The large fines have raised questions about why fines do not appear to help end teacher strikes and what more can be done to speed up contract negotiations and get teachers back in the classroom more quickly. The Beverley teachers’ strike closed schools for the 11th time on Monday – following on from Newton’s strike earlier this year, which was the longest in decades. Marblehead students missed 10 days of classes because of striking teachers.

The strikes are among the longest in the country. Of the 772 teacher strikes that took place between the 2007-2008 and 2022-23 school years, 43 lasted 10 days or longer, according to a study published this year in the National Bureau of Economic Research titled “The Causes and Consequences of US Teachers Strikes.” According to the study, strikes bring major financial benefits to educators, which often outweigh the penalties.

“Both short and long strikes result in significant increases in teacher salaries, on the order of $11,000 to $12,000,” said Melissa Arnold Lyon, assistant professor of public policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY .

To end the attacks on the North Coast, state and local politicians responded with more aggressive tactics. The Beverly School Committee announced Sunday it would begin withholding strike pay Educators and a Marblehead spokesman said Monday the district plans not to issue checks this week to striking workers, most of whom are paid every two weeks.

In Gloucester, where the district also cut wages for its striking workers from day one, educators will receive their full paychecks this Friday and retroactive wages for the one day that was removed from their checks two days ago, Gloucester said -Teachers Union. Teachers who are paid biweekly have negotiated the reinstatement of their salary as part of their return to work agreement.

Gov. Maura Healey also tried to intervene, calling on striking educators Saturday to immediately return to work and complete all contract negotiations, but unions ignored her. An Essex Superior Court ordered Beverly and Marblehead teachers and school boards to conduct a fact-finding investigation that began Monday and will be led by a neutral third party to help resolve the disputes, such as by providing information about whether teachers are underpaid and, if so, to what extent the districts can afford to pay more.

Contract negotiations in Beverly and Marblehead focused on salary increases, expanding paid family leave to match the private sector and other issues. Unions and school boards have accused each other of not making enough concessions to reach a collective agreement.

Meanwhile, in a landmark decision last week, the state labor board ruled that school boards are no longer required to participate in contract negotiations with striking teachers. The move could undermine unions’ success in securing deals if they stand still on the picket line if school boards refuse to negotiate – but there is also a risk that strikes will expand if unions insist negotiate.

The ruling overturned two previous board decisions in teacher strike cases dating back to 1987, which required the Lexington and Hudson school boards to continue negotiations while their teachers picketed. This standard has been used in dealing with teacher strikes ever since to ensure that school boards negotiate in good faith, even when teachers unions violate the law.

The work The board got involved after the Beverly School Committee called for additional action to end the strike and was frustrated that the mandatory penalties weren’t doing it. On Monday, Rachael O. Abell, chairwoman of the Beverly School Committee, said her board, which negotiated with the union over the weekend, would halt negotiations until members return to work.

Observers say the state The ruling could have implications for other districts facing teacher strikes in the future, particularly if the state Labor Relations Commission tells school boards in its initial orders that they do not have to negotiate, which could eliminate strikes as a bargaining tool.

“This could be game-changing,” said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, noting that it would give school committees additional influence because they would no longer be required to negotiate during illegal strikes.

In his judgment The labor board said it would not lightly overturn previous cases, but the recent wave of teacher strikes in Massachusetts caused it to reconsider.

“The union argues that suspending the School Board’s bargaining obligations would unfairly upset the balance of power,” the board wrote, then added: “The union fails to acknowledge its own clear and unambiguous violation of the law, which expressly prohibits the union from engaging in a strike and withholding services from thousands of students as a bargaining tool.”

According to the state Labor Relations Board, the Essex Superior Court on Monday afternoon awarded $560,000 in fines against the Beverly Teachers Association and the Gloucester Teachers Association, $450,000 against the Marblehead Education Association and more than $200,000 against the Gloucester Association of Education Paraprofessionals imposed.

Julia Brotherton, co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association, said she was disappointed with the board’s decision, saying it “significantly slowed negotiations.”

“We believe the ruling is intended, in part, to deter unions across the state from engaging in such activities,” she said.

The frequency and danger of strikes have increased across the state in recent years as the Massachusetts Teachers Association unsuccessfully lobbied Beacon Hill to change state law to allow most public employee unions to strike legally and without fines. Unions say they have to strike because school committees were not negotiating in good faith, something school board members have denied.

Unions have had significant influence in quickly resolving labor contracts during these strikes as district leaders face pressure from families to quickly reopen classrooms. As a result, unions have won some important victories on wage increases, extended family leave and reducing class sizes.

Various judges have tried to circumvent the strikes by imposing fines on unions. But unions often default on their payments and the duration of strikes has increased dramatically. Since the beginning of 2024, the strikes have lasted about two weeks. In recent years, schools have been closed for just one or more days due to strikes.

In the North Shore strikes, within days of the fine being imposed, all unions filed applications in the Essex Supreme Court on the grounds that they had already run out of money. They also opposed a request from the state labor department to increase fines.

Judge Janice W. Howe imposed a daily fine of $50,000 on each teachers union, increasing by an additional $10,000 per day. Gloucester’s paraprofessional union received a reduced fine.

John J. Clifford, an attorney who represents municipalities in Massachusetts, said counties’ decisions to cut wages put them in line with the private sector, where striking workers typically don’t get paid.

“Parents should not be the only ones bearing the financial burden of these strikes,” he said.

James Vaznis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @globevaznis.