Eight school districts in midst of teacher strike
Sep 7, 2018, 6:33 AM | Updated: 8:20 am
Teachers in eight school districts across Western Washington are walking the picket line on Friday. Most schools were supposed to begin classes on Wednesday or Thursday.
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That number was nine until late Thursday evening when Stanwood-Camano teachers and the school district reached an agreement. They are voting on their contract on Friday at 10 a.m.
Tacoma
Puyallup
Evergreen
Battle Ground
Longview
Centralia
Tumwater
Tukwila
Tumwater lawsuit
KIRO 7 reports the Tumwater School District filed an injunction is taking the Tumwater Education Association to court. No classes are scheduled for Friday. A hearing in Superior Court is expected at 10 a.m. Friday.
Association president Tim Voie has called the move a bullying tactic. Meanwhile, mediators continue to bargain in Tumwater.
Strikes on Friday
Teachers in Tacoma started their strike Thursday morning, the first day of school in their district, and will continue on Friday. The district offered teachers a 7.5 percent pay raise and says they’ll be millions of dollars in the hole if they give double digit raises. “The Tacoma School District needs to look at their priorities and ask themselves, ‘Do they want Tacoma to be a revolving door of education in the south Sound or do they want to keep their good staff that they have worked so hard to hire and train?'” Angel Morton, Union President told KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don Show.
Teachers in Centralia started their strike on Thursday and are striking on Friday. Posted on the district website: “Everyone have a great weekend, be kind, have fun, and please watch/listen over the weekend for announcements about classes on Monday.”
Teachers in Puyallup will continue their strike onFriday as both sides negotiate. KIRO 7 reports the strike is the first in 72 years for the district.
Students in the Stanwood-Camano School District haven’t started school yet. School was canceled again on Friday. “Earlier this evening, the District prematurely sent out an auto dialer message indicating a tentative agreement had been reached. We are working through final details and will continue this process this evening until an agreement is reached. We apologize for the confusion created as a result of the message.”
The Tukwila School District has canceled classes for Friday.
There are three additional districts with teachers on strike in southwest Washington — Longview, Evergreen, and Battle Ground.
Agreements reached
Teachers in Ridgefield, Hockinson, and Washougal have reached tentative agreements.
Teachers and the North Thurston School District reached an agreement Thursday evening, ending a strike.
KIRO Radio staff contributed to this report.
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