Tewksbury
Failed debt-exclusion vote dooms Tewksbury contract
The vote [against the debt-exclusion] means 29 years of teaching, and $23,351 – that I’m worth no more. … I think there’s an amazing amount of strength left among our members, but a lot of our enthusiasm is gone.
Tewksbury teachers were frustrated by low pay, contending that average salaries in the district were $2,000 below the state average. They picketed to no avail. Contract talks broke down during mediation.
At 7:30 a.m. on Halloween Day in 1985, President Richard Mousseau of the Tewksbury Teachers Association announced in two radio interviews that Tewksury teachers were on strike, according to the state’s strike investigation report. The strike lasted three days.
Teachers returned to work after the local and School Committee pledged to work together to pass a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion to raise funds to improve teacher salaries. Members of the Tewksbury Teachers Association worked hard for the ballot initiative, but most School Committee members did not, according to MTA Today.
On Nov. 16, 1985, the TTA announced the bad news that the debt exclusion had been defeated, dashing hopes for a better contract. The headline in MTA Today read, “Education loses in Tewksbury: Voters turn their backs on 273 teachers in a pivotal exemption referendum.”
After the debt exclusion failed, the parties returned to the bargaining table and reached an agreement that the TTA members ratified in April 1986, according to the Massachusetts Board of Conciliation and Arbitration.
