Tacoma teachers continue push for contract

Tacoma teachers continued to pressure the Tacoma School Board Thursday for a contract settlement as talks between the school district and the teachers’ union continued.

But the crowd of fewer than 100 teachers who gathered Thursday was smaller than one that assembled at the board’s Aug. 25 meeting. That meeting attracted several hundred teachers and their supporters.

Teachers and union officials said they weren’t trying to match that turnout. Some said teachers were working late Thursday or attending other meetings, including a school district-sponsored benefits fair.

Andy Coons, president of the Tacoma Education Association (TEA) union, said he expects a much larger crowd Monday.

That’s when TEA will gather for another vote at Mount Tahoma High School. If there’s a tentative contract agreement by then, teachers will vote on it. If not, they could vote a second time on whether to authorize a strike.

The contract between the school district and the TEA expired Aug. 31, and members considered a strike then. But the union failed to gain the number of “yes” votes required by TEA bylaws for a strike authorization.

So school opened on time Sept. 1 while bargaining continued. TEA bargainers returned to their classrooms during the school day, and bargaining has been taking place after school hours. A state mediator is overseeing the process.

Union officials told teachers gathered Thursday that they believe it’s unlikely there will be a settlement by Monday.

Coons said members are already telling him they will be at Mount Tahoma on Monday to vote.

“We are getting many, many confirmed commitments,” he said.

Inside the board meeting Thursday, board President Kurt Miller read from a prepared statement that said, “the district fully intends to bargain until we reach a settlement, but we will not just walk away from our commitments to students and our community in reaching that settlement.”

He pointed to state budget cuts aimed at teacher salaries, class size and other activities that have threatened school district programs. And he said the state is talking about further cuts.

Teachers gathered outside said they are not asking for a pay raise.

“We are asking for our pay to stay the same,” said Angela Corley, a third-grade teacher at Blix Elementary.

She said the union offered to forgo an annual 1 percent raise it had secured in the past, in exchange for furloughs of four half-days.

“This is a compromise we are looking at,” she said. She said it’s one she could live with.

But both union and school district leaders say that pay isn’t the hot-button issue in negotiations. They say the biggest controversy surrounds a school district proposal to change the way teachers are reassigned and transferred within the district.

The district has proposed a list of 10 criteria that would be considered, in addition to seniority, in the case of involuntary transfers. The union objects to six of the 10, saying they are too subjective and could lead to abuses.

For TEA members who can’t make Monday’s meeting, the union on Thursday opened early voting on the strike question. About 30 TEA members cast ballots Thursday, according to the union. Early voting is scheduled to continue Friday. Union officials said early voting is allowed under TEA bylaws. Votes will be tallied Monday.

The union also said TEA can ratify a contract with a simple majority of those at Monday’s meeting. But in order to strike, at least 80 percent of the total certificated TEA membership would need to agree. Only 77 percent agreed to a strike Aug. 31.

The Tacoma School Board has also scheduled a special meeting for 5 p.m. 5:30 p.m. Monday at the district administration building downtown. The board’s meeting announcement said the board plans to conduct part of its meeting in executive session to discuss labor negotiations and to discuss “potential litigation.”

In a meeting with News Tribune editors Thursday, Superintendent Art Jarvis said he believes teacher strikes are not legal, and he said that if Tacoma teachers do strike, the school district will have the option of seeking a court injunction ordering teachers to return to work.

At Thursday’s school board meeting, Miller said he wanted to correct misinformation about labor negotiations.

He said teachers are working under the terms of their expired contract. He said it’s incorrect to say that the district can do what it wants without a contract.

But the union’s position is that if teachers file a grievance under the expired contract, there is no authority to pursue the grievance to arbitration if it’s rejected by the district.

Tyler Patterson, a senior at Tacoma School of the Arts and a student school board representative, said outside the meeting that he wished more time had been spent on negotiations earlier in the summer.

“The last thing a senior wants during college-application time is a strike,” he said. “I need teacher recommendation letters. As much as I love Tacoma schools, I need to graduate on time.”

Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635

debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com