Talks fail; Neshaminy teachers' strike set for Monday
Each side said the other needed to adjust its attitude. Classes will be canceled for 7,000 students, and the school year will be prolonged.
Talks fail; Neshaminy teachers' strike set for Monday
Teachers in the Neshaminy School District will go on strike Monday for the second time this year, their union announced Thursday, canceling classes and extending the school year.
“We told the district that the June 4 strike could be averted if they had an attitude adjustment and agreed to negotiate throughout the weekend, and they flatly rejected our offer,” said Louise Boyd, president of the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers, in a written statement.
The district rejected weekend talks because “they wouldn’t get us anywhere,” school board President Ritchie Webb said Friday. He cited union negotiators’ “insults, innuendo, and useless platitudes” at Thursday’s closed negotiating session with two state mediators.
The district and the union have been locked in a bitter contract dispute for four years – the longest current impasse in the state. The union’s 633 teachers, guidance counselors, librarians and nurses have not received a raise since 2008, working under the terms of the expired contract.
The strike, like the eight-day walkout in January, will cancel classes for the district’s 7,000 students. High school seniors, who were scheduled to take final exams next week, will be exempt from each test missed because of the strike, according to the district’s website. Their June 13 graduation will proceed as scheduled, according to the website.
By state law, the 180-day school year must be completed by June 30, without weekend classes. That means teachers could stay out about 10 days.
The union notified the district on May 25 that it might strike Monday, depending on Thursday’s negotiating session, which both sides characterized as unproductive. The talks had been suspended since December because of the strike and a state-required arbitration that followed.
The findings from the nonbinding arbitration, issued last month, would cost the district $20 million for items including retroactive pay and continued bonuses for early retirement, Webb said. The school board uanimously rejected the findings, while union members approved them “with reservations.”
The next negotiating session is scheduled for June 12, but it will be canceled if teachers are on strike, Webb said.
Before Thursday’s session at Maple Point Middle School, about 55 residents -- including a handful of students -- held signs to show their support for the school board and opposition to the union’s tactics.
“This is really to show the NFT that they don’t have the upper hand,” said Michele Fay, one of the organizers of the demonstration. “They should just leave our kids out of it.”
After the January strike, Fay’s son, an honors student, told her he was struggling with his 10th-grade classes, she said.
"He has a 3.65 GPA,” Fay said, “and I don’t want the strike to affect it.”
Sue Hoch, another organizer, said the impasse has dragged on so long that “we don’t know what to do any more. This is all we have left.”
The Neshaminy teachers are thugs. Fire 'em all and hire all new non-union teachers - REAL TEACHERS.— tonyS- That makes sense. I bet you don't have kids in the school district. I bet you would be screaming if a person without proper qualifications taught your children. After all, it's just our children's future and our country's future - That's not important at all, right? No reason to have qualified teachers or pay them appropriately. — logicandreason
- Fire them all.— Captain Terrific
- And replace them with the brilliant locals that elected the school board? — logicandreason
- I've supported these teachers for years.Two youngest sons graduated from the HS.I'm paying super high taxes now and the teacher salaries are out of control,much like council rock.Time for these teachers to realize dog poop reality,the tax monies have run out.Take the current salary or we'll hire new teachers.Bye,bye.— streak1
- There are two sides to every story people. Four years without a raise... Not even a minimal cost of living increase. That's not acceptable. Looking at the issues they're arguing over, I agree with the teachers on some issues AND the School Board on some issues. They just need to meet and battle it out until there's a resolution. I agree this is ridiculous!— Craig R
- No raise in 4 years? Get real. Many in the private sector have not had raises either, if they have a job. — CD75
- So you're aware that retired teachers were not replaced, which means downsizing has occurred in the school district as well? I'm guessing you're not aware, or just like yelling without facts. — logicandreason
- All companies have downsized, work harder like the rest of us. Shame on the teachers for striking, unions are so stupid. — mikenphilly
- Even with four years of now raises, the Neshaminy teachers salaries and benefits are still too high and unsustainable.— alsdkjk
- Who talks like this -'We told the district that the June 4 strike could be averted if they had an attitude adjustment '?— Ohmy
Comment removed.- arbitration in the public sector is a farce. union wins most of the time. the overly generous benefits and pensions are bankrupting school districts and communities across the state. need reform now not later.— jstash
- what's lost in this is as a tenure, seasoned teacher why would I want to settle. The current contract suits me quite well. No healthcare costs, retirement bonus, I just have to give up a small pay raise which is much less than the healthcare I would have to pay. The strike just screws my summer vacation. The district should offer a very small increase and get the healthcare costs shared so the teachers stop bleeding us dry with them.— Bucks Dave
- Why do journalists never include the numbers when there is a threat of a strike? Let's see what the average salary is for these teachers and what do they pay in benefits. Have the administrators salaries been frozen and have they taken pay cuts? Give us the facts and let's see if there is a win-win here. Enough of this superficial journalism. Get to the truth.— Michael T. Welsh
