Following the Department of Labor Relation’s ruling late yesterday, Middlesex County Superior Court has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the Newton School Committee. The text of the injunction ruling reads:
Preliminary Injunction issued for Plaintiff Commonwealth Employment Relations Board. It is ordered and adjudged that Defendants(s) Newton Teachers Association, Michael Zilles, in his Offical Capacity, Newton School Committe and their various attorneys and agents are: After hearing, the relief prayed for in Complaint A through H is entered as a Preliminary Injunction, based on the agreed fact that a strike has commenced this day 1/19/24 in the City of Newton Sub paragraphs A – H are entered as modified with edits.
a. The NTA, its officers, and employees, and Michael Zilles, in his official capacity, shall immediately cease and desist from engaging or threatening to engage in this strike or work stoppage, slowdown or other withholding of services, and the employees shall immediately return to their assigned work locations on January 22, 2024.
b. The NTA, its officers, and the employees it represents, and Michael Zilles, in his official capacity, shall immediately cease and desist from inducing, encouraging, or condoning this strike, work stoppage, or other withholding of services, either directly or through surrogates. The NTA shall not permit its officers to encourage, condone, or induce this strike, work stoppage, slowdown, or other withholding of services.
c. The NTA and its officers shall publicly state by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 21, 2024 that: (1) the strike is cancelled and there will be no continued strike action; (2) engaging in, planning, inducing, encouraging, and condoning a strike, work stoppage, slowdown, or other withholding of services, is illegal and must therefore cease, and its members must return to work immediately. The NTA and its officers shall notify all employees the NTA represents of said statements immediately upon receipt of the Court’s order, using all of its usual means of communicating with its bargaining unit members including, but not limited to, posting the statements on its website, Facebook page and/or any other social media it uses to regularly communicate with its membership.
d. The NTA and its officers shall provide a copy of the Court’s order, and the Board’s Ruling, to all employees the NTA represents immediately upon receipt of the Court’s order, using all of its usual means of communicating with its bargaining unit members including, but not limited to, on its website, Facebook page and/or any other social media it uses to regularly communicate with its membership.
e. The Defendant will request the status of the compliance to the Plaintiff by 9:00 am on January 22, 2024 and if Plaintiff seeks a hearing it will contact the Court thereafter for a hearing to occur on Monday January 22, at noon.
f. The NTA and the School Committee shall immediately continue negotiations to resolution or impasse over the issues that separate them and utilize the procedures for resolving disputes provided in their collective bargaining agreements and M.G.L. c. 150E.
g. The NTA and the School Committee shall bargain in good faith for a successor collective bargaining agreement and participate in mediation before a mediator assigned by the DLR to bargain over the issues that separate them.
h. The NTA and its officers shall appear as required by the Board for a proceeding to determine compliance with this order and the Board’s Ruling.Judge: Barry-Smith, Hon. Christopher K
Fig City News will provide ongoing coverage of the 2024 Newton Teachers Strike.
