
Since the strike began, the labor union has accumulated $525,000 in fines.
The NTA started the strike because of contract disputes with the School Committee over wages that educators said were not enough to reflect inflation and increased costs of living.
Since then, Newton schools have been closed for 10 days. Rallies to show support for the striking teachers have taken place over the past two weeks, with some students advocating for their teachers as they negotiate better wages.
However, some Newton parents and students have voiced complaints against the strike and the negative effects it has been causing.
In the exhibits they filed to support their emergency motion, the School Committee attached excerpts from emails and letters from students and parents in Newton sent to the court.
The documents showed that “parents and families are suffering substantial and material harm from this ongoing strike,” argued the School Committee.
Some parents explained in the letters that the strike might impact their child’s “chances of college acceptance,” while another letter compared the strike to the COVID-19 pandemic and the “traumatic” effects on their children after losing their “routine in the school setting.”
Other Newton parents said in their letter to court that the strike is difficult for those working full-time jobs, making them “unable to supervise our children adequately during this break.”
The NTA has filed their opposition to the motion and the exhibits that the School Committee presented on Thursday. They said that “parents and students do not have a right to intervene” in these cases of collective bargaining such as this one.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned at WBZ NewsRadio 1030 AM for the most updated information.
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