Judge dismisses parents' second attempt to sue Newton teachers after strike

Source: Boston.com

“To insert those parental and student interests... would wholly undermine the public employer-employee relations.”

By Molly Farrar

July 29, 2025 | 5:56 PM

A judge dismissed the second class action lawsuit brought by parents of Newton students who missed classes during an 11-day educator strike last year.

Lital Asher-Dotan, Dmitriy Sokolovskiy, Dan Eshet, Barbara Cipriani, and Ronit Inbar all sued for $25 million on behalf of their children, who are Newton Public School students. The parents argued that the strike caused harm to students and families, driving parents “to a point of desperation.”

Newton teachers ended the then-historic strike after 11 days in February of 2024, winning improved parental leave, family leave, and minimum wages. Teachers in Brookline, Andover, Haverhill, Malden, and on the North Shore have also taken to the picket line in recent years to win contracts.

All public employees in Massachusetts are barred from striking by state law, including teachers, under Section 9A. The parents argued that the union leaders of the Newton Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the National Education Association, and the UAW, the United Auto Workers union, who were named as defendants, all knew the strike was illegal and supported it publicly.


Striking Newton teachers rally outside Newton City Hall in January of 2024. (Lane Turner/Globe Staff)

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/education/2025/07/29/judge-dismisses-parents-second-attempt-to-sue-newton-teachers-after-strike/