Insomnia induced Strike Babbling

I hate strikes. I'm not anti-union, by any means, but I feel that a strike is the ultimate symbol of failure. It's also mighty hard on the people who would rather be working than walking picket lines. In the case of a school strike, it's hard on working parents and very hard on the students.

My understanding of the Marysville strike is limited. I know what hubby-Eric has told me (not much), and what I've read on the Marysville Education Association website and the Marysville School District website.

First, from the school district's point of view. The district claims that Marysville teachers are the second-highest paid teachers in the state. The district wants to get the Marysville salaries in line with the state salary schedule. This would require cutting a quarter of the teachers' base pay, which the district claims would be made up in other money so that no one would actually lose money. In addition, the school district makes it clear that they believe a strike by the teachers is illegal (pdf file), and will get a judge to order the teachers back to the classroom.

The MEA is not impressed. They claim that the district put their offer on the table in June and hasn't budged an inch since then, while the teachers have attempted to meet them halfway. The biggest sticking point seems to be the district's insistence on going to the state salary schedule, which the teachers absolutely refuse (among other things, it would mean no raises for many teachers for years to come). Most importantly to the MEA, though, is that they feel the district is not negotiating in good faith.

I do not see the inclusion on the District's website of quotes from the judge's order on last year's bitter 21-day strike in the Issaquah School District as a heartening sign. If you plan on negotiating in good faith, why are you threatening them from the get-go? I also find it ominous that the only concession that the district has made in two in a half months of negotiating was a promise that no teacher would be paid less money, and that promise wasn't made until August 29th... the last negotiation day before the strike vote.

So, what will we do? I suspect Eric would take the district's offer in a heartbeat, but he's part of a group now and must support the group. Solidarity forever, and all that. He certainly bears no ill will towards the district that hired him.

I personally think that claiming teacher strikes are illegal is utter bull. Teachers are already treated like garbage, taking away one of the few methods they have of making sure they aren't paid worse than they are treated is an insult to their dignity. And while I question the wisdom of some of the highest paid teachers in the state striking to protect the status quo, I cannot begrudge them the power to do so. I want the strike to end tomorrow, with no hard feelings on either side, but if wishes were horses, we'd be knee deep in manure.