Some Massachusetts schools back in session amid ongoing teachers’ strike

Classes are back in session in one of two cities in Massachusetts impacted by a teachers’ strike.

Malden schools reopened Tuesday morning after the teachers union and district leaders reached a tentative agreement Monday night on a three-year deal ending a day-long strike that has shut down all campuses, The Boston Globe reported.

Meanwhile, classes were canceled for a second day in Haverhill after a judge ordered the striking teachers back to work because teacher strikes violate state law, Boston 25 News reported. 

Essex County Superior Court Judge James Lang wrote in his order that the city’s 8,000 students would suffer immediate and irreparable harm if the order was not issued.

MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS’ STRIKE CANCELS CLASSES IN 2 CITIES

Teachers could start receiving fines if they don’t follow the judge’s order to return to the classrooms.

“It’s time our school committee and mayor do the right thing!” the Haverhill Education Association said in a statement on Facebook Monday night. “Come honestly to the table and give the teachers at HEA the contract they deserve. Our working conditions are the learning conditions of our students.”

SEATTLE STUDENS MISS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AS TEACHERS UNION LAUNCHES STRIKE

Teachers in Haverhill make about $10,000 less than the state average, Boston 25 reports. The school district offered teachers raises totaling $20 million over three years, but Scott Wood of the Haverhill School Committee said they are asking for more.

Teachers in both districts walked out Monday after contract negotiations failed over the weekend. The educators were demanding better pay and improved working conditions.  

Malden’s superintendent had said the students and families suffered the consequences of the teacher strike.