Melrose Educators Vote To Authorize Strike

MELROSE, MA — Melrose educators will go on strike on Tuesday if negotiations fail to produce a new contract for teachers before that point, the Melrose Education Association announced Friday.

Educators recently gathered, according to the Education Association, voting to authorize a strike nearly 200 days after their previous teachers contract with the Melrose Public Schools expired.

Melrose School Superintendent Julie Kukenberger and Mayor Paul Brodeur both previously warned about a possible strike on Thursday night, with Kukenberger writing in a letter to families that she was “hopeful” that the Education Association would not choose to strike.

READ: Melrose Teachers Strike Possible, District Says

Officials this week said a strike would force the Melrose Public Schools to close for all students while such a strike proceeds.

Schools will already be closed on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Strikes are illegal for public employees in Massachusetts. Strikes have moved forward anyway, though, with multiple by public school educators unions in Massachusetts in the past year.

“Our educators, students, families, and community deserve better than what Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur and the Melrose School Committee have been willing to offer and what we know the city can afford,” the Melrose Education Association said in its announcement.

“Even though our contract expired almost 200 days ago, Melrose educators have been showing up to their schools and delivering an excellent education to the students who we serve,” the Education Association continued. “We are dedicated to our students, and if Mayor Brodeur and the School Committee were equally committed to our students, we would have reached a contract settlement long ago."

The vote to authorize a strike passed by a 99% margin with more than 90% of union members present, the Education Association said on Friday.

Kukenberger shared a statement following the vote.

"From my observations," she said, "it has always been the School Committee's intention to arrive at a fair contract and I know they value and appreciate our educators and employees."

"It is my hope that this matter will be resolved soon and we can continue to support our staff and students," Kukenberger continued.

Brodeur also weighed in Friday night.

“The School Committee’s bargaining team has been and will continue to negotiate in good faith until they reach an agreement on a contract that is fair to our teachers, meets the needs of our students and families, and is financially sustainable," he said.

Brodeur said Melrose Public Schools leaders are currently focused on ensuring student access to meals during the school day in the event of a strike. He said leaders are also "continuing communications with (Department of Labor Relations) mediators and the (Melrose Education Association), whom we informed today that we are ready and available to continue negotiating over the weekend."

Melrose Education Association President Lisa Donovan told Patch later Friday night that the School Committee and the Education Association are scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday without a mediator present.

Negotiations have seen debates over teacher pay and preparation time among other items.

In a statement, the Melrose School Committee said it has made "many generous and fair offers" during negotiations. Union officials, though, have said these offers haven't gone far enough, with rank-and-file members rejecting one such proposal by an overwhelming margin in a vote last month.

"The School Committee understands the frustration being experienced by the Melrose community relative to collective bargaining with our teachers," the committee said Friday night. "To say that we are also frustrated would be an understatement."

School Committee Chair Margaret Driscoll confirmed on Monday that the Melrose School Committee had requested mediation from the state to help settle teacher contract negotiations.

The Melrose Education Association subsequently held a rally on Tuesday before delivering a vote of no confidence to the School Committee and Brodeur during a School Committee meeting that night.

Kukenberger said on Thursday that the state Department of Labor Relations had responded to Melrose’s request, indicating that it was able to provide mediation.

"Unlike a strike, mediation offers the best opportunity for parties to come to an agreement without impacting our students,” Brodeur said on Friday.

Donovan previously criticized the School Committee’s decision to request mediation, calling the move “disappointing news.”

The Education Association addressed the topic of mediation again after its strike vote, saying that the process of bringing in an outside mediator “only will delay negotiations by keeping the MEA and School Committee from meeting together.”

A group of area educators unions announced support for the Melrose Education Association’s decision to authorize a strike on Friday moments after the union announced the results of its vote.

"Our unions are ready to offer whatever support may be needed for their strike effort, including picketing and inducing support from other public employees,” area union presidents representing educators in Andover, Belmont, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Lexington, Malden, Somerville, Tewksbury, Wellesley and Wakefield said in a joint statement.

Other unions from Newton to Worcester also backed the now pending strike.

“Our decision to strike is not an easy one to make,” the Melrose Education Association said in its announcement. “However, we also no longer can ignore the unmet needs of our students because Mayor Brodeur and the School Committee will not fund a contract that supports the public schools that Melrose deserves.”

Beyond upcoming negotiations, the Melrose Education Association is planning to hold a rally in Melrose on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Memorial Knoll Park.

Update: The Melrose Education Association ratified a new contract for teachers on Monday after parties reached a deal on a tentative agreement on Saturday.