November 11, 2024 • 38 mins
Educators in Gloucester, Beverly and now Marblehead continue to strike over a “fair contract.” The educators in these communities have been working under expired contracts since this past Summer. All three teachers’ unions are fighting for a new contract that includes higher wages, more benefits and parental leave among other demands. As many as 10k students could be affected by these strikes. Dan heard listeners thoughts on the ongoing strikes!
*All three teachers’ unions in Gloucester, Beverly & Marblehead have been invited to join the conversation as well as all three School Committees in each town*
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
*All three teachers’ unions in Gloucester, Beverly & Marblehead have been invited to join the conversation as well as all three School Committees in each town*
Ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio and listen to NightSide with Dan Rea Weeknights From 8PM-12AM!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's with Dan Ray. I'm WBZ Costs Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, Welcome back everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
There are three school systems north of Boston that will
be closed tomorrow. There will be no school in Beverly,
no school in Gloucester, no school in marble Head. There
are teachers strikes in all of those communities. I believe
I'm correct when I'm saying that. If I'm not being
(00:29):
corrected in a moment, I know there's a teacher strike
in Beverly and as teacher strike in Gloucester. Both of
those unions will be in court tomorrow morning in front
of a judge who had told them to end the
strike because strikes are illegal here in Massachusetts, as they
should be in my opinion. We are joined now by
Jennifer Schaffner. Jennifer, I hope I got your last name correct,
(00:53):
pronounced correctly. She's the chair of the Marblehead School Committee.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Welcome Jennifer. How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Thanks to you and I'm good. I'm disappointed.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yeah, you're disappointed, and you probably are dealing with a
situation which is very, very difficult, not only for the
school committee but for the residents of Marblehead. You were
in negotiations until just a few minutes ago, as I
understand that correct, that is correct.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Yes, we had our second day of mediation today.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
We emerged unsuccessfully to the detriment first and foremost to
our students of Marblehead. As a result, schools will be
closed tomorrow and students will go a day without getting
the education they're due because the Marblehead Education Association is about.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
To go on an illegal strike.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Now are they technically on strike?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Because I know that at one point you folks had
the foresight, meaning the school Committee and the town of
marble Head, had the foresight to say was going to be.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
A teacher's day? Or how did you care is it
actually a strike tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Or or do are they able to sort of avoid
being in court because you folks were generous and said
it was going to be like a teacher's special day
or what?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (02:06):
What we yeah, Dan, what we did is so the
marvel Ed Education Association voted on Friday to go on
strike effective tomorrow, November twelfth, and as a result, the
School Committee had an emergency meeting and we voted, based
on a recommendation by our superintendent, to make tomorrow a
professional development day slash training day for our teachers. So
(02:30):
we're planned for plan, planning for them to come into training, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
They will, and then we'll see what happens on Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, of course, I think the reason, if I'm correct
and correct here, you folks had enough foresight to not
put Marblehead parents in the position of having to wake
up tomorrow morning at six point thirty and find out
whether their kids at school or not. Basically gave your
parents the weekend to try to find some alternative activities
for the students.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Tomorrow, that's correct, That is correct, Austara will be a
no school day for students.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Okay, so now just give me a Everyone knows Marblehead,
many of us never get up to that neck of
the woods.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It's one of the most beautiful communities in America as
far as I'm concerned, certainly in New England. How many
students are affected by this? How many students are in
your school system? Approximately?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Well, thank you for the kind words about Marvelhead. I'm
an almost lifelong Marbleheader. Myself grew up here and moved
back when my children were school age, and would love
to have you come up under better circumstances and have
a visit. We have a little over twenty seven hundred
students in our school district in Marblehead.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
All right, and so you have I was sure, a
high school and one junior high school and how many
elementary schools? So you've got a system.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Correct? Yeah, we are pre K through twelfth grade. We
have two elementary schools.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
We have an upper elementary school grades four through six.
We have what we call middle school, which you and
I think of as a junior high school, and then
we have a high school which is nine through twelve.
We have five buildings.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Okay, so how long has it been since this union
had a contract? How long have they been working without it?
Speaker 5 (04:15):
So within our marvel Head Education Association, we have five
separate what we call bargaining units, which are sort of
categories of employees. Our custodians contract was expired June thirtieth
of twenty twenty four, and the rest of the units,
with the biggest one being our teachers unit, expired August
thirty first, twenty twenty four, so a little over two
(04:36):
months ago.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Okay. Now I'm assuming that the custodians are not prohibited
from striking, that they don't have the legal consequences or
are they a bargaining unit underneath the teachers' union. I
just want to make sure I get it.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
No, they are a separate unit, and we're not one
hundred percent sure, but we're being told that they very
well not go on strike. They will potentially be coming
to work. We've heard some next stories about that and
we'll find that out, I guess on tomorrow Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
But the teachers unions are prohibited from going on strike
here in Massachusetts. Is there a coordination going on between
the three teachers unions geographically? To me, it's a little
interesting that you have Faverly, Marveled Head and Gloucester of
very very centrally located geographically doing the same thing.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
At the same time.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
And the one commonality between these unions is they are
all members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which is a
statewide union organization. So we feel, you know, fairly sure
that this is being done at the state level. And
that's really what our concern is. Because we're three very
different communities, we have different type where different. We're a town,
(05:56):
the other two are cities. Our finances are different. They're
one commonality is the organization at the state level. And
that's frankly, really the story here.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Okay, Now, let's let's focus in on Marvelhead. Sure, the teachers.
The demand, as I understand that of the Marvelhead Education
Association the teachers union, is they want a thirty three
point nine percent increase for teachers. That is across how
(06:28):
many years would that be?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
That's across four years, four years.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So in effect, they're looking for really the equivalent of
about eight percent per year for four years.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Correct, okay, correct, four and that is not affordable for
us in Marblehead.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Right, you have offered a ten and a half percent
increase plus a new step in salary scale, resulting in
a twelve percent increase for two thirds of the teachers
who are at the top of the pay scale, right.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
The committee offered would increase average salary to ninety six
thousand dollars. That's the average salary with a maximum salary
of one hundred and nine thousand dollars.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Actually, my understanding from my numbers today with our finance
director is the average salary with our opera would be
closer to just under one hundred thousand. It would be
ninety nine thousand and change. So it would be a
little bit higher than that, and then the highest paid
would be one hundred and nine thousand. And those numbers
are fairly close because most of our teachers are at
the highest level largest about two thirds of our teachers
(07:33):
are at the highest level.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
How many teachers do you have in the union?
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Just about three hundred three.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Hundred teachers, so the average is about one hundred thousand,
and top scales one hundred and nine thousand. And also
the number that the town has to deal with.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Under the teachers request or their demand, however you want
to characterize it. I understand that it would cost an
additional eleven and a half million dollars. Is that on an
annual basis or over the term.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
Of the contract, So that would what that means is
because there are increases no matter whose contract we go with,
they'll be increases every year. So at the based on
the union's proposal, at the end of the four years,
which would be twenty twenty eight, we would need an
additional eleven little over eleven million dollars per year by
the end of that contract to be meeting the obligation
(08:28):
of the contract.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Okay, and what is what is the current amount that.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Let's say for the last school year twenty three to
twenty four, what would be the correlating figure to the
eleven you know you're saying you need an additional eleven
point five What is the base.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Upon which that is built?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
So right now, our salaries are about our total salaries
are about thirty nine million dollars, little under forty million dollars,
and this year our increases were about a millillion dollars
more we needed this year compared to last year, which
is pretty much what our increase in our inteo appropriation
has been based on pretty slow anemic growth up here.
(09:11):
So to have to have eleven million or even you know,
two to three a year over four years, we just
we just.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Don't have it. The town doesn't have it.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, So they're.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
In effect asking for an additional eleven point five nine
almost eleven point six million, and your offer, which includes
some other benefits as well, would be four point eight
nine million dollars almost five million dollars. So all right, again,
Marblehead is not is not a metropolis like Boston or Worcester.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
It's a it's a town.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
What I'd like to do is I don't want you
to negotiate this with people on air. I appreciate you
calling in tonight and you're available for us, because I
think so often and people don't understand the strictures that
you know, I suspect that probably as a school committee
(10:09):
member and you're the chair of the school committee. Folks
make a nominal salary, if any salary at all.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Correct.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
We are volunteers. There's no spe end or salery.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Okay, fair enough, okay, I just wanted to make clarify that.
And you're trying to run a great school system, but.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
You have to, you know, be within some relative means.
It would be great if you could pay every teacher
three hundred thousand dollars a year. I mean, well, you know,
but yeah, I mean it would be wonderful, but you
have some limitations, and in order to do this, you'd
probably have to get a Prop. Two and a half override,
so you almost would be in a situation where you
(10:47):
would promise something that you might not be able to deliver.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
That's correct.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
I mean we are limited under Proposition two and a
half in raising our tax levy each year. And some
of the points you made earlier about Marblehead, we're very small,
beautiful Sea coast community. We have a very very small
commercial base of multiple small business owners. We don't have
a large industrial complex or big mall or anything, you know,
(11:11):
paying commercial rates. So this is on the backs of
the eighty eight hundred households in Marblehead, and any increase
in revenue would require a Proposition two and a half override,
which we have not passed a permanent general override since
two thousand and five. There were two attempts in the
last three years.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
And both failed, So it's a it's a bit of
a hill to cline.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, my sense is that, and I'll give you an
opportunity to respond to this business. Somebody who watches.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
These these these teachers strikes from AFAR. I dealt with
Ruth van Fuller of a Newton last winter. They were
for like two and a half nearly three weeks, which.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Was horrific on their stems.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
And again a community that that really is very generous
with their teachers. It's frustrating from AFAR because I look
at it and I know that the terminology that the
union uses this is always for the children, but it's
really not. It's about increases for the union members. That's
(12:17):
the bottom line. And they so in effect they're holding
the children kind of have a hostage because these kids
they can't go to school without the teachers. And at
the same time, and some of these communities they encourage
the students go out and demonstrate with the teachers, which
is sort of an interesting conflict because if I'm a
(12:38):
fifteen year old looking to go to college and I
want to make sure that my grades are not adversely impacted,
it's kind of a tough position to put a student
in to either ask or encourage them to come out
and participate at a rally and all of that. And
these are things that just as a resident of Massachusetts,
trouble me. And I don't hear too many of the
(13:00):
politicians speaking out against these practices by the teachers Union.
And you know, I don't expect you to echo my comments,
but I want you to know I look at it
and it almost feels to me like the students being
one held hostage in being used as pawn simultaneously.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
If you get my dress, well, I understand what you're saying.
I am quite well taken. I think also, you know,
when I speak, particularly for our older students, I mean
they do.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
They care about their teachers.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
I mean, that's evident, and I've seen that with the students.
They do care about their teachers. And we care about
the teachers too, right, you know. So we want to
be able to find a contract that we can all
live with, and we're just hoping that they can come
back to school. And as a matter of fact, we offered,
both on Saturday and again today an option for them
(13:50):
to We said, come back, come back to the classroom,
come back to work.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
We will take the folks on.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
The bargaining team. There's fifteen members of the union on
the as their bargaining leadership team. We will release them
from their teaching duties or their work duties, will get
coverage for them, and come back to the table and
let's negotiate this all day, all night till we can
get it done. But have everyone else back in the classroom.
And they rejected that twice.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
One final point, I just want to make sure that
this is clear to people selective service in this country.
The military draft ended in America in nineteen seventy two.
None of these teachers were drafted by the Marblehead School Committee.
They all wanted to teach in marble Head. They viewed
this as a vocation, correct. They understood that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
They have not been dragooned to teach in marble Head.
But they want to make sure that everybody makes one
hundred thousand dollars and that's a number that frankly, I
guess the town of Marblehead just cannot physically guarantee. So, boy,
they put you in a tough position. I thank you
for having well.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Thank you again.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
And one thing I'll say quickly too, is that, you know,
one of the things we've talked.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
About is we do want to be competitive, right.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
We want to be competitive with as tough as it
is in our financial situation, with other communities on the
North Shore. And what we've also talked about is that
some of the things that they're looking for, coming off
of several contracts, particularly the latest one in COVID, which
was not a big increase this last contract they had,
we need a couple of contracts to try to try
to sort of fix this, you know, whether we do
(15:27):
one contract now and then in twenty twenty eight we
do another contract and try to do this over, you know,
a couple of contracts to get them at a level
that that you know that they want or that they would,
you know.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Be comfortable for us.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
From looking from looking at the Department of Education teacher
salary levels in Massachusetts, which I'm very familiar with, they
seem to me to be a fairly pretty well compensated
school staff. By the way, I notice you increase sickly
by twenty percent. That's your offer, that's your proposal. What
is the current sick leave of the one hundred and
(16:02):
eighty day school year?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
How many days can can a teacher be sick without
without a question?
Speaker 5 (16:09):
So teachers and my brother, the teachers are given fifteen
sick days a year and those can roll over, right,
so they can roll over up to one hundred and
eighty days, so they can accumulate lots of sickly.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
So this is they're at, yeah, and a twenty percent increation.
You you're offering to get them to eighteen sick days
per year.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
Well, no, that's absol a little different. That's with our custodians.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
What the what the teachers are asking for is not
specifically sickly.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
It's paid parental leave, is what they're asking for.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
So they don't they want right now when parents are
out having had you know, the child and their family,
the birth reduction. There's multiple things they're entitled to. There's
a federal family lead which is unpaid, and they can
use their sickly if they've had a child for for.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
You know, for that.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
What they're asking for is to not have sickly count
towards it. And what they were asking for was sixty days,
six weeks. I've paid, sorry, twelve weeks of paid parentally.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So sixty days, sixty days.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
Yeah, yeah, and that we just you know, we just
that was not going to be affordable. So we offered
ten and then.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
We went up to twelve. So right now we're offering.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Twelve days paid parental leave. When they have a child
birth redoption, then they could have their sick leave and
then they would still be entitled even after that with
the federal and the state additionally leave up to twelve weeks,
but on a portion of it unpaid.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Gotcha, Okay, Jennifer Schefner, thank you so much for your
time tonight. I really appreciate you. You've done the right thing.
You've explained your position very well. I hope we hear
from some from some folks in Marblehead or other communities.
Thank you so much, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
We're going to take a break here, robbing and kick
one over. I'm just going to throw the number out.
I'd love to get people's reaction. Jennifer is the chair
of the school committee in Marblehead and presents yourself very well.
Six one thirty six one seven nine free, one ten thirty.
I frankly am getting tired of teacher strikes, illegal teacher
strikes here in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
You can join me or you can debate me, whichever
you want. Give us a call.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Back to Dan Ray live from the Window World night
Side Studios. I'm WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
I'm just going to take a quick break here, just
for about a minute or so, and then we're going
to get the news at the bottom of the hour,
and then we'll go to phone calls. They want to
thank Jennifer Schaefner. She's the chair of the Marblehead School Committee.
How would you like to be in her position tonight?
I mean, the bottom line is teachers strikes in Massachusetts
are illegal. We saw what happened in Newton there, but
(18:40):
other communities, the teachers Association.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
You might think this doesn't affect you. But what happens
in Marblehead, what happens in Newton, what happens in Beverly,
what will happen, what's happening in Gloucester tomorrow is coming
to a community near you soon. And I like teachers,
Believe me, I had great teachers, and I'm sure all
of us did. But the Teachers Union are leading the
teachers down a path which is not a good path.
(19:06):
They are going to try to get every last dollar
out of these communities, and there will be cuts to
other programs.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
That's not what teaching is all about. People go into
teaching as a as a vocation almost okay, and there's
a lot of perks to being a teacher there, and
the salary levels are pretty good. They're knocking on one
hundred thousand dollars, they'll be up over one hundred and
ten thousand dollars. And this is for a job that
(19:38):
you have two months after in the summer. And the
more that the Teachers Union push it, the more that
communities are going to feel it, and they will develop
some animosities. I have strong feelings on it. I have
tried to hold my feelings to myself, but in a
community like Newton last winter when they were out for
about two and a half to three weeks. Ruth Ann Fuller,
(20:01):
who's a very progressive Democrat, she was upset about it.
She handled the situation very well. The scars of these
sort of strikes which are illegal, which are illegal in
Massachusetts Police Department, conco and strike firefighters, EMTs and teachers,
but they go on strike and then they get their
(20:22):
wrists slapped.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
This is a problem and it needs to be addressed.
Please feel free join the conversation. Six one seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
I'm making my feelings known. If you agree with me,
I'd like to hear from you. If you don't agree
with me, I'd love to debate you on it. It's
as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Okay, we can have a friendly conversation. We can disagree
about about some of this. But teachers' unions, particularly in Massachusetts,
are they just killed the MCAST graduation requirement. I guarantee
you they're going to try to make strikes legal in Massachusetts.
And at that point Katie barred the door. Six one seven, two, five,
(21:02):
four ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten
thirty tonight, it's Marblehead, Gloucester and Beverly next week, next month,
next year, it could be your community. Back on Nightside
right after this.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Now we are talking about three simultaneous teacher strikes in
three communities which are right up there on the northeast
corner of the state, and I have to believe that
there's some coordination, as we alluded to with the Massachusetts
Teachers Association. My question to you is if you have kids,
uh and those kids are in school, and you were
(21:45):
to find out tomorrow morning that your school was gone,
your teaches you and you're going on strike, what would
you do. I lost a lot of.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Confidence in teachers' unions about I don't know, thirty years
or so ago. One of my children was in grade
school and there were two classes that were combined.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
And again this is an experiment. I guess that we
were anxious to at least consider one of the teachers
had just had a child and obviously had some home
care concerns, which is understandable. The other was a due
to delivery child at some point during the school year,
(22:29):
and they decided the school department decided that they would
They would have a concept of team teaching, so both
the teachers would remain employed, and that one week one
of the teachers would be there three days and the
other the next the other teacher would be the two days.
So the idea was that the one hundred and eighty
school days would be covered by these two teachers. Each
(22:52):
of them would probably do somewhere around ninety days, some
a little fewer, some a little more. Okay, fine, sounded
like a great idea. At the end of the school year,
there were thirty days during that school year, one sixth
of the school year where both of the teachers were absent,
So for thirty days at that grade level, my son
(23:13):
and his classmates had substitute teachers. Substitute teachers. At that point,
I thought to myself, this is not fair. It's not
fair to the kids. I don't think these strikes are
feared of the kids at all. And if you don't
speak up, if you disagree with me, bring it on.
I'd love to debate you want it. But these are
jobs that people have aspired to and now they're looking
(23:35):
at it and saying they get great pensions. I mean
there's nothing wrong with these jobs. The offer that's being
made by the town of marble Head is I think
a pretty generous offer. It's much more than a lot
of businesses, a lot of professions have received over the
last few years. Let me go to Bob and drake it. Bob,
your first tonight on a nightside, Go right ahead again.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
I'm good, Yes, a little bit find it?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
No be a favorite, Bob. I don't know. Are you
on a headset or you want a speakerphone. I'm having
a little bit of difficulty hearing you.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Okay, how about now? Can you hear me now much better?
Speaker 2 (24:11):
What did what did you change? What did what did
you change?
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Well? I was supposed to myself years and years ago,
and maybe I.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Asked you what what did you change? So that I
can hear you? I want to know the next time
I hear that. I want to be able to get
what did you get off a headset?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
What will you want if close to the receiver on
the phone.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Oh, that is always critical because you know what, Bob,
if I go like this with my mouthpiece, if I
take my mouthpiece and.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Put it over here, you don't hear me as well?
Do you want to bring it back to that.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
That's the key, you know, I got I got a
professional headset on, and you got a phone. So let's
try to work together because I want to hear everything
you have to say.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Go right ahead, Bob, Thanks, thanks for being a good sport.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
Go ahead, good thing.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Well, I think that I'm back when I was teaching,
and that goes back almost forty years ago, and I
was in a pub schools near Massachusetts. The parent union,
the NCA, they've had a pro choice platform. Now that
doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
I mean, you talk about children, children and children, and
yet the statewide union is thing have an abortion you know.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
I just I find that, Well.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Abortion is really irrelevant, Bob, to to what we're discussing tonight.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I mean, is that I think? Is that? Is that
what you said? I'm still having difficulty hearing you.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Oh sorry about that, Dan, I'll just send it right now.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
But well, I'm just saying that abortion has nothing to
do with what we're talking about today. When we're talking
about parents across well the three communities of Massachusetts who
are going to have to provide for alternative.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Care for their kids tomorrow. These would be kids anywhere
from kindergarten to grade twelve and uh, and it's it's
you know, they begin the school year, the residents of
the community pay taxes which which they is assumed that
their kids are going to receive a good education and
it's not gonna be interrupted by a strike. It seems
(26:06):
to me that there should be some sort of a
law in Massachusetts which would say, not only teachers' unions
not allowed to strike, that any contract negotiations has to
be done in the months of July and August.
Speaker 8 (26:18):
Uh and then bravo, it has.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
To be finding arbitration.
Speaker 8 (26:23):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
That the statement, and you cannot strike. And if you striking,
your out of the picket line, we're gonna we're gonna
bring and we're gonna put you all in jail. I mean,
I I think it's that's got to the point where
I think that has to be done.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
In my opinion, I think you're hitting a nail right
on the head Dan, what you said right now, I
mean absolutely, I mean, there's there's just a kind of
mean it's around and it's gotta be more focused. And
the point you make are great points about you know,
being there for education the purpose of education, not you know,
(26:56):
it makes like a labor stand on this, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
So yeah, absolutely, absolutely, well, I appreciate it. And again
I just I wanted to get you away from the
other subject because that's not the subject that we're talking
about tonight. So thanks for coming back and talking about
the strike and again what I consider to be the
unfairness not only to the students, but to the taxpayers
and the parents. I mean, can you can you imagine
(27:20):
if if you had paid in advance to let us say,
receive I don't know, a roof put on your house
because you had a roof leak, and all of a
sudden the roof has said, oh no, we're going on
strike because we wanted to to say increase.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
What's the different?
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Thank you, Bob. I appreciate you call, Talk to you soon.
Thank you, appreciate it very much. Daryl is up in Canada?
Do they have teacher strikes in Canada?
Speaker 7 (27:44):
Darryl? They actually have congratulations on Referends Day as well,
by the way, thank you, and uh, but they actually
have bus drivers strikes. Teach the strikes. And I just
love that comment you mentioned about July and August. Yeah,
because your guests mentioned that normal teachers across North America
(28:06):
get the summer off.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and they should.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Have their union representatives whenever they're coming up on a negotiation. Uh,
you know what the contract is expiring, uh, maybe a
year out say well, we're going to start the negotiation
and we're gonna we're gonna stop it before school starts.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And then the following summer.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
If they don't finish it up, then they have to
wait until the next summer to to uh, to have negotiations.
They should not be negotiating during the school year. It's
as simple as that. And they should be that. Teacher
strikes are illegal, but there has to be some some
teeth in this as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
Darryl, Well, that's correct. And at the same time, your
guest prior to the specialist or one of the school board.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
She's of the chair of the school committee.
Speaker 7 (28:54):
Yeah, she had mentioned about king will leave possibly yep,
and up in Canada, if somebody has a pregnancy, they
can actually the husband and or the wife can take
a year off on unemployment.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Yeah. Well that's wonderful, I mean, and that's that's wonderful,
but that cost has to.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
Be back to This goes back to what I was mentioning.
But the cumun will leave.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Yep.
Speaker 7 (29:21):
If you can accumulate that and you're trying to do
a budget year to year, then that budget gets thrown
right out of whack. And if you have a whole
bunch of people that are actually in that predicament, then
you leave half. You might lose half your staff.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Conceivab But yeah, I would call it a I call
it more of a situation than a predicament. But that's
that's that's a little euphemistic. So yeah, it's a it's
going to happen, you know, when you have young people
who are coming out of college and becoming teachers and
uh they have children. Okay, you got you're going to
be considerate, but you also have to have some consideration
(29:59):
for the young people that they're teaching, and you have
to have some consideration for the people who are paying
the bill, who are the taxpayers in that community.
Speaker 7 (30:07):
Well, it's all about the kids, and it's about responsibility.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Well they will tell you it's all about the kids,
but it really comes down to I mean, what.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
A teachers make in Canada. Do you do you have
any idea? Do you have I do not know well
down here, down here in Massachusetts, most teachers, most teachers
in any of the larger school systems. I'm making upwards
or in excess of one hundred.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Thousand dollars a year.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
And that's US dollars, that is US dollars.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
That is correct, is correct, So I mean it's it's topic. Yeah,
Thank thanks Darrel. Always great to hear from you. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
And any any more questions about Canada and the teacher
stuff down the road, let me know.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I will, I promise you, I will thank you.
Speaker 7 (30:50):
I'll check out the salary for you.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Okay, thanks, doctor, you soon, good night. I've gotta take
very quick break here. Coming right back on Night's side.
I'm more than willing to take this into the next
hour if you want to. I also want to talk
about the dilemma that the Democratic Party has now in
a view of what happened six nights ago, the re
election of President Trump. We're going to talk about that
(31:13):
later tonight as well. But I want to talk about
teacher strikes because frankly, this is where the rubber hits
the role and there has to be and I'm again,
if you disagree with me, bring it on I'm more
than happy to talk.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
We've invited, by the way, they headed the mass Teachers
Association on his name is Max Page on several occasions,
and they have they have declined. He's he's he's welcome
to come in here any night and tell me how
unfair it is the teachers are being treated in Massachusetts
or whatever he wants to say. We'll be back on
night's side. I got a couple of Steves and a
Michael Hare. Got a little bit of room for you
(31:46):
six one seven, two five, four thirty or six one
seven nine three thirty. Boy, I'll say, if there's any
parents up in Gloucester, Beverly and Marblehead. Uh, you know
we're not going to rat you out, feel free to
call in. You are the ones who are kind of
in the difficult situation tomorrow because what do you do
to take care of your kids, make sure your kids
(32:06):
are safe during the day when you have to go
to work to earn your salary, to pay the real
estate taxes that support the teachers' salaries. Back on Nightside after.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
This, Now back to Dan Ray Mine from the Window
World night Side Studios on w b Z the news radio.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
All right, back to the calls, we go, well, we're
gonna go next to let me get Steven Merrimack, New Hampshire,
Steve next on Knights.
Speaker 8 (32:28):
I go ahead, Hi, Dan hik arm good.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Your thoughts on what's going on a little.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
Self is unbelievable. You know the you know, I do
agree with the binding, arbitration and negotiating during the summer,
which is the correct way to handle it. That's absolutely
the there's no other way to do it. But I
will say that you mentioned Newton. I believe that Andover
had the same problem, and one of the union officials said,
(32:54):
quote unquote, we got everything we wanted. You know, that's
not how negotiations work. A lot of these teachers don't
live in these communities, which are upscale communities. If they're
not living there, then they don't care what happens to
the taxvill Oh. Absolutely to pay your If you if
you're trying to pay a ten to fifteen to twenty
(33:15):
thousand dollars tax bill and your taxes go up five
percent or ten percent or more, you're going to feel it.
I mean it's not going to be pretty, but absolutely
it was the way it was explained to me by
one of the school members of my community was you
have to balance the kids right to an education with
the taxpayer's ability to afford it. That's exactly what they
(33:37):
told me.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Well, these teachers, now.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
These it is not uncommon. I don't know what it
is in New Hampshire, assume it is quite different. But
in Massachusetts it's not uncommon for teachers in in you know,
some of the nicer communities, to making eighty ninety one hundred,
one hundred and ten thousand dollars a year for you know,
for a job that again runs from September to June.
And I think what they should just say is okay, okay.
(34:00):
When the contract is coming up the summer one year before,
there has to be some meetings that can occur between
the school committee and the teachers' union, and they end
the day the school starts. We don't expect you're going
to get the contracts settled that early, but at least
you have some idea about what everybody wants. Now, the
following summer, you will be involved in binding arbitration, and
(34:24):
whatever the arbiterr the mediator decides, that will be it.
There'll be no strike during the school year. And if
there's a strike during the school year, you're gonna lose job.
You're gonna lose your jobs. It's as simple as that define.
Speaker 8 (34:38):
I agree with you completely. One thing I will say
is on the legality issue, the only thing that happens
to them is the union gets fined. They're prepared to
pay that fine. And I think that's what happened six
months ago. When you know Newton and andover.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
I'm sure that's what happened. I'm sure that's what happened.
And of course then nobody to teach the teachers do
is go up a little bit. So, but that's another story, Steve.
I appreciate what you calling. Thank you much, Thank you
very much. Let's keep rolling here. I'm going to go
to Alan, New hamps We got more interest here in
New Hampshire than in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Go ahead, Al, Hey, Dan, always great conversation. I'd like
to make a quick point. Most state constitutions, right, they
trade taxpayers, you know, rights for the common good. So
the taxpayer gives up some rights for the common good
in this case. In these cases, what I find is
the public unions violate that common that whole spirit of
(35:32):
common good. And you know, especially teachers use unions use
children as leverage. When you think about it, if they
didn't have children as leverage, then they would have to
debate and negotiate based on cost. Bass. As you're probably
well aware, the school populations across the country are droping
(35:52):
and administrative costs are going up because of many reasons.
But I know right here in Hampshire, in my town
is twenty nine thousand dollars per student to educate and
it's getting to the point where we're cutting our tunnel
roads and safety of police for school now.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
There's only so much money they have.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
But as they say, I think the problem much more,
at least down here, is what's going on in h with.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
The teachers unions.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
And the teachers unions have figured it out that they
basically can extort the school committees and generally get a
It's going to maybe take them a few days or
a couple of weeks in the case of Newton or Endover.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
But this stuff has to stop and there has to
be some politicians willing to take on the teachers unions. Well,
hopefully a bunch of politicians to take on the teacher's
unions say hey, look, this just can't happen. You know,
enough people are leaving Massachusetts now, eventually the entire tax
base is going to leave Massachusetts. This is an out
of control and unfear negotiations set of circumstances. You know,
(36:54):
if you're a professional athlete and you want to get
millions of dollars because you're you're one of the few
people who can get a night who can hit a
ninety five mile an hour fastball four hundred and fifty
feet to left center field, that's a different story.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
You're a teacher. You're a teacher. You do a great job.
It's a wonderful profession. You can become a teacher probably
thirty thirty five, forty years and you'll retire with a
great pension. You don't get a million dollars a year
as a teacher, but one hundred thousand dollars that's that's
a pretty good salary in this day and age, and
it has been for a while.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
Right, and I think we forget that. This are most
state constitutions, the taxpayer really has rights that they are
not using, and they're not using it through their legislature.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Well, if they don't turn legislators out, that's that's the
ultimate right.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
They have the right to vote.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So you know you're getting into a political argument that
I want to list late in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Don't want to go down the road.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
What happens is you get people who are in in
office there they don't have challenges and it works to
the advantage of the teachers' union. So anyway, I'm gonna
let you run out because I'm flat out of time,
and I will tell folks, I'm more than willing to
continue with this into the next hour because I think
it's a critical topic. And if you're not interested in it,
(38:16):
that's fine, we'll go on to something else. But I
want to talk about this six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
I'm putting my feelings on the line, and I'm probably
upsetting maybe teachers, maybe teachers, but I think the time
has come that someone has to have the backbone to
stand up. And if it's got to be me, I
hope you'll join me. If you want to debate it,
(38:38):
you're welcome as well. You have the numbers. Back on
Night Side,
It's with Dan Ray. I'm WBZ Costs Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, Welcome back everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
There are three school systems north of Boston that will
be closed tomorrow. There will be no school in Beverly,
no school in Gloucester, no school in marble Head. There
are teachers strikes in all of those communities. I believe
I'm correct when I'm saying that. If I'm not being
(00:29):
corrected in a moment, I know there's a teacher strike
in Beverly and as teacher strike in Gloucester. Both of
those unions will be in court tomorrow morning in front
of a judge who had told them to end the
strike because strikes are illegal here in Massachusetts, as they
should be in my opinion. We are joined now by
Jennifer Schaffner. Jennifer, I hope I got your last name correct,
(00:53):
pronounced correctly. She's the chair of the Marblehead School Committee.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Welcome Jennifer. How are you?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Thanks to you and I'm good. I'm disappointed.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Yeah, you're disappointed, and you probably are dealing with a
situation which is very, very difficult, not only for the
school committee but for the residents of Marblehead. You were
in negotiations until just a few minutes ago, as I
understand that correct, that is correct.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Yes, we had our second day of mediation today.
Speaker 5 (01:23):
We emerged unsuccessfully to the detriment first and foremost to
our students of Marblehead. As a result, schools will be
closed tomorrow and students will go a day without getting
the education they're due because the Marblehead Education Association is about.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
To go on an illegal strike.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Now are they technically on strike?
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Because I know that at one point you folks had
the foresight, meaning the school Committee and the town of
marble Head, had the foresight to say was going to be.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
A teacher's day? Or how did you care is it
actually a strike tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Or or do are they able to sort of avoid
being in court because you folks were generous and said
it was going to be like a teacher's special day
or what?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (02:06):
What we yeah, Dan, what we did is so the
marvel Ed Education Association voted on Friday to go on
strike effective tomorrow, November twelfth, and as a result, the
School Committee had an emergency meeting and we voted, based
on a recommendation by our superintendent, to make tomorrow a
professional development day slash training day for our teachers. So
(02:30):
we're planned for plan, planning for them to come into training, hopefully.
Speaker 4 (02:33):
They will, and then we'll see what happens on Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, of course, I think the reason, if I'm correct
and correct here, you folks had enough foresight to not
put Marblehead parents in the position of having to wake
up tomorrow morning at six point thirty and find out
whether their kids at school or not. Basically gave your
parents the weekend to try to find some alternative activities
for the students.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Tomorrow, that's correct, That is correct, Austara will be a
no school day for students.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Okay, so now just give me a Everyone knows Marblehead,
many of us never get up to that neck of
the woods.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
It's one of the most beautiful communities in America as
far as I'm concerned, certainly in New England. How many
students are affected by this? How many students are in
your school system? Approximately?
Speaker 5 (03:24):
Well, thank you for the kind words about Marvelhead. I'm
an almost lifelong Marbleheader. Myself grew up here and moved
back when my children were school age, and would love
to have you come up under better circumstances and have
a visit. We have a little over twenty seven hundred
students in our school district in Marblehead.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
All right, and so you have I was sure, a
high school and one junior high school and how many
elementary schools? So you've got a system.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Correct? Yeah, we are pre K through twelfth grade. We
have two elementary schools.
Speaker 5 (03:55):
We have an upper elementary school grades four through six.
We have what we call middle school, which you and
I think of as a junior high school, and then
we have a high school which is nine through twelve.
We have five buildings.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Okay, so how long has it been since this union
had a contract? How long have they been working without it?
Speaker 5 (04:15):
So within our marvel Head Education Association, we have five
separate what we call bargaining units, which are sort of
categories of employees. Our custodians contract was expired June thirtieth
of twenty twenty four, and the rest of the units,
with the biggest one being our teachers unit, expired August
thirty first, twenty twenty four, so a little over two
(04:36):
months ago.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Okay. Now I'm assuming that the custodians are not prohibited
from striking, that they don't have the legal consequences or
are they a bargaining unit underneath the teachers' union. I
just want to make sure I get it.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
No, they are a separate unit, and we're not one
hundred percent sure, but we're being told that they very
well not go on strike. They will potentially be coming
to work. We've heard some next stories about that and
we'll find that out, I guess on tomorrow Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
But the teachers unions are prohibited from going on strike
here in Massachusetts. Is there a coordination going on between
the three teachers unions geographically? To me, it's a little
interesting that you have Faverly, Marveled Head and Gloucester of
very very centrally located geographically doing the same thing.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
At the same time.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
And the one commonality between these unions is they are
all members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which is a
statewide union organization. So we feel, you know, fairly sure
that this is being done at the state level. And
that's really what our concern is. Because we're three very
different communities, we have different type where different. We're a town,
(05:56):
the other two are cities. Our finances are different. They're
one commonality is the organization at the state level. And
that's frankly, really the story here.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Okay, Now, let's let's focus in on Marvelhead. Sure, the teachers.
The demand, as I understand that of the Marvelhead Education
Association the teachers union, is they want a thirty three
point nine percent increase for teachers. That is across how
(06:28):
many years would that be?
Speaker 4 (06:30):
That's across four years, four years.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
So in effect, they're looking for really the equivalent of
about eight percent per year for four years.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Correct, okay, correct, four and that is not affordable for
us in Marblehead.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Right, you have offered a ten and a half percent
increase plus a new step in salary scale, resulting in
a twelve percent increase for two thirds of the teachers
who are at the top of the pay scale, right.
Speaker 6 (06:56):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
The committee offered would increase average salary to ninety six
thousand dollars. That's the average salary with a maximum salary
of one hundred and nine thousand dollars.
Speaker 6 (07:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Actually, my understanding from my numbers today with our finance
director is the average salary with our opera would be
closer to just under one hundred thousand. It would be
ninety nine thousand and change. So it would be a
little bit higher than that, and then the highest paid
would be one hundred and nine thousand. And those numbers
are fairly close because most of our teachers are at
the highest level largest about two thirds of our teachers
(07:33):
are at the highest level.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
How many teachers do you have in the union?
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Just about three hundred three.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Hundred teachers, so the average is about one hundred thousand,
and top scales one hundred and nine thousand. And also
the number that the town has to deal with.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Under the teachers request or their demand, however you want
to characterize it. I understand that it would cost an
additional eleven and a half million dollars. Is that on an
annual basis or over the term.
Speaker 5 (08:08):
Of the contract, So that would what that means is
because there are increases no matter whose contract we go with,
they'll be increases every year. So at the based on
the union's proposal, at the end of the four years,
which would be twenty twenty eight, we would need an
additional eleven little over eleven million dollars per year by
the end of that contract to be meeting the obligation
(08:28):
of the contract.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Okay, and what is what is the current amount that.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Let's say for the last school year twenty three to
twenty four, what would be the correlating figure to the
eleven you know you're saying you need an additional eleven
point five What is the base.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Upon which that is built?
Speaker 5 (08:49):
So right now, our salaries are about our total salaries
are about thirty nine million dollars, little under forty million dollars,
and this year our increases were about a millillion dollars
more we needed this year compared to last year, which
is pretty much what our increase in our inteo appropriation
has been based on pretty slow anemic growth up here.
(09:11):
So to have to have eleven million or even you know,
two to three a year over four years, we just
we just.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Don't have it. The town doesn't have it.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah, So they're.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
In effect asking for an additional eleven point five nine
almost eleven point six million, and your offer, which includes
some other benefits as well, would be four point eight
nine million dollars almost five million dollars. So all right, again,
Marblehead is not is not a metropolis like Boston or Worcester.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
It's a it's a town.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
What I'd like to do is I don't want you
to negotiate this with people on air. I appreciate you
calling in tonight and you're available for us, because I
think so often and people don't understand the strictures that
you know, I suspect that probably as a school committee
(10:09):
member and you're the chair of the school committee. Folks
make a nominal salary, if any salary at all.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Correct.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
We are volunteers. There's no spe end or salery.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Okay, fair enough, okay, I just wanted to make clarify that.
And you're trying to run a great school system, but.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
You have to, you know, be within some relative means.
It would be great if you could pay every teacher
three hundred thousand dollars a year. I mean, well, you know,
but yeah, I mean it would be wonderful, but you
have some limitations, and in order to do this, you'd
probably have to get a Prop. Two and a half override,
so you almost would be in a situation where you
(10:47):
would promise something that you might not be able to deliver.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
That's correct.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
I mean we are limited under Proposition two and a
half in raising our tax levy each year. And some
of the points you made earlier about Marblehead, we're very small,
beautiful Sea coast community. We have a very very small
commercial base of multiple small business owners. We don't have
a large industrial complex or big mall or anything, you know,
(11:11):
paying commercial rates. So this is on the backs of
the eighty eight hundred households in Marblehead, and any increase
in revenue would require a Proposition two and a half override,
which we have not passed a permanent general override since
two thousand and five. There were two attempts in the
last three years.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
And both failed, So it's a it's a bit of
a hill to cline.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, my sense is that, and I'll give you an
opportunity to respond to this business. Somebody who watches.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
These these these teachers strikes from AFAR. I dealt with
Ruth van Fuller of a Newton last winter. They were
for like two and a half nearly three weeks, which.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Was horrific on their stems.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
And again a community that that really is very generous
with their teachers. It's frustrating from AFAR because I look
at it and I know that the terminology that the
union uses this is always for the children, but it's
really not. It's about increases for the union members. That's
(12:17):
the bottom line. And they so in effect they're holding
the children kind of have a hostage because these kids
they can't go to school without the teachers. And at
the same time, and some of these communities they encourage
the students go out and demonstrate with the teachers, which
is sort of an interesting conflict because if I'm a
(12:38):
fifteen year old looking to go to college and I
want to make sure that my grades are not adversely impacted,
it's kind of a tough position to put a student
in to either ask or encourage them to come out
and participate at a rally and all of that. And
these are things that just as a resident of Massachusetts,
trouble me. And I don't hear too many of the
(13:00):
politicians speaking out against these practices by the teachers Union.
And you know, I don't expect you to echo my comments,
but I want you to know I look at it
and it almost feels to me like the students being
one held hostage in being used as pawn simultaneously.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
If you get my dress, well, I understand what you're saying.
I am quite well taken. I think also, you know,
when I speak, particularly for our older students, I mean
they do.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
They care about their teachers.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
I mean, that's evident, and I've seen that with the students.
They do care about their teachers. And we care about
the teachers too, right, you know. So we want to
be able to find a contract that we can all
live with, and we're just hoping that they can come
back to school. And as a matter of fact, we offered,
both on Saturday and again today an option for them
(13:50):
to We said, come back, come back to the classroom,
come back to work.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
We will take the folks on.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
The bargaining team. There's fifteen members of the union on
the as their bargaining leadership team. We will release them
from their teaching duties or their work duties, will get
coverage for them, and come back to the table and
let's negotiate this all day, all night till we can
get it done. But have everyone else back in the classroom.
And they rejected that twice.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
One final point, I just want to make sure that
this is clear to people selective service in this country.
The military draft ended in America in nineteen seventy two.
None of these teachers were drafted by the Marblehead School Committee.
They all wanted to teach in marble Head. They viewed
this as a vocation, correct. They understood that.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
They have not been dragooned to teach in marble Head.
But they want to make sure that everybody makes one
hundred thousand dollars and that's a number that frankly, I
guess the town of Marblehead just cannot physically guarantee. So, boy,
they put you in a tough position. I thank you
for having well.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Thank you again.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
And one thing I'll say quickly too, is that, you know,
one of the things we've talked.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
About is we do want to be competitive, right.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
We want to be competitive with as tough as it
is in our financial situation, with other communities on the
North Shore. And what we've also talked about is that
some of the things that they're looking for, coming off
of several contracts, particularly the latest one in COVID, which
was not a big increase this last contract they had,
we need a couple of contracts to try to try
to sort of fix this, you know, whether we do
(15:27):
one contract now and then in twenty twenty eight we
do another contract and try to do this over, you know,
a couple of contracts to get them at a level
that that you know that they want or that they would,
you know.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Be comfortable for us.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
From looking from looking at the Department of Education teacher
salary levels in Massachusetts, which I'm very familiar with, they
seem to me to be a fairly pretty well compensated
school staff. By the way, I notice you increase sickly
by twenty percent. That's your offer, that's your proposal. What
is the current sick leave of the one hundred and
(16:02):
eighty day school year?
Speaker 2 (16:03):
How many days can can a teacher be sick without
without a question?
Speaker 5 (16:09):
So teachers and my brother, the teachers are given fifteen
sick days a year and those can roll over, right,
so they can roll over up to one hundred and
eighty days, so they can accumulate lots of sickly.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
So this is they're at, yeah, and a twenty percent increation.
You you're offering to get them to eighteen sick days
per year.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
Well, no, that's absol a little different. That's with our custodians.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
What the what the teachers are asking for is not
specifically sickly.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
It's paid parental leave, is what they're asking for.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
So they don't they want right now when parents are
out having had you know, the child and their family,
the birth reduction. There's multiple things they're entitled to. There's
a federal family lead which is unpaid, and they can
use their sickly if they've had a child for for.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
You know, for that.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
What they're asking for is to not have sickly count
towards it. And what they were asking for was sixty days,
six weeks. I've paid, sorry, twelve weeks of paid parentally.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So sixty days, sixty days.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
Yeah, yeah, and that we just you know, we just
that was not going to be affordable. So we offered
ten and then.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
We went up to twelve. So right now we're offering.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Twelve days paid parental leave. When they have a child
birth redoption, then they could have their sick leave and
then they would still be entitled even after that with
the federal and the state additionally leave up to twelve weeks,
but on a portion of it unpaid.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Gotcha, Okay, Jennifer Schefner, thank you so much for your
time tonight. I really appreciate you. You've done the right thing.
You've explained your position very well. I hope we hear
from some from some folks in Marblehead or other communities.
Thank you so much, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
We're going to take a break here, robbing and kick
one over. I'm just going to throw the number out.
I'd love to get people's reaction. Jennifer is the chair
of the school committee in Marblehead and presents yourself very well.
Six one thirty six one seven nine free, one ten thirty.
I frankly am getting tired of teacher strikes, illegal teacher
strikes here in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
You can join me or you can debate me, whichever
you want. Give us a call.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Back to Dan Ray live from the Window World night
Side Studios. I'm WBZ News Radio.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
I'm just going to take a quick break here, just
for about a minute or so, and then we're going
to get the news at the bottom of the hour,
and then we'll go to phone calls. They want to
thank Jennifer Schaefner. She's the chair of the Marblehead School Committee.
How would you like to be in her position tonight?
I mean, the bottom line is teachers strikes in Massachusetts
are illegal. We saw what happened in Newton there, but
(18:40):
other communities, the teachers Association.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
You might think this doesn't affect you. But what happens
in Marblehead, what happens in Newton, what happens in Beverly,
what will happen, what's happening in Gloucester tomorrow is coming
to a community near you soon. And I like teachers,
Believe me, I had great teachers, and I'm sure all
of us did. But the Teachers Union are leading the
teachers down a path which is not a good path.
(19:06):
They are going to try to get every last dollar
out of these communities, and there will be cuts to
other programs.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
That's not what teaching is all about. People go into
teaching as a as a vocation almost okay, and there's
a lot of perks to being a teacher there, and
the salary levels are pretty good. They're knocking on one
hundred thousand dollars, they'll be up over one hundred and
ten thousand dollars. And this is for a job that
(19:38):
you have two months after in the summer. And the
more that the Teachers Union push it, the more that
communities are going to feel it, and they will develop
some animosities. I have strong feelings on it. I have
tried to hold my feelings to myself, but in a
community like Newton last winter when they were out for
about two and a half to three weeks. Ruth Ann Fuller,
(20:01):
who's a very progressive Democrat, she was upset about it.
She handled the situation very well. The scars of these
sort of strikes which are illegal, which are illegal in
Massachusetts Police Department, conco and strike firefighters, EMTs and teachers,
but they go on strike and then they get their
(20:22):
wrists slapped.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
This is a problem and it needs to be addressed.
Please feel free join the conversation. Six one seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
I'm making my feelings known. If you agree with me,
I'd like to hear from you. If you don't agree
with me, I'd love to debate you on it. It's
as simple as that.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Okay, we can have a friendly conversation. We can disagree
about about some of this. But teachers' unions, particularly in Massachusetts,
are they just killed the MCAST graduation requirement. I guarantee
you they're going to try to make strikes legal in Massachusetts.
And at that point Katie barred the door. Six one seven, two, five,
(21:02):
four ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten
thirty tonight, it's Marblehead, Gloucester and Beverly next week, next month,
next year, it could be your community. Back on Nightside
right after this.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Now we are talking about three simultaneous teacher strikes in
three communities which are right up there on the northeast
corner of the state, and I have to believe that
there's some coordination, as we alluded to with the Massachusetts
Teachers Association. My question to you is if you have kids,
uh and those kids are in school, and you were
(21:45):
to find out tomorrow morning that your school was gone,
your teaches you and you're going on strike, what would
you do. I lost a lot of.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Confidence in teachers' unions about I don't know, thirty years
or so ago. One of my children was in grade
school and there were two classes that were combined.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
And again this is an experiment. I guess that we
were anxious to at least consider one of the teachers
had just had a child and obviously had some home
care concerns, which is understandable. The other was a due
to delivery child at some point during the school year,
(22:29):
and they decided the school department decided that they would
They would have a concept of team teaching, so both
the teachers would remain employed, and that one week one
of the teachers would be there three days and the
other the next the other teacher would be the two days.
So the idea was that the one hundred and eighty
school days would be covered by these two teachers. Each
(22:52):
of them would probably do somewhere around ninety days, some
a little fewer, some a little more. Okay, fine, sounded
like a great idea. At the end of the school year,
there were thirty days during that school year, one sixth
of the school year where both of the teachers were absent,
So for thirty days at that grade level, my son
(23:13):
and his classmates had substitute teachers. Substitute teachers. At that point,
I thought to myself, this is not fair. It's not
fair to the kids. I don't think these strikes are
feared of the kids at all. And if you don't
speak up, if you disagree with me, bring it on.
I'd love to debate you want it. But these are
jobs that people have aspired to and now they're looking
(23:35):
at it and saying they get great pensions. I mean
there's nothing wrong with these jobs. The offer that's being
made by the town of marble Head is I think
a pretty generous offer. It's much more than a lot
of businesses, a lot of professions have received over the
last few years. Let me go to Bob and drake it. Bob,
your first tonight on a nightside, Go right ahead again.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
I'm good, Yes, a little bit find it?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
No be a favorite, Bob. I don't know. Are you
on a headset or you want a speakerphone. I'm having
a little bit of difficulty hearing you.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Okay, how about now? Can you hear me now much better?
Speaker 2 (24:11):
What did what did you change? What did what did
you change?
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Well? I was supposed to myself years and years ago,
and maybe I.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Asked you what what did you change? So that I
can hear you? I want to know the next time
I hear that. I want to be able to get
what did you get off a headset?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
What will you want if close to the receiver on
the phone.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
Oh, that is always critical because you know what, Bob,
if I go like this with my mouthpiece, if I
take my mouthpiece and.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Put it over here, you don't hear me as well?
Do you want to bring it back to that.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
That's the key, you know, I got I got a
professional headset on, and you got a phone. So let's
try to work together because I want to hear everything
you have to say.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Go right ahead, Bob, Thanks, thanks for being a good sport.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
Go ahead, good thing.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Well, I think that I'm back when I was teaching,
and that goes back almost forty years ago, and I
was in a pub schools near Massachusetts. The parent union,
the NCA, they've had a pro choice platform. Now that
doesn't make sense.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
I mean, you talk about children, children and children, and
yet the statewide union is thing have an abortion you know.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
I just I find that, Well.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Abortion is really irrelevant, Bob, to to what we're discussing tonight.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I mean, is that I think? Is that? Is that
what you said? I'm still having difficulty hearing you.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Oh sorry about that, Dan, I'll just send it right now.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
But well, I'm just saying that abortion has nothing to
do with what we're talking about today. When we're talking
about parents across well the three communities of Massachusetts who
are going to have to provide for alternative.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Care for their kids tomorrow. These would be kids anywhere
from kindergarten to grade twelve and uh, and it's it's
you know, they begin the school year, the residents of
the community pay taxes which which they is assumed that
their kids are going to receive a good education and
it's not gonna be interrupted by a strike. It seems
(26:06):
to me that there should be some sort of a
law in Massachusetts which would say, not only teachers' unions
not allowed to strike, that any contract negotiations has to
be done in the months of July and August.
Speaker 8 (26:18):
Uh and then bravo, it has.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
To be finding arbitration.
Speaker 8 (26:23):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
That the statement, and you cannot strike. And if you striking,
your out of the picket line, we're gonna we're gonna
bring and we're gonna put you all in jail. I mean,
I I think it's that's got to the point where
I think that has to be done.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
In my opinion, I think you're hitting a nail right
on the head Dan, what you said right now, I
mean absolutely, I mean, there's there's just a kind of
mean it's around and it's gotta be more focused. And
the point you make are great points about you know,
being there for education the purpose of education, not you know,
(26:56):
it makes like a labor stand on this, you know.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
So yeah, absolutely, absolutely, well, I appreciate it. And again
I just I wanted to get you away from the
other subject because that's not the subject that we're talking
about tonight. So thanks for coming back and talking about
the strike and again what I consider to be the
unfairness not only to the students, but to the taxpayers
and the parents. I mean, can you can you imagine
(27:20):
if if you had paid in advance to let us say,
receive I don't know, a roof put on your house
because you had a roof leak, and all of a
sudden the roof has said, oh no, we're going on
strike because we wanted to to say increase.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
What's the different?
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Thank you, Bob. I appreciate you call, Talk to you soon.
Thank you, appreciate it very much. Daryl is up in Canada?
Do they have teacher strikes in Canada?
Speaker 7 (27:44):
Darryl? They actually have congratulations on Referends Day as well,
by the way, thank you, and uh, but they actually
have bus drivers strikes. Teach the strikes. And I just
love that comment you mentioned about July and August. Yeah,
because your guests mentioned that normal teachers across North America
(28:06):
get the summer off.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, and they should.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Have their union representatives whenever they're coming up on a negotiation. Uh,
you know what the contract is expiring, uh, maybe a
year out say well, we're going to start the negotiation
and we're gonna we're gonna stop it before school starts.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
And then the following summer.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
If they don't finish it up, then they have to
wait until the next summer to to uh, to have negotiations.
They should not be negotiating during the school year. It's
as simple as that. And they should be that. Teacher
strikes are illegal, but there has to be some some
teeth in this as far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 7 (28:42):
Darryl, Well, that's correct. And at the same time, your
guest prior to the specialist or one of the school board.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
She's of the chair of the school committee.
Speaker 7 (28:54):
Yeah, she had mentioned about king will leave possibly yep,
and up in Canada, if somebody has a pregnancy, they
can actually the husband and or the wife can take
a year off on unemployment.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Yeah. Well that's wonderful, I mean, and that's that's wonderful,
but that cost has to.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
Be back to This goes back to what I was mentioning.
But the cumun will leave.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Yep.
Speaker 7 (29:21):
If you can accumulate that and you're trying to do
a budget year to year, then that budget gets thrown
right out of whack. And if you have a whole
bunch of people that are actually in that predicament, then
you leave half. You might lose half your staff.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Conceivab But yeah, I would call it a I call
it more of a situation than a predicament. But that's
that's that's a little euphemistic. So yeah, it's a it's
going to happen, you know, when you have young people
who are coming out of college and becoming teachers and
uh they have children. Okay, you got you're going to
be considerate, but you also have to have some consideration
(29:59):
for the young people that they're teaching, and you have
to have some consideration for the people who are paying
the bill, who are the taxpayers in that community.
Speaker 7 (30:07):
Well, it's all about the kids, and it's about responsibility.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Well they will tell you it's all about the kids,
but it really comes down to I mean, what.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
A teachers make in Canada. Do you do you have
any idea? Do you have I do not know well
down here, down here in Massachusetts, most teachers, most teachers
in any of the larger school systems. I'm making upwards
or in excess of one hundred.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Thousand dollars a year.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
And that's US dollars, that is US dollars.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
That is correct, is correct, So I mean it's it's topic. Yeah,
Thank thanks Darrel. Always great to hear from you. Thank
you so much.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
And any any more questions about Canada and the teacher
stuff down the road, let me know.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
I will, I promise you, I will thank you.
Speaker 7 (30:50):
I'll check out the salary for you.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
Okay, thanks, doctor, you soon, good night. I've gotta take
very quick break here. Coming right back on Night's side.
I'm more than willing to take this into the next
hour if you want to. I also want to talk
about the dilemma that the Democratic Party has now in
a view of what happened six nights ago, the re
election of President Trump. We're going to talk about that
(31:13):
later tonight as well. But I want to talk about
teacher strikes because frankly, this is where the rubber hits
the role and there has to be and I'm again,
if you disagree with me, bring it on I'm more
than happy to talk.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
We've invited, by the way, they headed the mass Teachers
Association on his name is Max Page on several occasions,
and they have they have declined. He's he's he's welcome
to come in here any night and tell me how
unfair it is the teachers are being treated in Massachusetts
or whatever he wants to say. We'll be back on
night's side. I got a couple of Steves and a
Michael Hare. Got a little bit of room for you
(31:46):
six one seven, two five, four thirty or six one
seven nine three thirty. Boy, I'll say, if there's any
parents up in Gloucester, Beverly and Marblehead. Uh, you know
we're not going to rat you out, feel free to
call in. You are the ones who are kind of
in the difficult situation tomorrow because what do you do
to take care of your kids, make sure your kids
(32:06):
are safe during the day when you have to go
to work to earn your salary, to pay the real
estate taxes that support the teachers' salaries. Back on Nightside after.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
This, Now back to Dan Ray Mine from the Window
World night Side Studios on w b Z the news radio.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
All right, back to the calls, we go, well, we're
gonna go next to let me get Steven Merrimack, New Hampshire,
Steve next on Knights.
Speaker 8 (32:28):
I go ahead, Hi, Dan hik arm good.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Your thoughts on what's going on a little.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
Self is unbelievable. You know the you know, I do
agree with the binding, arbitration and negotiating during the summer,
which is the correct way to handle it. That's absolutely
the there's no other way to do it. But I
will say that you mentioned Newton. I believe that Andover
had the same problem, and one of the union officials said,
(32:54):
quote unquote, we got everything we wanted. You know, that's
not how negotiations work. A lot of these teachers don't
live in these communities, which are upscale communities. If they're
not living there, then they don't care what happens to
the taxvill Oh. Absolutely to pay your If you if
you're trying to pay a ten to fifteen to twenty
(33:15):
thousand dollars tax bill and your taxes go up five
percent or ten percent or more, you're going to feel it.
I mean it's not going to be pretty, but absolutely
it was the way it was explained to me by
one of the school members of my community was you
have to balance the kids right to an education with
the taxpayer's ability to afford it. That's exactly what they
(33:37):
told me.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Well, these teachers, now.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
These it is not uncommon. I don't know what it
is in New Hampshire, assume it is quite different. But
in Massachusetts it's not uncommon for teachers in in you know,
some of the nicer communities, to making eighty ninety one hundred,
one hundred and ten thousand dollars a year for you know,
for a job that again runs from September to June.
And I think what they should just say is okay, okay.
(34:00):
When the contract is coming up the summer one year before,
there has to be some meetings that can occur between
the school committee and the teachers' union, and they end
the day the school starts. We don't expect you're going
to get the contracts settled that early, but at least
you have some idea about what everybody wants. Now, the
following summer, you will be involved in binding arbitration, and
(34:24):
whatever the arbiterr the mediator decides, that will be it.
There'll be no strike during the school year. And if
there's a strike during the school year, you're gonna lose job.
You're gonna lose your jobs. It's as simple as that define.
Speaker 8 (34:38):
I agree with you completely. One thing I will say
is on the legality issue, the only thing that happens
to them is the union gets fined. They're prepared to
pay that fine. And I think that's what happened six
months ago. When you know Newton and andover.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
I'm sure that's what happened. I'm sure that's what happened.
And of course then nobody to teach the teachers do
is go up a little bit. So, but that's another story, Steve.
I appreciate what you calling. Thank you much, Thank you
very much. Let's keep rolling here. I'm going to go
to Alan, New hamps We got more interest here in
New Hampshire than in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Go ahead, Al, Hey, Dan, always great conversation. I'd like
to make a quick point. Most state constitutions, right, they
trade taxpayers, you know, rights for the common good. So
the taxpayer gives up some rights for the common good
in this case. In these cases, what I find is
the public unions violate that common that whole spirit of
(35:32):
common good. And you know, especially teachers use unions use
children as leverage. When you think about it, if they
didn't have children as leverage, then they would have to
debate and negotiate based on cost. Bass. As you're probably
well aware, the school populations across the country are droping
(35:52):
and administrative costs are going up because of many reasons.
But I know right here in Hampshire, in my town
is twenty nine thousand dollars per student to educate and
it's getting to the point where we're cutting our tunnel
roads and safety of police for school now.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
There's only so much money they have.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
But as they say, I think the problem much more,
at least down here, is what's going on in h with.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
The teachers unions.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
And the teachers unions have figured it out that they
basically can extort the school committees and generally get a
It's going to maybe take them a few days or
a couple of weeks in the case of Newton or Endover.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
But this stuff has to stop and there has to
be some politicians willing to take on the teachers unions. Well,
hopefully a bunch of politicians to take on the teacher's
unions say hey, look, this just can't happen. You know,
enough people are leaving Massachusetts now, eventually the entire tax
base is going to leave Massachusetts. This is an out
of control and unfear negotiations set of circumstances. You know,
(36:54):
if you're a professional athlete and you want to get
millions of dollars because you're you're one of the few
people who can get a night who can hit a
ninety five mile an hour fastball four hundred and fifty
feet to left center field, that's a different story.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
You're a teacher. You're a teacher. You do a great job.
It's a wonderful profession. You can become a teacher probably
thirty thirty five, forty years and you'll retire with a
great pension. You don't get a million dollars a year
as a teacher, but one hundred thousand dollars that's that's
a pretty good salary in this day and age, and
it has been for a while.
Speaker 4 (37:29):
Right, and I think we forget that. This are most
state constitutions, the taxpayer really has rights that they are
not using, and they're not using it through their legislature.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
Well, if they don't turn legislators out, that's that's the
ultimate right.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
They have the right to vote.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
So you know you're getting into a political argument that
I want to list late in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Don't want to go down the road.
Speaker 3 (37:55):
What happens is you get people who are in in
office there they don't have challenges and it works to
the advantage of the teachers' union. So anyway, I'm gonna
let you run out because I'm flat out of time,
and I will tell folks, I'm more than willing to
continue with this into the next hour because I think
it's a critical topic. And if you're not interested in it,
(38:16):
that's fine, we'll go on to something else. But I
want to talk about this six one, seven, two, five,
four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty.
I'm putting my feelings on the line, and I'm probably
upsetting maybe teachers, maybe teachers, but I think the time
has come that someone has to have the backbone to
stand up. And if it's got to be me, I
hope you'll join me. If you want to debate it,
(38:38):
you're welcome as well. You have the numbers. Back on
Night Side,
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Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com