This week, 5,000 educators across 11 North Shore districts will be participating in a series of morning demonstrations. 

Presented by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and American Federation for Teachers of Massachusetts, these demonstrations, will support access to paid family leave, which is considered a necessity towards expectant educators and those who need to care for family members.  

Members of the participating unions will gather outside their respective school buildings before the start of the workday and walk together in solidarity to raise awareness about public school educators’ lack of family leave. 

Although educator unions were strong advocates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, the law excluded public school employees along with other municipal workers. 

To combat this, educators need to use the contract bargaining process to establish paid family leave that is comparable to the benefits from private-sector employers. 

“This is a common proposal,” GTA President Rachel Rex said. “More than 5000 educators across the North Shore support it.”

Districts including Beverly, Chelsea, Georgetown, Gloucester, Hamilton-Wenham, Ipswich, Masconomet Regional, Marblehead, Revere, and Salem will be participating in the week of action. These listed districts are also actively bargaining for new contracts, as the current ones are set to expire within the year. 

GHS teachers plan to demonstrate at 7:00 a.m., and walk in together at 7:15 a.m. while other schools within the district have various times of action. 

For Gloucester, this demonstration comes after a recent merge with the Gloucester Association of Educational Paraprofessionals (GAEP). GAEP had a similar paid parental leave proposal that has been rejected.