WGBH reporter Tori Bedford talks to  Newton Teachers Association President Michael Zilles and School Committee Chair Ruth Goldman

“To go on strike is not a decision that any union would make lightly. It’s what you do when all else fails,” he said. “But I think there’s a lot of frustration that this just isn’t getting resolved, and people see what happened in Dedham and they say, ‘Why aren’t we doing that? Why can’t we just resolve this?'” Zilles said.

 

…Goldman said after 15 months of negotiations, the school department and the 2,200 union members are “nearing the end and making good progress” on contract negotiations.

“At the negotiating table, I think we’ve had points where we’ve gotten a bit stuck,” Goldman said. “But I think overall, there’s been a lot of movement and it’s been in a fairly collaborative spirit.”