Members of the Brookline Educators Union at a rally in November 2021. Photo: Suzanne Sausville/WBZ NewsRadio
BROOKLINE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Brookline Schools are closed on Monday after the Brookline Educators Union (BEU) voted to go on strike, despite a weekend of fierce negotiations with the district.
Brookline Schools said there would "simply not be the staffing capacity to operate all schools safely" on Monday, and that school on Tuesday was in question depending on if the parties could come to an agreement Monday. The district said another mediation session is scheduled for Monday night.
Negotiations took place deep into the night on Saturday, and a state mediator finally declared an impasse at about 4:00 AM on Sunday. The Brookline School Committee said the three main sticking points were wages, teacher preparation time and hiring diversity. The BEU said in a statement that prep time and teacher collaboration time, and "substantive action on attracting and retaining educators of color" were at issue.
There has been no contract between the BEU and Brookline Schools for nearly three years.
A Norfolk Superior Court Judge enjoined the BEU from striking on Friday — teacher's strikes are against state law.
BEU President Jessica Wender-Shubow told WBZ NewsRadio that teachers were hitting the picket line in front of the town's K-8 schools and Brookline High School at 8:00 AM, and said the next mediation session was set for 5:00 PM Monday.
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