With approximately 22 Pennsylvania public school districts at risk for an immediate teachers strike due to expired contracts; and an additional 126 public school districts facing the possibility of a strike before the end of 2009, State Representative Todd Rock (R-Franklin County) officially reintroduced the Strike-Free Education Act (House Bill 1369) to protect every Pennsylvania child’s right to an uninterrupted strike-free public education.
“Speaking from the unique perspective of a former teacher who witnessed the aftermath of a teacher strike in the Carlisle School District, and, even more recently, the first teacher strike in my legislative district in nearly 25 years at the Tuscarora School District, I can personally attest that teacher strikes produce no winners and in the end, the teachers are often viewed by the public in a negative way,” said Rock. “Regardless of the outcome in terms of increased pay or expanded benefits, and, especially in this unpredictable economy, teacher strikes by their very nature reinforce the stereotype that all public school teachers are not looking out for the best interests of the children.”
During the 2007-08 legislative session, Rock was recognized statewide and nationally in the Wall Street Journal for his efforts to introduce and advance the Strike-Free Education Act, which is specifically designed to ban both teacher strikes and other public school lockouts by recognizing in legislative statute that teacher strikes and other types of public school lockouts are prohibited by Article III, Section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Currently, 37 states, including neighboring New York and New Jersey, prohibit teacher strikes. With an average of 12 teacher strikes per year and as the home to 60 percent of all America’s teacher strikes between 2000 and 2007, Pennsylvania remains the undisputed “Teacher Strike Capital” of the United States. Despite ranking fourth in the nation for the highest average teacher salaries, when adjusted for the cost of living, between 2002 and 2008 more than 186,000 Pennsylvania students have had their learning experiences interrupted and adversely impacted by unconstitutional teacher strikes.
Offering support for the Strike-Free Education Act during today’s press conference were Representatives Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler County) and Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster County); Simon Campbell, president of StopTeacherStrikes.org; Charl Wellner, strike-impacted public school parent, Souderton Area School District; Rebecca Heller, school board director, Berwick Area School District; and Frank Scavo, school board director, Old Forge School District.
“Militant teacher unions have no legitimate right to shut down a public school solely for bargaining purposes,” said Metcalfe, whose legislative district has been negatively impacted by two public school-closing teacher strikes (Seneca Valley and South Butler school districts) during the past two school years. “Ultimately, teacher strikes are really the hammer that forces property taxes through the roof because taxpayers are left footing the bill for union-driven salary increases and lengthy arbitrations. Eliminating teacher strikes is a fundamental quality of life issue that I’ve been working on for several years and will continue to do so for the benefit of our students, parents and taxpayers.”
If and when an unconstitutional strike does occur, House Bill 1369 contains several clearly defined and enforceable financial penalties, including $5,000 individual fine, per incident for inciting a strike; striking teachers losing two days of pay, per day of an illegal strike; and the striking teachers union forfeiting its dues check-off privilege for one year.
“It is time for Pennsylvania to adopt a ban on teacher strikes because they hurt our students by interrupting the education process,” said Cutler. “They hurt our parents by forcing them to take time off work or pay for someone to watch their children during these unexpected disruptions in the school year. Finally, they hurt our taxpayers by driving up the cost of education.”
Finally by requiring a mutually agreed settlement with absolutely no binding arbitration, House Bill 1369 provides all Pennsylvania taxpayers, including teachers, with a new level of public transparency and accountability. Once enacted, the threat of teacher strikes, “secret, behind closed door deals” and lump-sum, retroactive teacher salary payments leading to budget-breaking tax bills would all be virtually eliminated. If necessary, any unreasonable negotiating position would be inevitably exposed to the taxpayers that are responsible for footing the bill during a series of mandatory “Face the Music” public town hall meetings until a new contract agreement is reached.
“As the prime sponsor of House Bill 1369, I want to clearly emphasize that this legislation has absolutely nothing to do with punishing or taking away any legal rights from teachers in Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts,” concluded Rock. “The Strike-Free Education Act has everything to do with giving something back that is far more important than any school property tax funding formula, classroom size, providing laptop computers in every classroom or the legality of compulsory union dues. That is without question, restoring to every Pennsylvania child the legal right to a strike-free, uninterrupted public education.”
For more information about House Bill 1369 or to sign an online petition in support of the Strike-Free Education Act, log on to RepRock.com or RepMetcalfe.com.
Rep. Todd Rock
90th District
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe
12th District
Rep. Bryan Cutler
100th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Ty McCauslin
House Republican Public Relations
(717) 772-9979