Pasco teachers’ union executives have created a hostage situation of sorts. If the union’s demands for pay hikes are not met by August 30th, children will be prevented from starting school on time because it plans to call for an illegal teachers strike.
The union demands “an 11% pay increase, on top of the 3% pay raise the state legislature already approved for teachers, funded in the latest budget.” The demand raises a good deal of skepticism—and for good reasons.
The Washington Policy Center (WPC) points out that the average annual wage in Franklin County is $35,329. And, that pay is “further reduced by local, state and federal taxes that families pay to fund Pasco schools, among other important public services.”
Comparatively, the average Pasco teacher’s yearly compensation, including benefits, is $77,754. Additionally, according to the WPC’s 2011 Key Facts on Pasco Public Schools report, more than 50 employees of the Pasco School District “receive more than $100,000 per year. Most of those at the top are administrators. Not enough are truly great teachers rewarded for their great work.”
But, that’s not the only reason why the demands of the Pasco teachers’ union inspire skepticism. Union executives justify their demands by claiming they “only want large raises because that’s what state lawmakers recently ‘gave themselves.’” Of course, that’s not exactly true. The Washington Policy Center,
“Actually, state lawmakers do not set their own pay. That authority is exercised by the Salary Review Commission, which recently recommended an increase in compensation for part-time legislators.”
Perhaps most notably, the union executives’ demands are ridiculous because teachers’ strikes have been and remain illegal under state law. The Washington Policy Center,
“Union executives say they are not breaking the law by calling a strike. But state law (RCW 41.56.120) says public sector strikes are illegal. In fact, every Superior Court injunction to date has called teacher strikes illegal.”
Finally, a teachers’ strike in Pasco would require union executives to break their current contract. The Washington Policy Center,
“When they wrote the current contract, executives at the Pasco Association of Educators union promised they would not close the schools by taking the teachers out on a strike:
“‘SECTION 5: NO STRIKE/NO LOCKOUT During the term of this Contract there shall be no strike or other economic action by the Association and no lockout or other economic action by the District.’
“Union executives say they are waiting for the contract to expire, and then they will call a strike starting the next day. State law, however, says the contract will remain in effect until a new one is signed.”
As Shift has reported, the school board has brought in a hostage negotiator in the form of a meditator due to the union’s refusal to budge on its outrageous terms. Meanwhile, Pasco parents remain in the dark over whether or not their children will start school on time.
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