Teachers Strike in Scranton Demands Conditions Necessary for Teaching and Learning
Teachers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden's hometown,
went on strike November 3. About 900-strong, the teachers and staff
joined picket lines at schools in one of the largest districts in the
area, where 82 per cent of families are impoverished.
 On
Monday, November 1, about 400 of the teachers and staff, most of them
women, attended a school board meeting calling for increased funding
and rejecting the board's demands for larger class sizes and longer
school days, and attacks on health care benefits. Despite receiving
close to $60 million in federal pandemic relief funds, the
school board claims they cannot increase wages without major cuts to
health care. At the meeting, the board said they would completely cut
the health care benefits of anyone who went on strike. The 400 teachers
and staff in attendance rose in unison, singing "Solidarity Forever" as
they marched out, and they hit the picket lines Wednesday
morning. Their red T-shirts express their fight: "Standing Up for
Public Education."
Teachers and staff have been without a contract since 2017, meaning
no raises, no "step" wage increases based on seniority, and no increase
in benefits. At the school board meeting dozens of people spoke about
the devastating cuts that students and teachers have endured over the
last four years. These include anti-educational cuts like those to
the arts, music, libraries and pre-kindergarten education. The school
district has already lost 100 people due to cuts and those exhausted
from having to teach in unsafe and worsening conditions for themselves
and their students.
Teachers and staff have been attending school board meetings for
months and consistently working with parents, including holding
informational picket lines. They report that the community is strongly
behind the striking teachers. Many motorists are honking support at
picketers, businesses are feeding them, parents are joining them, and
three
union-endorsed candidates won school board seats November 2, on the eve
of the strike.
Rosemary Boland, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers
emphasized, "The administration has to take responsibility for their
actions and correct their actions to protect the health, safety, and
wellness of every child in our school."
This article was published in
November 15, 2021 - No. 107
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO081076.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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