Striking teachers, supporters rally in show of solidarity

Downtown Vancouver was awash in red Friday as thousands of educators rallied in Esther Short Park in what appeared to be the largest demonstration of teachers and their supporters since strikes began last week.

Teachers from the Evergreen and Battle Ground school districts, where negotiations are ongoing, were there, as were members from area school districts that have settled in recent days. Other local unions were also on hand, including the Service Employees International Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Families with children joined the demonstrations, and musicians performed a series of upbeat, pep band standards.

It was a rally that reflected as much on the days that have passed as it looked on the days ahead. Speakers talked of the impact of relationships forged on the picket lines and of the political implications of the past week and a half of strikes. Teachers along the Interstate 5 corridor are striking as negotiating teams remain at odds over teacher salary increases in light of the additional school funding set by McCleary legislation.

Wendy Smith, the Vancouver Public Schools director who earned union support when she voted down a series of resolutions aimed at stopping a possible strike, urged the crowd to vote for union-supporting candidates and to eventually run for office themselves.

“I know you are out there, right here in the crowd, our future school board directors,” she told the crowd. Smith herself is an Evergreen Public Schools teacher whose husband, Rob Lutz, is the former Evergreen union president and remains on the bargaining team in that district.

And indeed, immediately following Smith’s speech, Bethany Rivard, a Fort Vancouver High School teacher, announced her candidacy for Evergreen Public Schools board of directors next year.

“Teachers all over the country are running for elected positions,” Rivard said. “We realize that policy decisions are being made every day about education, with no educators at the table. We have entire school boards and superintendents with minimal to no direct teaching experience. Educators know how those decisions affect the students in their classroom.”

The speakers were also joined by high profile union representatives, including Kim Mead, the president of the Washington Education Association.

“The children in this community deserve to have high-quality, caring individuals, educators standing up for them and being paid what people across the state are being paid,” Mead said. About 50 unions in the state have settled, some approving pay increases of more than 20 percent.

But perhaps the loudest applause came when members of the union bargaining teams themselves took the stage, breaking from ongoing negotiations to celebrate with their fellow teachers.

Linda Peterson, president of the Battle Ground Education Association, pumped her fist and shouted, “Battle Ground is friggin’ unbelievable!” to cheers from the crowd.

Lynn Nelson of the Longview Education Association also joined the speakers. Longview teachers have been on strike for nearly 2 1/2 weeks, the longest of any group currently striking.

The Longview Daily News reported that a Cowlitz County judge ordered teachers, secretaries and classified staff to return to work Monday at the request of the district.

“We’ll see what happens,” Nelson said of that.

Added Nelson, “We were the first in the state to go on strike because we wanted money from the McCleary funds. My people have been on the lines for two weeks and two days. Do you know what that means? It’s solidarity.”