Catherwood LibraryILR School

In the past years, teachers in various school districts in Massachusetts have gone on strike to demand greater wages and increases in employee benefits. In the state of Massachusetts, it is illegal for teachers to go on strike, and each day that teachers do not show up to work, the union representing them is fined a certain amount. State judges determine the fine amount, and the money goes to the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. In the previous teacher strikes, the fines went to the state, but in the most recent teacher strike in Newton, both the city and the union have requested that the fines go to the school district. A judge is currently reviewing this request and has not reached a decision yet. Unions representing teachers also have to pay a certain amount after strike action ends and teachers return to school, and this amount is determined by school districts in back to school agreements.