Tacoma schools are scheduled to re-open this morning after a Pierce County judge Wednesday ordered striking teachers back to work. It wasn’t known Wednesday night if members of the Tacoma Education Association union would comply.
District Superintendent Art Jarvis said outside court Wednesday afternoon that teachers should report to class this morning at their regular time. Students should report two hours late.
The staggered start is designed to give the district wiggle room, should teachers decide to defy Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff’s order and not work for a third straight day.
The union told members to meet at their regular picket line locations this morning where they will receive additional information about contract negotiations.
“Tacoma teachers will decide for themselves what to do next,” said union President Andy Coons.
“I’m not the king of all teachers,” he said. “I’m going to present the (judge’s) order and hear what they have to say.”
Before the judge ruled, there was uncertainty on the picket line outside Jason Lee Middle School.
Asked if he would defy a judge’s order to work, Stadium High School teacher Scott Bender said: “I don’t know what to do right now.”
But after the ruling, KIRO television reported that some teachers said they would not be returning to class.
“I don’t care, injunction or not, I’m not going back in until this is settled,” teacher Christine Wray told KIRO.
Parents wrote on Facebook that they would keep their students home to support teachers and avoid having kids cross the picket lines.
Chushcoff ordered negotiators from the teachers union and the Tacoma School District to return to the bargaining table to attempt to hammer out a contract. A session is scheduled for this afternoon.
At least three big issues remain in negotiations: pay, class size and policies on teacher transfers and reassignments.
The district said it had contacted about 125 substitute teachers, asking them to work today. But district spokesman Dan Voelpel said that’s about the same number that work on a typical school day.
The district sent messages to employees by e-mail and telephone Wednesday, and also emailed copies of the judge’s order to them.
Talks between the district and the union broke down Saturday and members of the teachers union voted Monday to strike. The vast majority did not show up to work Tuesday or Wednesday, instead reporting to picket lines.
Today, “we are going to assume that they will abide by the court order,” Jarvis said.
Chushcoff scheduled a hearing for 1:30 p.m. Friday to verify compliance with his order.
It requires teachers to return to work until Sept. 27, when a hearing is scheduled to determine whether a permanent injunction should be entered declaring the strike illegal and harmful, as the district contends.
Students and parents might see informational pickets posted near schools before and after school hours. But the judge’s order prohibits anyone from interfering as students and district employees enter or leave school. It also said teachers may not take unjustified sick or personal leave in connection with a strike, work stoppage or slowdown.
Both sides declared victory after Chushcoff’s decision to grant the district’s request for a temporary restraining order.
“The district has been ordered to bargain with us in good faith, which is what we’ve been asking for all along,” Coons said. “It’s a very positive outcome.”
Jarvis said the district also got what it wanted: a court order requiring teachers to show up to work.
“We believed the strike was not legal,” Jarvis said. “I agree with the judge – that they should return to work as quickly as possible.”
The district sought the order Tuesday, but Chushcoff was unable to hold a hearing until Wednesday morning. Dozens of people crowded into his courtroom to observe the hearing while union members toting “On Strike” signs picketed outside the County-City Building.
The district’s attorney, Shannon McMinimee, told Chushcoff the strike was causing substantial harm to students, their parents and members of other school unions not affiliated with the TEA.
“Courts have repeatedly found that public employee strikes are unlawful,” McMinimee said.
The district and its students, including 3,800 special education students and disabled kids, and an estimated 18,000 students who qualify for free or reduced-cost meals at school, are suffering, she said.
“Kids are hungry now,” McMinimee said.
Union attorney Tyler Firkins countered that the district had not proven any harm and that it would be wiser for Chushcoff to hold off issuing an order until the two sides had a chance to negotiate more.
Firkins said the district was embroiled in an “emergency of its own making” by not bargaining in good faith. In his legal brief, Firkins stated: “The parties could have (and, theoretically, still can) agree to begin school at virtually any time prior to January 2012 and satisfy school year requirements imposed by state statutes.”
The attorney said it was too early for the judge to weigh into the matter, especially on the question of whether the district and its students are suffering harm as a result of the strike. Firkins went on to say judicial interference at this point could unfairly “tilt the scales” in the district’s favor when negotiations continue.
Chushcoff said that while “there has been some puffery on both sides,” the district had made a good enough showing for him to issue the temporary order.
The judge acknowledged that he had to strike an “interesting and delicate balance” between the public’s right to expect teachers to do their jobs and those very teachers’ rights to collective bargaining as protected by law.
Still, the judge said, case law is on the district’s side.
Chushcoff made reference to a 2006 state attorney general’s opinion that declared teacher strikes illegal in Washington.
“I read that opinion,” he said. “It appears to me at this point persuasive.”
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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