In a June 13 memo to union members, EEA’s bargaining team expressed disappointment in its negotiations with the district. That was after the district met the union part way in some areas such as class size, and not at all in others (hiring procedures). The bargaining team meets with the district on Monday and has asked members for feedback. It also told school building representatives to have their employee phone trees ready for August. That doesn’t sound good.

Neither does the S word, which some employees throw about in response to the district’s compromises and unmet demands.

Some of what the union is asking for is reasonable, but whether what the union wants is reasonable or not is beside the point.

Strikes by teachers are against the law in Washington and for good reason. Teacher strikes adversely impact thousands of students and their families, disabling the state from carrying out its paramount duty: education.

That there are strike rumors at all means many educators either don’t know strikes are forbidden or don’t care that they are. Educators should be reminded of the following (send all hate mail to the e-address at the end of this column):

• Various officials, including Gov. Chris Gregoire and former Gov. Gary Locke, have called strikes by public employees illegal (even though both have lacked the chutzpah to go against the hand that feeds Democrats (unions) and seek court action against strikers or push for legislation to make it clearer that teacher strikes are against the law).
• Court action repeatedly has borne out that teacher strikes are illegal.

Still, it’s understandable that some teachers are unaware strikes are a big no-no. The Washington Education Association consistently ignores state law. It believes in teachers’ ability to strike as strongly and as misguidedly as first-graders believe in the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. The union points out that teacher strikes haven’t specifically been deemed illegal in legislation or in court rulings. But if the union really believed its own line, it would seek clarity through new legislation.

Court ordered strike to end

Confusing things further, in a 2003 strike in Marysville, teachers were allowed to walk out on 11,200 students for nearly two months. It was the longest teacher strike in state history. A lot of people remember the strike but forget what ended it: a court order and the threat of fines. Sadly, parents — not the governor or attorney general — pursued the court action that finally sent teachers and kids back to school.

The threat of similar court action prompted Issaquah educators back to the negotiating table the year before.

It’s a pattern that has repeated over the years. In 1973, three Evergreen School District employees were actually jailed for defying a court order to end a strike.

The WEA told reporters in 2003, however, that it knew of no case in which an injunction led to the imposition of fines. Teachers usually get back to the classroom before punishments are carried out.

Jail time for striking teachers is ludicrous. A lot of us would prefer they had some time at the spa. Their work is tough and underappreciated. And no one wants individual teachers fined.

If it were up to me, union leaders would be the only ones facing monetary penalties, not teachers coerced into following the union’s marching orders.

Still, EEA members should make it clear to the union that they won’t strike, even if the contract isn’t all they hoped for. A strike will only turn teachers into lawbreakers. And school employees should get involved in the negotiations now rather than later. If they don’t, the union will be able to say it walked away from the bargaining table with its membership’s support.

Elizabeth Hovde’s column of personal opinion appears on the Other Opinions page each Thursday. Reach her at ehovde@earthlink.net.