Tacoma, Washington Teachers On Strike Could Be Replaced, Judge Says

TACOMA, Wash. -- A judge said Monday he's considering giving Washington state's third-largest school district the option of replacing teachers on the picket line as a strike continued despite the judge's order to return to work.

"That came as quite a surprise," district spokesman Dan Voelpel said. "We didn't ask about that in court. He began speaking out loud about actions to impose next week."

It would be up to the district to decide whether it wanted to hire temporary replacements, permanent replacements or come up with another plan altogether, Chushcoff said at a hearing Monday.

"I'm seriously considering doing that," the judge said. "Those are all possibilities."

The strike has idled 28,000 students and sent most of its 1,900 teachers to picket lines. Teachers voted to strike Sept. 12 and voted again last week to remain on strike despite Chushcoff's order to return to work.

Monday's hearing was about how to notify teachers that they are violating the judge's order. The district will notify them by U.S. mail, Voelpel said. The next court hearing is set for Sept. 27.

State and local public employees, including teachers, have no legally protected right to strike, according to a 2006 state attorney general's opinion. But that opinion also noted state law lacks specific penalties for striking public employees.

The district has argued in court that 19 different judges in Washington state have ruled teacher strikes illegal since 1976. The union argued that the court should not inject itself into the bargaining process, and also suggested an injunction only applies to union leaders.

Talks between the union, the district and a state mediator restarted Monday afternoon as teachers demonstrated outside the city's middle schools, Tacoma Education Association spokesman Rich Wood said. Major issues include pay, how job transfers are handled and class size.

Comments

[graywolf68]

07:53 PM on 09/22/2011

When it comes to the education of our children, there has to be a better way rather than teachers union members holding our children's education hostage by going on strike. Every time there is a dispute over teachers pay, the union strikes until they get their way. Perhaps they need to be fired to teach them that they cannot hold our children's education hostage anymore.

I'm all for teachers getting a better salary (so keep your hateful comments to yourself) but NOT at the expense of the education of our children.

[kerberusii]

05:00 PM on 09/22/2011

this issue was addressed 2500 years ago in a greek play entitle "antigone". read it and learn.

[hufse]

06:20 PM on 09/21/2011

FIRE THEM ! They are ignoring a court order because they union feels it has all the power. If the state has the guts it would fire them and hire new teachers based on merit not seniority. That is one of the top sticking points. The union hates for a teacher to be judged on merits. Fire them all hire new ones without a union and you will find the schools will improve.

[kerberusii]

07:55 PM on 09/21/2011

your writing reflects a 1st grade level of communication. what do you do? drive a truck, or clean sewers? or maybe you are one those affirmative action harvard graduates that now control the us government. perhaps freedom of speech should be eliminated, if it allows simpletons like you on the public air way.

[hufse]

11:06 PM on 09/21/2011

You must be a liberal. Liberals tend to avoid facts and rant about nothing. I feel sad for you, your so smart yet you hide it so well.

[gineenb1]

12:32 PM on 09/22/2011

You are RIGHT ON! I am amazed how hostile get toward people who speak the truth! Where does the liberal mindset come from? A cloud of smoke? La La Land? I teach my children there are consequences for breaking rules. The teachers are not only breaking the law... they are breaking the trust of their community, especially by demeaning the moral expectations of being a role model for children... the consequence? FIRE THE TEACHERS!

[prlabella]

03:03 PM on 09/21/2011

The judge ordered you to work. Do it! Most times by ignoring a judges order you will be arrested. I would have the sheriff cuffing all 1900 of you. I sincerely hope each of you is permanently replaced. Good luck finding another job that is as anywhere close to what you have now.

[maninal2]

03:28 PM on 09/21/2011

When you get a job you'll understand more about the real world and how it works.

[prlabella]

04:47 PM on 09/21/2011

Well son, I've already worked nearly 50 years. I never negotiated a penny of it. I earned it all

[Consequence]

02:05 PM on 09/21/2011

FROM THE ARTICLE:

"State and local public employees, including teachers, have no legally protected right to strike,"

- No legal right to strike
- Decided to strike anyway
- Lawfully ordered back to work by a judge
- Refuse to do so

Yup, pinks slips for all of them.

They feel the law doesn't apply to them and they don't care that students are sitting idle, not learning.

[maninal2]

02:55 PM on 09/21/2011

No legal right to strike - Wrong. The statement is no legally protected right to strike. A wording that is explicit and different from what you think. The opinion by the AG noted state law lacks specific penalties for striking public employees.

Lawfully ordered back to work by a judge - Judges make all kinds of orders that are not enforced or followed. Remember Carl Rove?

[prlabella]

03:06 PM on 09/21/2011

This order should be followed. There isn't a single teacher in the entire country who is underpaid or has too few benefits. Teach or lose your job.

[hufse]

06:23 PM on 09/21/2011

your condesending attitude means your really smart...or maybe just a jerk that thinks he is smart... I vote for the latter.

[jamesnrhodes]

12:31 PM on 09/21/2011

As a person that is going to be a teacher I think that property taxes should be eliminated and public schooling be funded by user fees, etc. My reasoning is that most students, from what I've seen in the classroom, really do not appreciate a free public school education. That is a fact.

The current system of hatred towards teachers, incompetent administrators and teachers, incompetent politicians, etc. has to change IMO.

[maninal2]

02:57 PM on 09/21/2011

You will not make a good teacher with critical thinking skills so undeveloped. User fees? Really? Use a few moments to think that through including the mandate the Supreme Court set down that states every child in America is entitled to an education. Then add in the reality that 24% of our nation's children live in poverty. You need a few remedial courses before you're ready to be in front of any classroom.

[prlabella]

03:10 PM on 09/21/2011

Be careful what you ask for. If I own a company that supplies teachers to your school they will be those that are willing to work for the least money and all you would get is the average health plan and some sort of 401k that would cost me very little. You would have to work to 62 or 65 like the rest of us.

[SirenForSanity]

10:54 AM on 09/22/2011

A school is not a company. The problem with the costs of education is not the amount paid to teachers but the privatized contracts that have nothing to do with education yet leech the money from the education system like a bunch of parasites. Insurance is probably the No. 1 offender.

[just sayin]

10:24 AM on 09/21/2011

“The biggest obstacle to a settlement, according to the union, has been district demands to alter staffing policies so that decisions on teacher reassignments from one school to another are based on criteria other than seniority, such as performance evaluations.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/21/us-teachers-strike-tacoma-idUSTRE78K0FF20110921

I'm having a difficult time feeling sympathy for these teachers. Defying a judge's order for what - to maintain a senority system?

A common rebuttal to the generally poor national or district-wide test scores it that each classroom is different. I can accept that. I just want the teachers to apply the same logic to their own profession and allow pay and perks to be tied to individual performance.

[maninal2]

02:59 PM on 09/21/2011

The first comprehensive study of this approach, from the Nashville public schools, showed an effect somewhere between minuscule and nonexistent. The students of incentivized teachers did no better than the students of teachers paid regular salaries.

Try again sparky.

[prlabella]

03:16 PM on 09/21/2011

So cut back on salaries and benefits until you start to see a change toward the negative. We would save billions.

[just sayin]

03:32 PM on 09/21/2011

It doesn't matter. To my mind it's more a matter of fairness.

And, again, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If teachers don't want to be judged by standardized testing - if they prefer to be judged by individual circumstances and outcomes - fine. But let's be consistent and link individual pay and perks to the same.

[ian0000]

09:55 AM on 09/21/2011

i have no problem with this . teachers should set an example and follow the law, and not engage in illegal activity like an illegal strike. i cant figure out why other school districts don't do this. in the pa suburbs outside philadelphia , there are 2000 applications for every teacher vacancy , yet those school districts still increase property taxes at the start of every contract to pay for raises. whatever happened to demand and supply setting wage rates?

[maninal2]

10:15 AM on 09/21/2011

A statement that the teachers have no legally protected right to strike by the state attorney general's does not constitute illegality. You've read far too much into the article. Re-read "legally protected right" and try to understand what that means.

[prlabella]

03:18 PM on 09/21/2011

Hand cuffs and the county jail. Follow the judges order. Be there tomorrow or your job is gone forever. There are tens of thousands of teachers that want to work.

[gineenb1]

09:51 AM on 09/21/2011

FIRE THOSE SELFISH TEACHERS FOR GOOD!!! Considering our Country is in a recession, one would think these so called 'educators' would be thankful to have a job at all. Regardless of the fact that choosing to be a teacher means you won't make much money. Not that I agree that teachers are not deserving of higher pay, but they made a CHOICE when choosing their career. Teaching children to break the law, defy a Judge's orders, is NOT acceptable! The teachers DESERVE to be FIRED, FOREVER! Teachers are suppose to be positive role models for children. I would never allow these people around my children except to use them as an example of how NOT to be. These children are now looking at school going into next summer. Families plan vacations around set school dates etc.... Everytime I hear those strikers say "we're doing it for the kids" I want to throw up!

[maninal2]

10:18 AM on 09/21/2011

It's obvious why you have 0 fans. Your assertion that teachers should be thankful because they have a job at all is absurd and ridiculous. So by your thought process teachers should not speak out if class sizes grew to 100 students? What if nothing were taught but bubble test answers. Should they still remain quiet? Think next time.

[gineenb1]

01:25 PM on 09/21/2011

Well, well mr. maninal2.... I have 0 fans because I just registered, so maybe you should... "think next time". Class size at 100? Not likely. Are we a bit dramatic? Although I agree the classes are getting overcrowded, an unlawful strike is not the way to handle it. They need to concentrate on their jobs, if they can't handle it.... QUIT. The last thing we need are teachers who don't care about the well being of our children. And, while we're getting rid of them, we can also get rid of the miserable, impatient teachers with burn out who hang on for union benifits. And, HELL YES, they ABSOLUTELY should be thankful they have a job at all. There are good people waiting for teaching positions to open up, people who actually care about the well being of children. There are good people who believe in setting a good example, not teaching children to break the law. The are basically teaching the children that if they don't like the rules or circumstances at school they have the right to break them and/or not go to school at all.... they can go on strike, aka temper tantrum. FIRE THE TEACHERS, they don't deserve a paycheck. And while we're at it lets shut down all unions.... we don't need them, they were never intended to be what they are today.

[prlabella]

03:26 PM on 09/21/2011

I just fanned gineenb1. Believe someone who is now unemployed. Today EVERYONE should be glad they have a job. As I said earlier...there isn't a single teacher in the entire country who is underpaid or one who doesn't have a great benefit package. There are those who aren't teaching and would think they were in heaven if they could land one of the 1900 jobs that soon should be open in Tacoma.

[thegreenhornet]

06:54 AM on 09/21/2011

Solidarity! Let's hope that other unions can assist in this battle. The right to collectively petition for better working conditions should never be undermined by the judiciary.

[prlabella]

03:27 PM on 09/21/2011

Petition all you want. Do what you are paid for. TEACH or find other employment. You have no good reason to walk out and every reason to work.

[maninal2]

03:31 PM on 09/21/2011

You need to read the history of America. What you're advocating for is pre 1900 era working conditions. How little you know.

[RGod8855]

12:29 AM on 09/21/2011

Replacement teachers? Good luck. Practically zero that substitute will take a teacher's position, neither will new teachers. Remember, they may need to work there in the future. I'd be surprised to see them get 200 much less 2000 teachers to work there.

[cmr86]

10:26 AM on 09/21/2011

Plus, a lot of subs are either retired teachers or don't have their credentials...

[Pogoball77]

01:46 PM on 09/21/2011

Actually, in WA, you have to have credentials to be a substitute.

[prlabella]

03:32 PM on 09/21/2011

Not replacement teachers. Not someone to work while you decide to strike. Permanent people to take your job. You will be unemployed. You are out of work by your own choice. When you lose your job you will not receive unemployment. If I can find out that you ever went on strike you will not be hired by my district in the future. THINK about what you are doing to your future. You may not have everything you desire but you are far ahead of the average person in the USA. That can change.....

[maninal2]

03:38 PM on 09/21/2011

Oh I get it now. You're a joke poster. You are posting the most mor_onic extremes so we get the ridiculousness of the kind of stance the school administration is taking. Whew! For a second I thought you were too deranged to be left unattended.

[Dick Stone]

11:21 PM on 09/20/2011

This bunch of worthless excuses for educators should not be allowed back into any classroom. They are why we keep graduating functional illiterates and SAT scores are now the lowest in history. These people are not educators they are union pay check recipients, and whatever they are paid is far too much.

[MBoyett220]

11:28 PM on 09/20/2011

They are very well paid considering that they work only 2/3 of the year, have benefits that would make a firefighter blush, have countless half days and every single holiday off, paid... and let us not forget the week off for Easter and 2 weeks off at Christmas. I know 2 women who are great teachers and the union has them convinced that it is in their best interest that pay not be result based. They would clean up but others would be fired!

[cmr86]

10:27 AM on 09/21/2011

You evidently hate teachers.

Thanks.

[jh61]

11:33 AM on 09/22/2011

Your hatred for teachers is self evident. Your comments are full of lies and deception.

[maninal2]

10:19 AM on 09/21/2011

"bunch of worthless excuses for educators"

Thad !diotic phrase is based on what? Your hatred for teachers? Your blind hatred for unions?

[jrwest78]

11:16 PM on 09/20/2011

I know a lot of teachers on the middle school and high school levels that are okay with getting smart boards and Ipads for their classrooms, but always wonder why they never get raises

Virginia Beach has been waiting at least 5 years for a raise but they actually wake up every morning and figure out that they have a job to do...

want to know the difference between the two states? No teacher's unions

[maninal2]

10:20 AM on 09/21/2011

Your anecdotes have no validity. In addition you fail to mention "the two states" in your bogus comparison.

[Cat9]

11:16 PM on 09/20/2011

Good for the judge!
Lots of out of work teachers who would love those jobs

[wiseone816]

08:17 AM on 09/21/2011

Cat the words under your screen name say it all and as for the judge he is an assh--.

[gineenb1]

09:55 AM on 09/21/2011

Cat9, You got it right! So many people would be thankful to have a salary right now.

[jh61]

11:34 AM on 09/22/2011

Yea..unemployed factory workers would make GREAT teachers for our children. Get a clue.

[jrwest78]

11:11 PM on 09/20/2011

There was a time when unions were more concerned with safer workplaces and wages that were competitive on a 'national scale'

now it seems that most of their benefits (which typically provide insurance, pensions, etc) just don't meet the standards they did only a month ago (sarcasm)

I am all for people making good livings, but we were a lot better off as a nation when we had free enterprise, and were willing to work for a lot less

Greed, and not being content with enough to cover your bills and put away some money each check is why we have no jobs right now

If people would have just marginally increased their wages over time, we would not have such a high cost of living and our jobs would not go elsewhere

quality of life means different things to different people

[LearningCommunity]

11:18 PM on 09/20/2011

jrwest, you said, "we were a lot better off as a nation when we had free enterprise­, and were willing to work for a lot less" You are kidding right.

You said, "If people would have just marginally increased their wages over time, we would not have such a high cost of living and our jobs would not go elsewhere ." You are of course suggesting that the CEOs are included in this desire. After all the CEO have increased their wages a lot more than marginally over the working class."

By the way, exactly what period of American history are you talking about when you said that we were a lot better off?

[jrwest78]

11:26 PM on 09/20/2011

Are you suggesting that inflation and cost of living have nothing to do with employment and wages?

How many unions have members that make $30 and hour but feel that they need $5 more?

How many unions actually go on strike because they are being exploited? How many unions actually get all of their issues resolved at the end?

More importantly, how many Unions convince their members to strike when they have no legal protection from termination?

Nope, not kidding....

someone is willing to do a job for a fraction of what we pay our own and they still have 3 hots and a cot at the end of the day

[jrwest78]

11:28 PM on 09/20/2011

BTW, we typically suck as a nation at making anything that our competition can make better, and for less

That is why we outsource

[cmr86]

10:28 AM on 09/21/2011

The nation was a lot better off with polio too, huh?

You've heard about the Hay Market Riot right? That was just one example of MANY many labor disputes.