Schools

Mayor Greg Verga said his frustrations “got the better of him” but denied his action was aimed at the teachers or the crowd supporting them.

Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga said he was worried about his family’s safety and his frustrations “got the best of him” when he raised the middle finger as he left negotiations with the city . teachers on strike Thursday evening.

“Anyone who knows me knows this is unlike me,” Verga said in a video statement Friday.

Images of The gill net, The Gloucester High School student newspaper shows Verga making a profane gesture as he walks away from the West Parish Elementary School. The surrounding crowd can be heard chanting “shame on you!” »

According to Gloucester Educators Union Vice President Matthew Lewis, the crowd was channeling its anger over the lack of a new wage proposal for Gloucester paraprofessionals, but no demonstrators stopped city officials from leaving.

“We are disgusted by this obscene action by the elected official who was supposed to represent this city,” Lewis said in an emailed statement, referring to Verga. “We had no problem staying outside and the police were there to make sure everyone was safe and in line.”

In his statement, Verga said the city and its educators were “moving in the right direction” during Thursday’s negotiations, but tensions were rising outside as the day progressed. He said that at one point he went to his wife, who was home alone, and informed her that a crowd had started to gather outside their house.

“She said things like she was scared, had a stomach ache and urged me to be careful,” Verga said.

He said the city had a police detail on site throughout the negotiations, and the officer requested backup due to the size of Thursday night’s crowd. Police cleared a path to the parking lot, but Verga said a “former public safety official” approached his car window and began yelling at him as he drove away.

“At this point my frustrations got the better of me and I responded to the nastiness being thrown at me as I tried to get home to my frightened wife,” he explained. “The gesture – which I would have liked not to make – was directed towards this individual. Not the crowd, and certainly not the teachers.

Lewis argued the behavior was “unbecoming” for an elected official, regardless of the target.

“Regardless of the intent or direction of the gesture, parents and students were present and dismayed by what they saw,” Lewis said, adding that the action reflected an “alarming” lack of respect for all those who gathered to support Gloucester paraprofessionals.

Lewis also pointed out that Verga did not issue an explicit apology to the community.

Verga, meanwhile, accused union members of “engaging in intimidating behavior” on Thursday and calling for escalation with terms such as “agitation is the watchword.” He said he arrived home around 9:30 p.m. and found his wife in tears as other protesters arrived and formed a “mob” outside his home.

“As an elected official and public figure, I bought into that. But not my wife and our families,” he said. “I never imagined fearing for the safety of my family in my own home from members of my own community. »

Responding to alleged calls for unrest, Lewis responded: “The community saw the mayor’s disrespect in full force last night. This lack of respect has lasted for 505 days while our paraprofessionals have been without a contract and for months while teachers have been without theirs. Members of the community and our association are rightly agitated.

Gloucester is one of three communities on the North Shore to cancel classes this week due to educator strikes, alongside Beverly and Marblehead. Gloucester educators have been on strike since last Friday, and the city’s teachers union is now facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

“Mayor Verga’s casual response to our requests to stay and negotiate through the night was met with a middle finger to the students, community members and educators who were there,” Lewis said. “The community and educators will continue to use their outside voice to ensure politicians are at the negotiating table rather than playing games and hanging around.” »

In his own statement, Verga expressed a desire to see calmer heads prevail.

“We all need to do better to resolve this crisis, and I intend to lead the way,” he said. “That’s not who we are as a community. Gloucester has always known how to come together in times of crisis. This is that moment.

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Abby Patkin is a general assignment reporter whose work covers transit, crime, healthcare and everything in between.

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