The Massachusetts Education Association apparently pushed three neighboring teachers unions to go on strike at the same time, sources close to the unions say.

Because of the strikes, schools in three districts in Massachusetts have been closed for over two weeks, leaving working parents in the lurch without child care and extending the school year into the summer break.

In October 2023, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, a branch of the far-left National Education Association, asked teachers union members in the North Shore area whether they’d be willing to strike for higher salaries and better benefits after the November 2024 elections, someone with knowledge of the meeting told The Daily Signal.

The Gloucester Teachers Association and the Beverly Teachers Association went on strike Nov. 8; the Marblehead Education Association followed suit Nov. 12.

Strikes are illegal for public employees in Massachusetts, so the teachers unions each have incurred fines north of $100,000.

On Nov. 13, Essex Superior Court Judge Janice Howe ordered that the Gloucester and Beverly teachers unions pay $50,000 if they didn’t end the strike by 6 p.m. that day. The fines were to increase by $10,000 each day that the strike didn’t end by 3 p.m., according to court documents.

A concerned parent and former union member, who asked for anonymity because of fear of retribution, said he spoke to two union representatives who confirmed that the Massachusetts Teachers Association pushed the local unions to strike.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, however, didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on the........

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