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Bethel Park teachers weigh possibility of strike
Tuesday, February 27, 2001 By Mary Niederberger, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Parents and students in the Bethel Park School District should find out later today whether teachers will strike Thursday in a dispute over language in the five-year contract the district and union approved last fall.
The two sides have been arguing over issues in the written version of the contract since late December, with that dispute erupting in a strike threat last week by Bethel Federation of Teachers President Leanne Dresmich.
Last night, after a 4 1/2-hour session between the two sides, ordered by state mediator Ed Wintermeyer, union leaders said they would take the version of the contract offered by the district last night to their membership at a meeting at 4:30 p.m. today at Independence Middle School.
Bernie Murray, a staff representative for the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers, said if the membership was satisfied with what was in the contract offer, then union officials would notify the district that it would be accepted. If not, there will be a strike.
According to union officials, progress was made at last night's session. But district officials, who left the building before the union's representatives did, said they were irritated with union negotiators because they tried last night to raise what board President Richard Rose called "brand new issues."
Rose said the district offered the union a contract proposal at 9 p.m. that addressed all of the issues teachers said had been changed from the verbal agreement they negotiated Aug. 29 and the written version of the contract they saw in December.
But, Rose said, instead of accepting that contract proposal, union leaders tried to negotiate new items, including the removal of steps in the salary scale. At that point, Rose said, district officials decided to end the talks.
"It's in the hands of the federation now," Rose said when asked if he thought teachers would strike Thursday. "I think we have a valid contract."
Additionally, district officials said, unfair labor practice charges were filed yesterday against the union with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. It's uncertain what will happen to those charges if the union accepts the district's proposal.
Before last night's meeting, which was scheduled for 6 p.m., a group of about 70 teachers lined up outside of the district administration building holding signs that said,"Just Sign It," referring to the union's version of the contract they say was negotiated last fall.
Teachers said that while they didn't want another strike, they were willing to hit the picket lines if the district didn't return to the contract items they believe were negotiated.
Among the items the union has been upset about in the district's version of the contract is a disagreement over limits on class size and whether the union gets a share of the money the district will save by teachers switching from traditional health insurance to a point-of-service plan.
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