On January 29, Lital Asher-Dotan, a Newton parent of three Newton Public Schools students, filed with the Middlesex Superior Court an Emergency Motion to Intervene in the case of the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board v. Newton Teachers Association (NTA) and Michael J. Zilles. It asks the court to compel the NTA immediately to terminate the strike, citing unrecoverable loss by the students due to “detrimental effects of this strike on [their] education, extracurricular activities, and overall well-being.”
The parent claims she has the right to intervene because the NTA’s strike is interfering and interrupting the students’ state constitutional right to a public education.
Underscoring the academic and developmental harm the student intervenors are facing beyond the classroom, they attached to their motion 25 letters as a sample of the harm numerous others are also experiencing.
They ask the Court to grant the motion to intervene and compel the NTA to immediately terminate the strike adding:
“…(1) defendant Newton teachers Association (NTA) has thus far continued to act in contempt of this Court’s repeated orders to terminate the strike, and (2) defendant NTA President Michael J. Zilles has publicly stated that the NTA has financial backing from other union organizations to resist the fines being imposed by the Court, the Court should impose such sanctions to such degree as to overcome whatever financial resources the NTA is receiving to resist the Orders thus far.”
UPDATE: On January 30, the NTA and Zilles filed an Opposition to the Emergency Motion to Intervene.
UPDATE: On January 30, Newton parents Allison and David Goldberg filed an Emergency Motion to Intervene on behalf of their daughter, Chloe Goldberg.
