Tacoma Teachers Strike Ends—Teachers Win Status Quo!

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Tacoma teachers voted with nearly 99% approval for the three-year contract negotiated by their union representatives, under the guidance of Washington’s governor Gregoire, according to the CS Monitor.

So what did the teachers win?

Class size will remain the same. This might be spun as a victory, as the district had wanted to increase class sizes. However, the union had wanted to reduce class size by one student, and even this would have left class sizes larger than most teachers would consider safe and ideal for effective learning.

Teacher pay will remain at current rates. However, teachers will lose one day of paid professional development. Again, this might be spun as a victory, as the district originally had wanted to cut several days off the school year and significantly reduce salaries and professional develop days. However, with state budget cuts, most unions have given up even asking for raises, assuming there is no chance of succeeding. Therefore, teachers and other workers get de facto pay cuts each year, as their salaries remain the same while inflation raises their living costs.

One of the most contentious sticking points was the district’s demand that teacher transfers be based on evaluations, rather than seniority. The teacher-transfer policy will remain intact for one year. During the 2012-13 school year, a committee made up of teachers and district officials will develop a new policy, with approval by a two-thirds vote of the committee.

An amnesty clause will protect teachers from any punishment for striking. This is probably the best part of the deal considering that a judge had ordered the teachers back to work and threatened legal consequences against the 1900 who continued to strike.

In summary, the Tacoma teachers succeeded in forcing their district to back off of some of their attacks, effectively maintaining the status quo for one more year, a status quo that does not include raises to keep up with the cost of living. Next year, seniority could go out the window. Class sizes could be increased in three years, when the contract ends.

On a positive note, the Tacoma teachers did stand up to a judge and a legal system that said they had no right to strike. They risked jail time fighting to maintain their working conditions. And it should certainly be seen as a good thing that they will not be fired or imprisoned for their efforts.

On the other hand, they did not ask for much in the first place. They put a lot on the line, risked a great deal, to simply keep things the same, a status quo that provided mediocre working conditions for teachers and mediocre learning conditions for their students. Rather than entering negotiations begging for a lame status quo, a much better tactic is to enter negotiations demanding everything one really wants, no matter how unlikely one thinks they are. Then, instead of giving away a little more each year and falling further and further behind, there is the possibility of actually gaining ground.  

Tacoma Teachers Strike Continues Into Day 7

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Many people wonder what the point is of going on strike. Job actions of any sort are risky. If they continue too long, workers lose pay and sometimes risk punitive measures, including the possibility of losing their jobs. Furthermore, it’s hard work to organize and mobilize large numbers of workers, particularly when they are service workers like teachers and nurses who care deeply about their clients’ wellbeing.

On the other hand, strikes are the most effective tool for pressuring bosses to concede to workers’ demands. In the case of the Tacoma teachers, who are still currently on strike, their initial efforts have already paid off with a few small concessions by their bosses.

On Sunday, Tacoma Public Schools officials said they would remove some of the contract language on teacher transfers and reassignments that the union opposed, according to the News Tribune. They also agreed to leave the current seniority-based system intact for one more year.

It is certainly not a victory, not even close, as administrators continue to fight for greater control over teacher placements and their demand to end seniority the following school year. They also continue to insist that teachers give up pay for three days.

Fortunately, the teachers realize they can do better and that they are currently in the position of power. Consequently, they have continued their strike into this week, despite the minor concessions by their bosses. On Monday, many pedaled around the city on a “bike strike.”

Meanwhile, Pierce County Judge Bryan Chushcoff threatened to authorize the hiring of replacement workers. However, the school district said they did not make this request and didn’t want replacement workers.

Of course they shouldn’t want replacement workers as they would most likely be uncredentialed substitutes who have little or no training in actual teaching, which would be a terrible disservice to students. Furthermore, the district only has around 600 substitutes, which is nowhere near sufficient to cover all the empty classrooms.

Chushcoff has also issued contempt of court notices to all striking teachers for violating the no-strike order he issued on Friday, Reuters reported today. However, negotiations have still not yielded anything that both sides are willing to accept and teachers are expected to stay off the job again Wednesday. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reported tonight that the school district has already cancelled classes for Wednesday in anticipation, marking the 7^th day of the strike.

Go Tacoma Go! Teachers Defy Judge’s Injunction

Tacoma teachers have defied a judge’s order to return to work, forcing the judge to back down. On Tuesday, a judge ordered all teachers back to work or face fines. The teachers ignored the ruling and continued their work stoppage.

Today, according to KOMO News, the same judge said he will not issue any fines and will give teachers until September 27 to reach a deal with their district, approximately the same that a hearing is scheduled to determine if there should be a permanent injunction against them striking.

In a very strong show of militancy, 93% of the 1,600 teachers voted to continue striking, in spite of the court order and the threats. The vote came before the judge conceded and agreed not to impose any fines, showing just how angry and determined the teachers are to defend their rights and working conditions. Furthermore, 19 different judges have ruled teachers’ strikes illegal in Washington State since 1976, making the teachers’ move even more courageous.

By continuing to strike, teachers will be in a much better position to defy a possible injunction at the end of the month and in a better position to win their struggle with their district.

It must be remembered that workers’ really have only one weapon powerful enough to fight their bosses: their ability to withhold their labor. It should also be made clear that teachers rarely go on strike and, when they do, it almost always is with their students’ best interests in mind. In the case of the Tacoma teachers, they are fighting to prevent class sizes from growing, which decreases student safety, one-on-one attention from teachers and their ability to succeed academically. They are also fighting to prevent further cuts to pay and benefits, which directly affects the teachers, but indirectly affects students, as deteriorating pay and benefits drives the best teachers from the district or the profession and reduces the district’s ability to hire and retain the best qualified teachers.

Washington Judge Attempts to Crush Teachers Strike

A judge ordered 1,900 striking Tacoma, WA teachers back to work yesterday after a two-day walkout Reuters reported today. Teachers in Washington’s third largest district were striking over district attempts to reassign teachers based on evaluations, rather than seniority. Teachers are also opposing attempts to impose pay cuts and class size increases.

The school district has called the strike illegal. Apparently the judge agreed, ordering teachers back to work immediately and demanding that both sides appear in court on Friday to prove that they have complied with the order.

It is not yet clear whether the teachers will comply. Tacoma Educators Association President Andy Coons declared that the strike was officially over, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer. However, he also said he was not a dictator and that people were free to make their own choices, implying that teachers might choose to continue striking without his consent. Several teachers said they would continue to stay out.

Coons is carefully following the lead of other union leaders of the past. Ignoring the judge’s order would likely result in large fines for the union and possible jail time for its officials, including Coons. By declaring official compliance, Coons is attempting to insulate the union from legal repurcussions. However, a wildcat strike could continue and be highly effective, depending on how strong the solidarity and discipline of the teachers.

Teachers should not go back to work simply because a judge has told them to do so. The judge himself said that it is unclear whether it is illegal for public workers to strike in Washington, drawing into question the legitimacy of his ruling.

However, even if it was illegal, that should not stop the teachers. Unjust laws are meant to be disobeyed, while attacks on working conditions must be resisted, regardless of the law. Workers had to break the law in order for unions to win the right to legally exist in the first place.

Furthermore, returning to work now would give the advantage to the bosses and take away the momentum the teachers have built toward the strike. This momentum will be crucial in the coming weeks as a hearing is set for the end of the month to determine if there will be a permanent injunction against striking. The teachers will be in a much better position to resist this injunction and continue with job actions if they are already on strike than they will if they spend the next two weeks in the classroom feeling betrayed and bullied by the courts and bosses