Published: November 03, 2011
Efforts to Ban Teacher Strikes Ongoing in 12 US States
By Ben Velderman
Will taxpayers strike back or strike out?
HARRISBURG, Penn. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once observed that ending a bad relationship is like knocking over a Coke machine. You can't do it in one push. You've got to rock it back and forth a few times, and then it goes over."
Banning teacher strikes in the 12 states that still allow them is proving to be the same type of challenge. Proposed legislation would ban the practice in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Ohio, but the bills are having trouble getting across the finish line in those union-friendly states.
The other states still on the list are showing no evidence of moving toward strike bans at all. Apparently a few more pushes will be necessary to accomplish this critical goal.
Teacher strikes are notorious for disrupting the learning process of students, inconveniencing families, and tearing communities apart. That is why they are more or less illegal in 38 states.
However, some strike bans lack teeth, as the illegal 10-day strike by the Tacoma Education Association in Washington State recently demonstrated.
Our hope is that decent lawmakers from both parties in every state will consider action to not only outlaw teacher strikes, but also incorporate stiff penalties for those who violate the laws, particularly union leaders.
Public school students should have an absolute right to an education undisturbed by adult political or labor disagreements. They should never be used as pawns during the collective bargaining process.
We must also remember that taxpayers fork over big bucks so the children of their communities are educated on a set schedule. They have already paid for this service, and it should never be disrupted by self-serving labor unions.
A pick-me-up needed in Pennsylvania
Teacher strikes are most common in Pennsylvania, which is known as the teacher strike capital of the United States. The state has suffered through 94 teachers strikes over the past decade, adversely affecting the education of some 247,000 students, according to a joint press release from State Rep. Todd Rock (R-Franklin) and State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler). The two lawmakers are spearheading efforts to ban teacher strikes in the Keystone State.
Rock has introduced The Strike Free Education Act (House Bill 1369), which ban teacher strikes.
Once signed into law, House Bill 1369 would take effect immediately by recognizing in legislative statute that strikes and other types of public school lockouts are prohibited by our state constitution, Rock wrote in an email to Education Action Group.
Metcalfes bill, HB 1640, would ban teacher strikes by amending the states constitution, a process which requires approval from the state legislature in two consecutive sessions, as well from voters in a statewide referendum.
The drawn-out process makes HB 1640 unlikely to pass anytime soon, although Metcalfe believes it is a necessary step.
In the past, our higher courts have muddied the waters, and have not ruled in the common sense understanding of the law, Metcalfe told EAG. This would make sure the men and women in black robes do not rule like tyrants.
For now, both bills are stuck in committee in the state House, and are without sponsors in the state Senate.
The Senate has not been convinced theres a problem yet, Metcalfe said. Were trying to get their attention.
Simon Campbell, president of the grass roots advocacy group StopTeacherStrikes.org, believes the only missing ingredient is leadership from Gov. Tom Corbett.
The governor is not making this a priority, and thats most unfortunate. He needs to get a spinal cord like Walker, Christie and Kasich, Campbell said, referencing the governors of Wisconsin, New Jersey and Ohio who have all taken a strong stand against their states teachers unions.
Campbell believes a strike ban is a no-brainer in the court of public opinion, but overcoming the influence the Pennsylvania State Education Association has in the legislature will be tough.
There are a number of members in the House of Representatives and Senate who take union money, Campbell said. The only way we can overcome that is by the governor pushing hard on them.
Momentum in Vermont
The Southwest Vermont Education Association recently concluded the second longest teachers strike in state history. VTDigger.org reports that the nine-day strike against the families and students of the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union tied the duration of a 2005 strike in the Colchester school system. Both fall far short of the 1985 strike in Hinesburg which lasted a whopping 87 days.
The SVEA strike was largely based on the unions demands for a four percent pay raise, and its refusal to allow members to pay 20 percent of their insurance costs. The strike resulted in a new agreement for the union involving modest raises, concessions on health care and new work rules for teachers, the news site reports.
As usual, neither the union nor the school board will disclose specific terms of their agreement until it has final approval. Never mind asking the taxpayers what they think of the tentative deal. Its only their money being spent.
But on a positive note, the recent strike drew the attention of Vermonts Commissioner of Education Armando Vilaseca, who published an op-ed last month to speak up on behalf of the students.
Vilaseca wrote that teacher strikes negatively affect the academic progress and well-being of kids, noting that families are extremely stressed during a strike in finding appropriate and affordable care for their children.
Vilaseca wrote that he will be seeking support for legislation that does not allow teacher strikes, but also bans school board imposition of contracts.
That was good news to State Rep. Kurt Wright (R-Burlington) who last February introduced a bill that would do those very things.
Im pleased the commissioner of education took a stand, Wright told EAG. I applaud it. It took some courage.
Wright acknowledged that his bill, H. 300, is currently nowhere in the legislative process, but hopes that Vilasecas support might help the bill gain traction.
If a poll was taken right now, I think the vast majority of the public would support this bill, Wright said.
Wright said several Democrats have praised the bill and said it deserves consideration, but others have accused the bill of being a Wisconsin-style attack on collective bargaining rights.
Vermont state employees are already not allowed to strike, Wright said. So Im not trying to do something radical, like trying to take away collective bargaining rights. But I believe the delivery of government services such as public education is too important to allow to be disrupted with strikes.
Wrights bill would also prohibit districts from imposing contracts, and mandate that an arbiterbe used to resolve any negotiating impasses.
Im hopeful we take a serious look at this bill when the legislature is back in session in January, Wright said.
Ohio and beyond
Ohios controversial SB 5 legislation would prohibit all public employees from participating in a labor strike, according to American Policy Roundtable. But voters might repeal that legislation in a statewide election next week, which would leave Buckeye families vulnerable to future teacher strikes.
Illinois also has a history of teacher strikes, but given that the state legislature is controlled by union-friendly Democrats, analysts do not expect to see an anti-strike law anytime soon.
Washington State does not seem poised to put teeth into its anti-strike law, despite the illegal 10-day strike this fall by the Tacoma Education Association.
Danny Nguyen, a legislative assistant to House Education Committee Chair Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle), said discussions about beefing up the strike ban have not even begun.
The other eight states that still allow teachers to strike are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana and Oregon.
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