Democratic state senators walk out of hearing on bill that would cut striking teachers' pay

OLYMPIA -- There’s a new controversial effort to deny pay for any teachers who join the one-day walkouts that have been growing across the state.

A handful of state legislators want to penalize educators for disrupting the lives of parents and students.  The move created a heated debate Tuesday in Olympia.

“I just don’t think in America you can go on strike and still get paid by your employer,” said Sen. Tim Sheldon, D-Potlach, sponsor of the bill.

If successful, the effort to suspend pay would affect thousands of teachers who have participated in the rolling walkouts to protest what they -- and the state Supreme Court -- say is inadequate funding for public schools.

“It’s very poor modeling and role modeling for your students when you walk out or strike when you committed to be there," Sheldon said. "Really unfair to the parents, the grandparents, especially the student."

In a dramatic show of support for teachers, the Democratic members staged an unprecedented walkout of Tuesday's hearing, arguing the bill is an attack on teachers and a waste of legislative time.

“We should be working on funding K-12 education, not punishing educators,” said Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Seattle, who called the bill "retaliatory".

Even a frustrated Gov. Jay Inslee weighed in.

“Those teachers are working hard” Inslee said.

The governor took a shot at the legislators sponsoring this bill, especially since lawmakers still haven’t been able to get their work done on the state budget.

“Frankly, the legislators, a lot of them, haven’t even been here and they’re getting their pay the last couple weeks, so, no, I don’t think teachers should be getting lectured by politicians here in Olympia.”