TodayBig Spring teachers set May 28 strike date (50 story comments)
School board president calls decision 'disappointing'
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Article RatingThe Big Spring teachers’ union and school board have two weeks to avert a strike.
The Big Spring Education Association announced Wednesday its members will walk out May 28 if significant progress is not made in its ongoing contract talks with the board.
The union has worked under the terms of an expired contract since June 30, 2007.
Chief union negotiator Susan Benso said an agreement does not need to be reached to avert a strike.
“If there’s significant movement ... the strike could possibly be averted,” she said.
Whether a strike is called might now largely depend on a potential meeting between the two sides on May 27.
The union has agreed to meet that Tuesday, but Big Spring board President Wilbur Wolf and member William Piper are scheduled to attend a meeting of the Joint Operating Committee for the Cumberland-Perry Vocational Technical School. The board must also arrange for its attorney to be present.
But Wolf said Wednesday night there is a “very, very strong” chance the meeting on the 27th will happen.
Benso said her union made the decision to set a strike date Tuesday, a day after negotiations between the sides again failed. It has given the administration nearly two weeks’ notice as a courtesy, she said.
“Hopefully the meeting on the 27th will take place, and possibly there will be enough progress to make it a moot point,” she said.
Benso is unsure whether one night of negotiations can bring the sides closer together.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” she said.
A strike could last only five days — state law mandates students must attend 180 days of classes before June 15. Any strike longer than five days would mean the students couldn’t meet their attendance requirement.
The last day of classes is June 6, and the only officially scheduled meeting between the two sides remains June 5.
Disappointment
Wolf said the union’s decision disappointed him.
“This should be a joyous time for our students, particularly the seniors,” he said. “The added stress of what will happen during the next two weeks ... it’s going to be a little less than perfect for them.”
The strike threat won’t change the board’s negotiating position, he said.
“We can’t make a rash decision just so kids don’t have to worry about the 28th,” Wolf said.
The union and school board remain far apart on salary and health care demands.
Union officials have sought salary increases of 5 percent during the last two years of a four-year contract, The board is offering a 4.25 percent increase the first year and 4 percent the other three.
They met for five hours Monday night without coming much closer to an agreement than they had during informal contract talks, which lasted until March.
On May 5, the teachers’ association authorized its negotiating committee to call a strike when necessary amid rising frustrations over the infrequency of meetings with the school board.
“We’ve met only 20 times in 18 months,” Benso said. “That’s no way to settle a contract.”
Big Spring officials posted a message on their Web site telling students and parents they will be notified when classes are scheduled to resume.
“The Big Spring Education Association has called for a strike to begin on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, if there is no labor settlement prior to that date,” the Web site said. “All schools will be closed during the time of the strike. At this time, the Association has not provided the date of return from the strike.”
The message also said Cumberland-Perry Vocational Technical School will continue to have classes and that extra-curricular activities will continue.
