Seattle teachers gather to take strike vote tonight



SEATTLE -- The new school year in Seattle is supposed to start next Wednesday, but with teachers threatening to strike, thousands of families are now in limbo.

Although not yet on strike, teachers picketed outside nine Seattle public high schools Wednesday to make their message clear.

“The message is for the school board to get serious and come to the table and get this contract settled,” said the Seattle Education Association's Phyllis Campano, who is also the bargaining chairwoman and a special education teacher.

The negotiations have now been dragging on for weeks, and their contract expired Sept. 1. Key unresolved issues on a new, three-year deal involve the size of salary increases and the district's proposal to extend the student day.

Teachers began meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday and plan to take a strike authorization vote after hearing from Seattle Education Association officials.



“The vote would be to go to work without a contract at all or keep fighting for a better contract,” said Lissa Munger, a fourth-grade teacher at Orca. “It's pretty likely that we'll be striking.”

As both a teacher and a parent to three kids who are in Seattle Public Schools, Munger wants classes to start on time. She knows other families are counting on it,  too.

“I really want to start school,” said Munger. “I want to see my students. I need a break maybe from my own kids. I know that I'll be taking care of two other families' kids if we are on strike because they have to work, and I really feel for those families.”

Seattle Public Schools is optimistic a deal will be reached and school will start Wednesday, Sept. 9, but it won’t say what its contingency plan will be if no deal is reached.

“It's not a healthy thing when you aren't sure when school's going to start; you aren't sure if your teacher is going to be there,” said parent Jesse Williams.

When teachers staged a one-day walkout in May, the city of Seattle stepped in to help, opening up community centers for kids so parents would not have to scramble to find child care. It’s still unclear whether that will be an option again if school doesn’t start on time.

No matter how the vote goes on Thursday night, the two sides are expected to meet with a mediator on Friday, as requested by the school district, and may continue negotiations through the weekend.