State Sen. Robert J. Mellow has re-introduced legislation to outlaw school strikes.
It's a timely issue considering Pennsylvania leads the nation in teacher strikes.
Pennsylvania is the "teacher-strike capital" of the United States, according to the Bucks County-based Web site, www.stopteacherstrikes.org
Each year, tens of thousands of Pennsylvania children are forced out of school by striking teachers, who also happens to be among the highest paid in the nation (Pennsylvania's average teacher salary ranking No. 4 in the nation adjusted for cost of living, according to the Web site.) Teachers also enjoy pension plans and health coverage far more generous than the private sector.
And there aren't too many jobs (other than Pennsylvania legislator) where you can enjoy a two-month vacation every summer.
Forty-one states prohibit teacher strikes. But that's not the case in Pennsylvania, which in recent years has experienced twice as many teacher strikes as all other states combined. That's right. Pennsylvania leads the nation in teacher strikes by a country mile.
Mellow's bill would require "last best offer" resolutions to school labor impasses.
"This plan respects and encourages the traditional contract bargaining process to work through disagreements and produce an equitable agreement," Mellow said in a press release announcing the re-introduction of his legislation. "However, it also imposes reasonable limits on the bargaining timeframe, ends labor impasses in a fair way — and most importantly prevents strikes from interfering with our children's education.
Students and their parents are the only people who suffer during teacher strikes. The teachers will get paid their full salaries because all missed days have to be made up under state law. By striking, teachers also tend to win more perks from school boards who are pressured by parents to give the teachers what they want to reopen the schools.
Students end up missing holidays and breaks or have to go to school into late June to make up for the days teachers walked off the job. This also creates a hardship for working parents who have to find child-care arrangements while teachers walk the picket line.
"For too long, students have borne the brunt of these labor disputes," Mellow said.
According to Mellow, there were 99 school districts (nearly a fifth of all public schools) operating with expired contracts in Pennsylvania. He added that impasses remain in seven of the eight school districts where strikes occurred in the 2006-07 school year. Those strikes affected over 20,000 students.
Mellow's plan, Senate Bill 20, would set into law an eight-month negotiating timeline. If the teachers' union or the school board fails to resolve their contract differences through a variety of means-including an impartial arbitration panel — each side would submit a "last best offer" to the county's President Common Pleas Judge.
The judge would then be required to select one of the two last best offers. The judge's decision would be final and binding.
"My bill fosters settlement rather than confrontation," Mellow said. "It makes negotiation — not posturing — the main focus of the settlement process. The plan promotes accountability, responsibility and decision-making."
Mellow's plan is similar to a law in Connecticut. Based on experience from that state, only 10 percent of impasses reach arbitration and only 2 percent of all contract disputes go the entire way through the process, according to Mellow.
"The process outlined in my plan is reasonable, rational and fair to all sides," Mellow said. "The parties to the dispute have ample opportunity to settle amicably before the judge makes a final ruling. This proposal deserves to be considered."
Mellow, the Democratic leader in the state Senate, has introduced anti-strike legislation in the past, but it has never passed. The problem? Teachers' unions are among the biggest contributors to political campaigns. Teachers, through their unions, also employ lobbyists to keep lawmakers in line.
It's up to taxpayers and voters again to take up the fight. Whether you have children in public schools or not, this is an important bill that deserves consideration — without undue pressure from teachers' unions and their lobbyists.
Contact your local state legislator and tell them you support Mellow's efforts to eliminate teacher strikes in Pennsylvania. The title of "teacher-strike capital" of the U.S. is something Pennsylvania needs to shed as soon as possible.
Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa. He received a first place award for Best Opinion Column in 2007 by Suburban Newspapers of America. He was also honored for column writing in 2006 by the Society of Professional Journalists.
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