The union representing teachers in Peters has notified the district it plans to strike Oct. 28 unless an agreement on a contract is reached.
"Teachers and other professional staff are ready to negotiate with the district anytime, anywhere,” said Paul Homer, the staff representative for Peters Township Federation of Teachers Local 3431. “Teachers do not want to strike, but it is simply not possible to negotiate when the district cancels one bargaining session after another."
The union, which represents 285 teachers, along with counselors, nurses, librarians and speech therapists, has been without a contract since Aug. 31, when the terms of a previous five-year pact expired.
Negotiations began in January, the union said in a press release. Negotiating teams have held about 13 sessions, but starting in late August, the district began cancelling sessions in August, September and October, the union said.
“Teachers are committed to their students and want more than anything to remain in their classrooms to do what they do best, teach children. That won’t happen unless district negotiators come to the bargaining table with the same resolve as teachers have to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement,” said Kris Bergman, a sixth-grade teacher at McMurray Elementary School.
District Spokeswoman Shelly Belcher said the district sent home a letter to parents today stating the district's position on talks.
"While additional negotiation sessions are planned prior to [Oct. 28] and we hope that PTFT will reverse their decision, we wanted to give you as much notice as possible to make any necessary arrangements for your children during the work stoppage," the letter stated. "The district will continue to work diligently to reach a settlement knowing that this type of interruption to their school year is not in the best interest of our students. In the unfortunate event of a strike, we will communicate a plan with details for meeting the educational needs of our students."
Ms. Belcher said the district was prohibited from commenting about negotiations but said it would "continue to bargain in good faith, and we hope an agreement can be reached in an expedient manner."
The next negotiating session is scheduled Oct. 27, but Mr. Homer stressed that PTFT will make its team available to negotiate anytime to prevent a strike.
Ms. Belcher disputed claims that the district was not meeting with the union.
"We have met with them monthly through May; bi-monthly in June; and weekly from July until now with three cancellation due to scheduling conflicts," she said. "Since the beginning of July we have met 7 times with three additional sessions cancelled."
Union members voted unanimously Sept. 16 to authorize its negotiating team to call a strike if necessary.
First Published: October 9, 2015, 6:10 p.m.
Updated: October 9, 2015, 8:29 p.m.
