Teachers in 2 Mass. Districts Test Whether Walkouts Really Are Against the Law
Striking teachers and unions in Haverhill and Malden will almost certainly come away without paying a price for their supposedly illegal actions
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One of organized labor鈥檚 favorite slogans is, 鈥淭here is no such thing as an illegal strike, only an unsuccessful one.鈥�
We are seeing this play out this week in Haverhill and Malden, Massachusetts. Teachers in both school districts went on strike Oct. 17 after fruitless contract negotiations. The Malden union reached a tentative agreement with the district after a single day on strike.
on the question of public employee strikes: 鈥淣o public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, and no public employee or employee organization shall induce, encourage or condone any strike, work stoppage, slowdown or withholding of services by such public employees.鈥�
Despite this, Massachusetts teacher strikes have occurred more frequently in recent years after a lull of about a decade. went on strike in 2019, as did some in and in 2020, as well as last May.
I have long opposed no-strike laws for public school teachers. Enforcement is rare, consequences even rarer, and the unions don鈥檛 take them seriously at all. Brookline union officers on their illegal strike, and their advice appears to have made its way to Haverhill and Malden.
The Haverhill School Committee got wind of a possible walkout last week and immediately petitioned the state labor relations board to prevent it from taking place. The evidence the committee presented included a list of frequently asked questions that was apparently generated by the teachers union in preparation for the strike vote.
With the bold headline, 鈥淒OCUMENT FOR UNION MEMBERS ONLY, NOT TO BE POSTED,鈥� it explained that in previous strikes, 鈥渘ot one person lost their job, and return-to-work protections were negotiated.鈥�
It also noted, 鈥淭he penalty for strikes is typically a monetary one leveled against the union, not individual educators.鈥�
Surely the teachers are smart enough to know that any union penalties will be paid by members with their dues money. The statement also flies in the face of the Massachusetts Teachers Association鈥檚 assertion that 鈥�.鈥�
that said, 鈥淚n Malden and Haverhill, our members are fighting for the common good.鈥� However, the Haverhill FAQ document puts that claim in doubt.
In answer to the question, 鈥淲hat about children with special needs?鈥� the union responded, 鈥淭his is a matter for the District to handle. Imagine if there were a hurricane, except this is one of the district鈥檚 own making 鈥� same thing, the District has to make a plan.鈥�
And to the question, 鈥淒uring a strike, what things are in place to support those children who rely on school for safety and necessities like food?鈥� the union replied, 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a snow day. If the school district chooses to arrange something, they can do that without the labor of school employees and those exercising solidarity with their collective action.鈥�
The district and the state labor relations board filed a court complaint and against the Haverhill strike. The union, however, remains defiant.
鈥淗averhill Public Schools teachers and the HEA have chosen to do what is moral over what is legal,鈥� said Haverhill Education Association vice president Barry Davis. 鈥淯ntil a tentative agreement is reached, we will be on the picket lines.鈥�
The union will bank on getting all charges and penalties dropped as part of the contract negotiations. Any settlements will almost certainly require making up instructional days lost to the strikes, so no one will lose any pay. Both teachers and unions in Haverhill and Malden will almost certainly come away without paying a price for their illegal actions.
Teachers want students and the community to get the message that striking, even if illegal, is the right thing to do for everyone鈥檚 benefit. That鈥檚 all well and good, but people might also apply that lesson elsewhere, like challenging election results, or even ignoring provisions in teachers鈥� contracts that are detrimental to students. You can鈥檛 flout the laws you don鈥檛 like and still expect firm enforcement of those you do.
Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.
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