Franklin
Franklin teachers jailed in droves in 1977 strike
Besides a few minor disturbances in the mills at the turn of the 20th century, Franklin had witnessed very little sustained discontent or turmoil as a result of labor problems for most of its history — until the Great Teachers’ Strike of 1977.
The Franklin teachers’ strike in 1977 was one of the most dramatic and historic in the country after more than 100 teachers were arrested and 73 of them were jailed, some for several days. When the two-week strike was finally settled in the early hours of Sept. 30, the 63 teachers still in jail were released from as far away at Pittsfield, where they had been sent because the local jails were too full to hold them.
The main contract dispute was over seniority rights in the face of anticipated reductions in force. After reaching an impasse in bargaining, 95 percent of the district’s 285 teachers went on strike on Friday, Sept. 16. Minutes after picketing began at the town’s 11 schools, 112 teachers were arrested and charged with trespassing. By Monday morning, all teachers in the district had been served with copies of Judge John M. Greaney’s return-to-work order.
On Wednesday, eight Franklin Education Association officers were jailed for contempt of court for refusing to return to work. As the days wore on, more and more teachers were jailed and stiff fines were levied. Substitute teachers were brought in, some of them Boston University students, whose services were offered by BU President John Silber. Franklin students reported that little education took place, writing in a newsletter about “substitutes sleeping while allegedly ‘teaching’ classes; other substitutes unable to speak English; and use of physical force against students by other substitutes.”
The strike was not settled by the jailing of teachers. It was not settled by fines. It was not settled by the courts. It was settled through good faith negotiation.
Media coverage was intense. Support from other union members was widespread, with an estimated 1,500 allies rallying in the rain on September 25.
Judge Greaney told the FEA that all its remaining members would be jailed if the strike didn’t end by Friday, Sept. 30. Late Thursday, a compromise was finally reached that guaranteed seniority would be honored in RIF cases, with certain exceptions. Jubilation greeted the news that the strike was over, though the joy was tempered by heavy fines faced by both the local and individual teachers.
Downtown Franklin resembled Times Square on V-J Day, as busload after busload of jailed teachers pulled up to FEA headquarters on Main Street. Radio, television, and newspaper reporters — and families — mobbed each returning group, as cheers went up and tears flowed.
We explained to the kids that their mother was going to jail. But try telling that to an eight-year-old. The first thing he wanted to know was, ‘How long? For a year?’ ‘I couldn’t even answer him. And then there are the fines and lost salary … I don’t know what it will mean. But we’ll manage. I did something I believe in very strongly, and I’d do it again — no matter what it cost.
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