Schools in Newton, Massachusetts have been mostly closed this week as the teachers union has waged an illegal strike. Things got particularly interesting yesterday as the teachers stormed City Hall to the door of office of the mayor, who called police for protection.
The Newton Beacon quotes the city's mayor, Ruthanne Fuller, saying of the teachers, "What they did today was not role-modeling what I think our adults should be doing here in Newton." She went on, "They pushed past the office staff, they crowded down the hall in front of my office, they started pounding on the door."
In 2021, the most recent year for which data is available from the state, the average Newton teacher earned $93,031.
The Beacon also has video of a Newton teacher, Ryan Normandin, speaking at a union press conference, calling the state's no-strike law for public employees, "morally bankrupt."
"This week, we teach our students the most important lesson of all," he declared. "We teach them that when those in power try to trample the rights of the people, try to rob them of their dignity, you have to stand up and say no."
The Fig City News reports that at the union press conference, a parent asked, "Why can't the NTA continue negotiating while our kids are back in school, because ...our kids are being used as leverage and pawns?"
Excellent question.
