Nov 13, 2015 2 min read

A group of Peters Township residents – some parents, some not – are collecting Giant Eagle gift cards to distribute to the 100 or so Peters Township School District employees who are not getting paid during the teachers strike that began Oct. 28.

“We want to help these people,” said Venetia resident Angie Glud, the mother of two young boys who is spearheading the community effort, which came together through discussions on social media. “This is a hard time of year, especially with the holidays around the corner.”

Glud is asking people to purchase a Giant Eagle gift card in the amount of $25 – or higher, if possible – and drop them off at one of two locations, Elite Plumbing, Kitchens & Bath, 2335 Washington Road, or the Zacharia & Brown law firm, 111 W. McMurray Road.

The employees affected include cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, playground monitors and 10-month secretaries. They do not get paid when school is not in session.

The district pays its employees on the 20th of each month. The December pay will be for days worked in November. These employees work 180 days, like all other district employees, said Shelly Belcher, a district spokeswoman.

Glud said donations will be collected until Nov. 19. After that time, Glud said the donations will be divided and distributed to the affected workers.

“They can use the gift cards for groceries or the holidays,” she said Friday. “There is a lot of division going on in the community right now. I am hoping we can come together and do something nice.”

The teachers will return to work Nov. 27, with or without a contract. The major issues between the two sides are salaries and health-care costs.

The two sides are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Monday at Piatt Place, the former Lazarus department store, in downtown Pittsburgh in an effort to reach an agreement.

If no agreement is reached, then there is a possibility of a second strike later in the school year. Another strike can take place only after the district and the teachers exhausted fact-finding and nonbinding final best offers, according to Act 88, a state law that governs how contract negotiations between a school district and its teachers are conducted.