Tacoma teachers vote to strike

[proud2BlibKansan]

Tacoma teachers have voted to strike starting Tuesday. Meeting at Mount Tahoma High School this afternoon, 87 percent of the Tacoma Education Association's membership voted to head to the picket lines.

That means no school tomorrow - and possibly beyond.

Across town at district headquarters, schools Superintendent Art Jarvis said the district will seek an immediate court injunction Tuesday to terminate the strike, which he contends is illegal.

Contract talks between the district and the teachers union ended Saturday night without a tentative agreement. No negotiations took place Sunday or today.



Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/12/1821503/tacoma-teachers-to-strike-no-school.html#ixzz1XnV1gBMR

[iemitsu]

1. thanks for posting this.

i will be on that picket line tomorrow.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. kick

[Brickbat]

3. Solidarity!

One day longer, one day stronger!

[Le Taz Hot]

4. PLEASE post updates as often as possible.

If this nation is to get back to it's populist/Democratic roots, it will be through the unions. Watching closely.

[iemitsu]

11. i will provide an update this afternoon

as soon as my time on the picket line is over.
thank you and everyone else who supports the teachers in this struggle.

[suffragette]

14. Thanks iemitsu

In support,

suffragette

[iemitsu]

16. thank you suffragette.

we will need your support if this is not settled quickly and the district seems hell-bent on dragging this out in an effort to dismantle our job security.
we have been in negotiations since may 1st. the district has not bargained in good faith.

[iemitsu]

18. i'm back from walking the line today.

while the teachers union invited the district administrators to resume bargaining again today the district chose instead to go to court seeking an injunction to force us back to work. that will be ruled on tomorrow at 9:00 am.
teachers with "on strike" signs picketed the five comprehensive high schools in town. motorists drove by and expressed support for the striking teachers. there were a few who displayed a thumbs down and some who frowned but many, many drivers honked their horns and waved to show support.
by noon the teachers were joined by dozens of students and many parents. the teamsters had a representative at the site where i picketed offering teachers support.
one teacher wore a pedometer and clocked 14 miles walking back and forth in front of the school.
since i was only at one site myself i am not sure how things went at the other sites but i should know more tomorrow.
by the way, the crack i made last night about republicans thinking it was time to strike was not a fabrication. the high school i teach in has an aging staff, many are conservative (i have been in the building 18 years and have argued politics with them all), several preacher's wives, a woman who told me she had been involved in four strikes in her career and voted against striking three of the times. these people all voted to strike.
the vote breakdown:
1869 certificated staff eligible to vote
1777 voted
1623 voted yes (to strike)
151 voted no
the school district and the local media are lambasting the teachers. i just got an auto-call from the schools informing the public that the district is attempting to have the strike ruled illegal and that they are doing everything in their power to get school up and running again (everything that is but offer us a fair contract).
we will be back on the line tomorrow.

[Starry Messenger]

20. Thank you.

Excellent report. :thumbsup:

[iemitsu]

24. thank you.

the report is a bit sketchy but my legs are tired. and i still have to write my mother.
i'll post an update tomorrow after the court determination and any response that the union membership might have.

[suffragette]

25. very powerful report

Please keep us posted.

Wishing you the best,
suffragette

[iemitsu]

19. please read post 18 below for the update.

it is not worth typing twice.
it was a good day on the picket line. i was lucky enough to be a a street corner where those who support teachers drive by. students and parents fed the strikers and then joined us walking.
as you can see by the numbers below (post 18) the membership is is committed to winning this struggle with the district.
the only issue keeping teachers out of the classroom is that the district wants to adopt hiring and reassignment language that is vague and allows them to dismiss teachers on a whim.
the district has never had that power and the idea that the school board and administrators would force a strike over that issue is amazing.
our corporate owners evidently think that the ranks of teachers need weeding out.
you can tell by all the women and men i spent the day with that we are a dangerous lot.
by the end of the week half of us will need hip replacements since we are really too old to walk so far.

[LWolf]

7. Let us know how it goes.

[iemitsu]

13. i will as soon as possible.

i'm hoping that generic shows up with her guitar.
rousing union music will remind us that many others fought so we could have decent jobs and that it is our responsibility to see that workers don't lose ground.

[LWolf]

22. I wish I saw more unreserved support for solidarity here at DU. nt

[iemitsu]

23. i feel that most here have been very supportive.

the few who haven't? well, what can be said?
there are many reasons to haunt a board such as du.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. Rec'd to "0"?

:wtf: Who the HELL would unrec. a union thread? :mad:

[Reader Rabbit]

10. There are a lot of anonymous unreccers on pro-teacher threads.

Don't know why.

[iemitsu]

15. i noticed that too.

the un recs. were in the minus column when i first posted.
even if one is against teachers or strikes why would they want to hide this story?
its not like this action will endear us to the public (except those smart enough to recognize the the truth about working in america).

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. A teacher hater

Too many of them here.

[Starry Messenger]

6. k&r

[Robb]

8. Looks like the School Board is headed to court:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/12/1821503/tacoma-teachers-to-strike-no-school.html

...Meanwhile, the Tacoma School Board took the unusual step Monday of delegating more authority to Superintendent Art Jarvis so that decisions can be made quickly.

In addition to a court injunction, the district today will seek a court declaration that the strike is illegal, said school district attorney Shannon McMinimee. State law contains contradictions about the legality of teacher strikes.

(snip)

The board voted unanimously in public session to:

* Give the school district’s attorney authorization to use legal tools to end the strike.

* Deny striking teachers access to school grounds and buildings, unless they appear as a parent or coach. If teachers want to work, they are welcome, Jarvis said....

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/12/1821503/tacoma-teachers-to-strike-no-school.html

[Reader Rabbit]

9. Getting teachers to agree to a strike is like moving a mountain.

Teachers are willing to put up with an inordinate amount of grief for the sake of the kids. If a majority of a district's teachers have agreed to strike, it means that there has been some really shoddy treatment of the teachers. This is a huge thing.

[Shagbark Hickory]

12. THIS is how it's done. n/t

[etherealtruth]

21. Good

American workers have a lot to learn from teacher's unions