Terri Tauro, head of the Marblehead Municipal Employees Union, spoke at Town Meeting Monday night during a motion to indefinitely postpone a collective bargaining vote. She was cut off by Moderator Jack Attridge, who said her remarks did not pertain to the motion at hand. Here is Tauro’s complete message.
“I would like to start with a shout out for our town employees. Marblehead’s town employees educate your children and keep them safe. We keep your power on, plow the snow and care for your aging parents. We make your summers on the harbor, at the parks and take away your refuse. We affect your life in so many ways, every day. For many of us, the wages we make working for the town are far less than what it would take to live in the town. It may soon be that our wages won’t cover living in this state; Massachusetts is, after all, the fourth most expensive state in this country to live.
And that, really, is the heart of the issue tonight: the cost of living is high. That’s certainly not the town’s fault. If, however, we want to attract and keep employees who will keep Marblehead running efficiently, it is the town’s responsibility to deal with this post-pandemic reality of across-the-board cost of living increases.
This should not be a huge ask. Marblehead is the 24th wealthiest town in Massachusetts with its residents making 65% more than the national median income. Overall, that puts our residents in the top 7%! Despite this, a majority of Marblehead municipal workers are earning less than the state poverty levels for a family of two. The school’s paraprofessionals, to give but one example, are at or below the poverty line to support a single person.
This is an untenable situation. As town employees we are well trained, often highly educated individuals that, in most cases, have turned down lucrative positions in the private sector because we believe in the work we do; we believe that, as teachers, as firefighters and as municipal employees that we are making this community a better place to be. We never expected to get rich doing the work we love, but we cannot be asked to work for near poverty wages. The longer we do, the more of us will burn out and seek work elsewhere.
And where will Marblehead be then? Imagine our schools understaffed, our children’s educational needs unmet. Imagine the dangers our homes will be under with a diminished police and fire department. Imagine not being able to visit the beautiful new Abbot Library because our librarians sought jobs elsewhere. Imagine all the work left unfinished because the town cannot attract and keep a stable workforce!
Whether we live in Marblehead or not, we municipal employees are dedicated to this community. We stay late, go in early or work at home just to get our jobs done. We bump into friends on the street and make notes on our phones to check on something for them on Monday. This sense of community is quickly slipping away with the practice of eliminating high-paying positions and dumping the work on those of us who remain.
The municipal unions have tried, in good faith, to bargain with the town and draft new contracts that meet the needs of both employee and community. We have been stonewalled at every turn and treated with disrespect and refusals to bargain. We have been willing to meet halfway, to find creative solutions to the town’s problems that don’t break the bank, but the town has delivered us a simple message: take it or leave it. This is not the way to create a healthy dynamic between employer and employee. This kind of disrespect will only hasten the flight of workers from this municipality.
Before you raise your hand or tap your clicker to postpone Articles 20 and 21 indefinitely, ask yourself what this will mean for the town when negotiations are intentionally delayed and workers are disrespected.
It means the budget you are voting on tonight is not accurate.
It means that Marblehead workers will indefinitely continue to work for wages that do not begin to meet the ever increasing cost of living.
It means that the people who work for you everyday will be faced with a choice; work for less or leave the job they love. Underpaid workers do not put nearly as much love and care into their work as those who are paid what they are worth. And positions that are abandoned will take weeks, if not months, to fill, leaving vital service gaps that the town will be powerless to address.
The workers deserve better. The residents deserve better. Marblehead deserves better.
Thank you for your time.”
Town Meeting voted to indefinitely postpone the bargaining articles.
Check out the Current’s 2024 Town Meeting Guide for new articles, editorials, letters to the editor and more.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
