Negotiations over contract continue

Negotiations over contract continue

Friday, December 21, 2007

By Molly Brean, Allderdice High School (City of Pittsburgh Schools)

Over the past few months, no student has been able to avoid circulating rumors about a possible teachers' strike. Just what is really happening?

In June 2007, the contract between the school board and the teachers union, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT), expired. While discussing the terms of the new contract, several controversial issues have come to the table, including pay, the work day, and medical insurance. Superintendent Mark Roosevelt contends that "[The School Board] remains committed to a settlement that honors the good work of our teachers without endangering the district's financial health or obligating us to raise taxes, which we adamantly oppose doing." He further claims that any strike would greatly negate any progress made in his extensive school reform.

On November 20, teachers voted to ratify a strike if called by the PFT Executive Board. The results were overwhelming, with 2,666 teachers, aides, and technical-clerical workers voting to strike if necessary, and only 234 opposing the action. Seventeen percent of the membership declined to return their ballots, and one voter abstained.

While this vote authorizes a strike, it does not guarantee one; the results only mean that union officials can announce a strike without further approval by the members. John Tarka, president of the Pittsburth Federation of Teachers, said that the vote was "extremely significant and valuable."

Even though a strike was ratified, the union intends to continue to negotiate without incident. Union members have not gone on strike for over thirty years, and more negotiating sessions are to come. According to Tarka, "PFT members recognize that the [union's] primary objective is to attain agreement with the district without disruption. At the same time, the union leadership must be able to recommend a package for ratification by the membership, and more work needs to be done before that can happen."

Recent events in the Seneca Valley School District have demonstrated that strikes can and will occur if contract negotiations fail to settle contentious disputes. Teachers returned to schools in the district on November 16, following a strike that lasted nearly five weeks. The union members ended their strike because they wanted to give students the state-required 180 days of education without running deep into summer, not because their contract has been fully resolved.

While the PFT newsletter from early December warned against speculation surrounding further negotiations with the school board, it also mentioned several upcoming meetings between union and District negotiators on December 17, 19, 21, 26, and, tentatively, 28.