Carmichaels teachers vote to give negotiators power to strike
Teachers from the Carmichaels Area School District’s union voted unanimously Monday to allow its negotiating team to authorize a strike.
The 66-0 vote came immediately after members of the Carmichaels Area Education Association overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement with the district, the CAEA said in a release Tuesday morning.
CAEA President Brianna Rice said in the release the lopsided outcome “demonstrates the disrespect with which the board has treated its teaching staff,” which is negatively affecting the educational environment.
“Our plan for now is to return to our classrooms and to our students,” she said of the 78-member union. “But we expect the (school) Board to show more effort in negotiating a contract that’s fair to the teachers and the taxpayers.”
Matt Edgell, region advocacy coordinator for the southwestern office of the Pennsylvania Education Association, said the main points of dispute are salary and benefits, though he declined to get into specific offers on either side.
Their previous four-year contract expired on July 1. With inflation outpacing teachers’ pay, Edgell said teachers are effectively being asked “not only to not maintain, but to take a step backwards.”
“They lost ground against inflation on that contract on the base salary,” he said. “So they’re just looking to not fall behind anymore.”
Also, he said, the teachers are just feeling frustrated, with many taking jobs elsewhere.
“They don’t feel valued,” he said. “They’ve lost 20% of their teaching staff to other districts. So it’s just that kind of feeling.”
The authorization vote is just the first of three steps needed before teachers would go on strike. The bargaining committee would have to declare a strike, which state law requires happen 48 hours before it takes effect.
In an interview Tuesday, Board President John Menhart said the situation is still preliminary.
“It’s a tool,” he said of the vote. “It’s a step that they took. It means nothing right now, because I think both sides are willing to keep working hard. They’re actually in school right now, so it’s not like there’s any stoppage, and I don’t anticipate there will be.”
Menhart deferred any additional comment to Superintendent Amy Todd.
The first day of school at Carmichaels is on Monday. A week before class started, teachers returned to work for an in-service day.
“They’re going back,” Edgell said. “There’s not going to be any disruption at the beginning of the year. Honestly, they’re hoping to get this settled. They’re still going to be meeting.”
In a statement posted to its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, the Carmichaels Area School District said it would continue to participate in good faith negotiations with the union in hopes of securing a new contract.
“The District values its teachers and strives to enter into an agreement that best serves the District’s students, faculty, staff, teachers, and parents,” the statement said.
Carmichaels has 894 students enrolled for the fall.
Rice and Todd did not respond to requests for comment by press time.