If you like teacher strikes, ban them.
A year or so ago I read the statement of a union president of a nearby local who proclaimed that the word strike was not in her vocabulary.
Uh oh, I thought to myself. That local is headed for trouble. And sure enough, facing a financial mess, the first place the board of that district is going is to the teachers to reopen their contract for take-backs. The president of that local might just as well written the board president a personal invitation to reopen.
It is not surprising therefore, to read that the Illinois Association of School Boards wants the Illinois legislature to ban teacher strikes. Districts throughout the state are facing financial crisis. Who better to pay for the current state of affairs than the teachers?
But Charlie McBarron, Communications Director of the IEA, makes an interesting observation: Making teacher strikes illegal would actually increase their number. McBarron’s argument, which the data seems to support, is that the collective bargaining process where both sides having equal rights seems to work to resolve disagreements. Disarm one side, and boards will more likely play hardball and locals will tend to walk away from the bargaining table.
Like strikes? Ban ‘em.
