Judge says teacher strikes are illegal, but no penalties
Sep 7, 2018, 4:46 PM | Updated: Sep 8, 2018, 9:09 am
Teachers in some districts are still on strike. (WEA photo)
(WEA photo)
Judges in Washington state ruled against teacher unions for striking, though no penalties were imposed.
School district leaders in Tumwater in Thurston County and Longview in Cowlitz County both filed injunctions after their respective teacher unions went on strike over pay raises.
Eight districts across Western Washington have teachers walking the picket line. Those include:
Tacoma
Puyallup
Evergreen
Battle Ground
Longview
Centralia
Tumwater
Tukwila teachers will hold a meeting Saturday night to have a vote on a tentative agreement.
RELATED: Eight school districts in midst of teacher strike
Local bargaining units at most of the state’s 295 school systems have sought to renegotiate salaries this year after the state infused $1 billion for teacher pay to resolve the long-running McCleary court battle, which determined that the Evergreen State was inadequately funding public education.
Both county judges on Friday sided with the districts, saying the teacher strikes are illegal but neither imposed any penalties.
The judges urged both sides to work together to get the teachers back to school.
Union leaders slammed the districts for “bully tactics.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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