Woburn officials turn to courts to stop teachers’ strike after schools remain closed Monday – Boston News, Weather, Sports

WOBURN, MASS. (WHDH) – A judge has said she will soon make a decision in the case of a teachers’ strike in Woburn after city officials requested a temporary restraining order.

Teachers in Woburn could be seen outside City Hall on Monday as hundreds of people held signs and cheered as traffic rolled by – all part of an effort to seek a new contract as school officials approached the courts after negotiations in hit a dead end.

At the same time, an injunction was filed in court, naming the Woburn Teachers Association as a defendant. As arguments continued in court until late in the afternoon, the judge in charge announced that a decision would be made soon, although an exact timetable was not given.

“Personally, I’m ready to stand with my brothers and sisters in this union and fight for what we believe is right,” said teacher Christy Nickerson when asked if she was willing to continue the strike in the face of a court order .

The decision would come after Woburn Public Schools closed Monday after a full day of negotiations between the city and the Woburn Teachers Association (WTA) failed to come up with a new contract and avoided a weekend strike.

The mayor of Woburn told 7NEWS he felt the city made the educators a fair offer, including a more than 10 percent pay rise for teachers over three years. He said the teachers asked for more.

“The teachers responded with an offer of 14.75 percent, which is outrageous,” Mayor Scott Galvin said.

The teachers also asked the city to negotiate a new contract for paraprofessionals at the same time as the teacher interviews, stating that the current starting salary for paraprofessionals is approximately $22,000.

They’re fighting to raise that base salary to $27,000.

“We’ve made them a priority because they’re not earning a living wage at this point, and we think that’s completely unfair,” Nickerson said.

The city, meanwhile, argues that paraprofessional contracts have always been negotiated separately.

Though school was canceled Monday, free lunches were still available at Woburn Public Schools from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m

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